Fast and Clean: BUSA Slalom

It has been exam season in Manchester over the past few weeks, meaning that the usual suspects that I have begging lifts from of late have all been busily pouring over textbooks and spending unhealthy amounts of time swotting up in the library, so apart from a couple of “revision breaks” on the Etherow and Irwell I have been lacking bum-in-boat time and the hard working students of Manchester had been lacking quality party time. The BUSA slalom this past weekend was time to right both of those wrongs.

Joe and I in the C2 (Photo: Tom Laws)

I’m sure that after last year’s slalom I promised to myself that I would make an effort to make my paddling a lot more efficient and precise. It was quite evident from my first run on Saturday that I haven’t, the previous night’s gin consumption may have had an effect however as I managed to pull my finger out in the second run and produce a semi-respectable time. It was interesting to look at how my paddling style differs from the guys and girls who were geting down the course significantly faster than me, it has certainly given me a few things to work on and think about in my paddling. The C2 on Sunday was much more sucessful, with Joe and I managing to better our 5th place from last year and earn ourselves a very respectable 4th. Manchester earned themselves 5th overall, so well done us.

Thanks to Durham Uni for a well organised event and well done to all who competed. Thanks (or maybe applogies?) to whoever’s 50th wedding anniversary a selection of party hungry reprobabtes from Manchester, Bangor, and Aberystwth crashed on Saturday night. Any tales of eating soap, drinking gin, garlic dips, potato conkers, or mass spooning are clearly lies and should never be repeated…

No comment. (Photo: Tom Laws)