I have often heard of great weekends away racing at Llandysul and I can now see why! What a beautiful, peaceful and relaxing place! There was a steady flow of S&SCC members arriving at the site on Friday evening and it was a super sight seeing everyone settling down and looking forward to the weekend ahead.
We all camped on the Llandysul site which gave everyone a chance to spend some quality time to socialise and for the children to play safely and the parents have fun. Tents, campers, caravans and motorhomes pitched meant for a nice evening of cooking, laughing and having fun plus the odd beverage! The competitors were all excited about the forthcoming race. The weather remained good all weekend with plenty of sunshine. One of the highlights was the music that played during the entire race and you frequently saw paddlers “dancing” their way back to the top!!!!
Saturday bought some great results from Stafford & Stone with Alana Middleton taking 1st place in K1W Div 2, she was 2nd after the morning but after an improvement in her second run she managed to claim her 1st win in Div 2. Keira Perice had 2 clear runs in her K1 gaining her 5th place – well done! William Mayer took 2nd place in C1M Div 2 with a clear run, just 2 seconds behind the winner, Sam Bryant of Llandysul Paddlers.
It was fantastic to see Theo Wright and Katie Greaves taking to the water in their “borrowed” C1’s and they did not dissapoint! Sometimes it’s not about winning, it’s about “having a go” and you could see the improvement in them both as the weekend went on! Well done guys!!!
Rob & Steve Harratt are always amazing to watch and took 2nd place in the C2 with a double clear run- even more stickers for the chart!!!! – the younger paddlers can gain so much by taking to the riverbank and watching the more experienced paddlers and they are always on hand to offer advice.
We had one competitor in the Div 3 K1M; Oliver Carney; his 2nd race away from Stone. He was a little apprehensive about the top section but with the crowd behind him he set off. He missed gate 2 and with the water being too fast he was unable to go back but with his much improved 2nd run and his positivity he managed to gain 8th position at the end of Saturday also giving him his first trophy.
A great day was had by all and everyone was looking forward to spending more time together, whether be it, BBQing for Suzie’s birthday, visiting the local pub, playing in the tent, football on the grass, rafting on the lake or relaxing by the river. The atmosphere was one of contentment!
Sunday saw an early start for the paddlers busy doing course walks and free practise. Again, the sun shone strong as did the results for Stafford & Stone. It was Alana’s day as she stormed through to take her 2nd win of the weekend in K1W Div 2, taking her that little closer to Div 1! On the podium in 3rd place was Kiera Pierce only 3 seconds behind 2nd place.
The largest number of paddlers representing S&SCC was in the K1M Div 2 and competition was high! Harry Kirby managed to secure 2nd place after a couple of great runs, with Isaac finishing in 12th place. Both Theo Wright and George Hancock managed clean runs in the afternoon, earning them a valuable sticker for the chart!!!
It was the battle of the C1M Div 2 as the top prize hung in the balance between Isaac and William as Isaac took 1st position after the first run. But little did we know that Sam Bryant had done his first run during lunch time!!!! William must have had his Weetabix as he came out with what looked like an incredible 2nd run; clean and matching Sam’s time. Unfortunately, Sam must have had something special for lunch too as he took 1st place with William Mayer taking 2nd and Isaac 3rd place.
Well done to all the paddlers that took part in the racing at Llandysul, it was a wonderful weekend.
Alana, Keira, Katie, Rob, Steve, Poppy, Oliver, Isaac, Harry, George, Harvey, William, Theo, Alfie & Brooke
We left the sun behind in Llandysul and took happy memories home!
Words – Charlotte Wright
Pictures – Steve Pearce
