Every August, thirty or so junior kayakers head their way to Holme Pierrepont white water course in Nottingham for the GB Freestyle Academy Camp. The camp first run in 2023 and it is now an annual event. The kayakers, aged 11-17, experience a week of being coached in freestyle kayaking by some of the world’s most renowned freestyle paddlers and coaches. Del Clare reports on what a fun week that was.
The aim of the camp is to spread the love of kayaking and especially freestyle kayaking. Over the week, the young people can develop their skills and confidence on the water. The hope is that they will then take that enthusiasm home and be in a better position to inspire and support other kayakers within their clubs and communities.
Clubs from all over the UK were invited to nominate junior paddlers to attend the camp. The GB freestyle committee then selected individuals based off these nominations.
This year’s camp ran on the 10th-14th August and was a huge success. 34 junior paddlers attended the camp and were joined by a whole team of volunteers who made sure that the week ran smoothly.
A busy weekend of camp set up occurred before the camp. Two marquees were kindly loaned by River Legacy to provide a covered eating and cooking area as well as a place to hang and dry gear. Tents were put up for the paddlers to sleep in and of course the whole team of volunteers had their own camping area as well.
« It was quite a sight on the first day as the campsite filled with playboats, bags of gear and lots of excited teenagers. «
There were three main volunteering teams: catering, pastoral and coaching. Each team played a vital role throughout the week to help support the camp and their time and support was greatly appreciated by everyone.
It was quite a sight on the first day as the campsite filled with playboats, bags of gear and lots of excited teenagers. After some time dedicated to outfitting kayaks, the group made the short walk over to the whitewater course from the campsite for their first session on the water. Monday and Friday saw one kayaking session whereas Tuesday-Thursday it was possible to fit in two sessions every day.
After kayaking, everyone would head back to the camp for dinner and the evening activities. The catering team made so much food every night which was lucky as teenagers who’ve been active all day tend to be very hungry! The record for number of dinners eaten was 5 helping for one very hungry boy. Everyone was in awe of him!
The camp organizers, Lisa and Laura, had prepared fun activities for each evening on camp, and the whole group launched themselves into these activities. Monday night saw a mystery-solving game which kept everyone entertained and allowed for new friendships to form. There was a movie night, a quiz night and a night of workshops including a seminar on judging and some work on rescue skills. The highlight evening activity was the solar eclipse party. Lisa had ordered eclipse glasses for the entire group and it was an incredible evening.
« Lisa had ordered eclipse glasses for the entire group and it was an incredible evening. «
The lead coaches for the week were Ottie Robinson-Shaw, Matt Stephenson, Gav Barker, Tamsyn McConchie, Harry Price, Mike Shaw and Den Newton. The coaches are well known within freestyle both for their personal accomplishments within competitive freestyle as well as their ability to coach freestyle. Many of the young paddlers noted over the week how lucky they felt to have had the opportunity to learn from ‘some of the best paddlers in the world!’
Each group would stay at a certain feature for the session and this largely determined what the focus of the coaching was. There was a range of experience and abilities within the wider group and this meant that there was a wide range of goals within the paddlers. The coaches would swap groups each day so that the paddlers got to experience a range of coaching styles throughout the week.
For some of the young people, paddling at Holme Pierrepont was a step up compared to their usual kayaking adventures. Goals included paddling in every feature, surfing waves and attempting spins. There were some nerves at the start of the week but by the end of the camp, these nerves had largely disappeared and been replaced by big smiles and lots of joy.
There were also many camp attendees who had more experience in kayaking and some had even attended the camp for multiple years. Many of these paddlers had special goals for the week such as learning to loop, mcnasty and space.
It was brilliant that in one feature, there would be a teenager who was ecstatic because they had just achieved their first spin and downstream there would be another teenager who couldn’t believe they had just landed a mcnasty on the hardest feature of the course and stayed in the feature! Both achievements were incredible and worthy of the excitement they created.
« Nerves had largely disappeared and been replaced by big smiles and lots of joy. »
What was especially wonderful is how on the walks back to the campsite the group would come together to share what they had been up to over the day. As a group, they showed so much kindness and encouragement towards each other. This created the most inclusive and supportive atmosphere over the week.
On the final day of camp, everyone was given freedom to go and paddle anywhere on the course. The coaches positioned themselves at different features to support and coach. There was so much joy in this final session and not only was there a focus on freestyle but also on having fun. There were party surfs, launching off the pontoon, loops with no paddles and more. It was a truly joyful way to end the week.
A huge thank you to all the staff who made the camp happen and to the young people who brought so much positivity, determination and enthusiasm to the week. It is safe to say that the 2026 Academy Camp was a huge success.
Words & Photography: Del Clare
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