February 16, 2015, by Lee Chrimes

BUCS Canoe Slalom Championships

On the 14th – 15th February 2015, the annual BUCS Slalom Canoe Championships took place at Tees Barrage White Water Centre. The event, which comprises a third of the overall BUCS Canoeing programme, was a huge success as the University, despite finishing second, won the most the BUCS points of all the universities competing with a total of 86.

Following the open practice and captain’s briefing, the Men’s K1 was the first event to kick off on Saturday. Sports scholar and GB Podium Potential athlete Mikey Wilson began proceedings with a gold medal for after a best total time of 92.2 seconds, beating the 93.2 he ran to win the event last year.

Wilson was back on the water in the afternoon for the Mixed Team race, teaming up with fellow Sports Scholars Sam Ibbotson and Amy Hollick. The combination proved effective and the team walked away with a silver medal after a great time of 132.9, narrowly beaten by the University of Strathclyde. Hannah Elizabeth, Pippa Hipkiss and Natalie Wilson were no slouches either, with their time best time of 150 putting them in fifth place.

Hannah Bailey had to wait until Sunday in her quest for a medal and she responded in fine style, a total time of 105.7 seconds confirming a silver medal. Amy Hollick was only 1.4 seconds slower and claimed a place on the podium in the process for the second time. However she was not done there, and went on to win another bronze medal in the Women’s C1, closed-cockpit canoe, event with a best total time of 122.6.

In the Men’s C1, Physics student Sam Ibbotson cruised to a first place finish and brought the second gold of the weekend back to NG7 thanks to a time of 102. He then linked up with K1 winner Mikey Wilson to claim his second medal of the day, with a silver in the C2.

The success did not end there, Wilson, Ibbotson and Peter McColl rounding off the weekend in fine style to win the Open Team slalom in a time of 121.9 after four penalties – the University finished 4^th in the event last year. Nottingham’s other entrees, Nick Boreham, Duncan Hickman and Jack Gunter were no slouches either, their time of 150.3 putting them in 6^th place.

It was a fantastic weekend for the club, who won a medal in every category. The return of 86 BUCS points was a huge improvement on the 2014 Championships, who knows what the team can achieve next year!

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