Paddling on to glory

Second Place

Division 2

Paddling on to glory

Riley Loula

Grade 11

Hi-Lite

Manheim Township HS

Adviser: Marty Pflieger

Here is their equipment: a two sided paddle, a small boat you can carry on your shoulder, a personalized helmet, a wet suit and flip flops, and a nose plug. Does this equipment sound like any type of sports equipment that would be used by any Manheim Township student on a regular basis?

Well, it is for Will Flory and Ross McIlwaine, both juniors at Manheim Township High School. Flory and McIlwaine are both kayakers. However, they’re not just your normal kayakers. Flory and McIlwaine are two of the best kayakers in the nation for their age groups.

Flory has been kayaking for about 3 years. He gained interest in the sport on a camping trip to the Youghiogheny River, in western Pennsylvania. He then started out kayaking on the Conestoga River, on flat water. McIlwaine has been kayaking for 6 years.

He took an interest in kayaking after he went white water rafting on the New River in West Virginia. He saw a number of people kayaking and wanted to try his hand at the sport. Since their first rapid, both have traveled all over North America to take on the biggest and best white water rapids possible.

Flory has traveled to Maryland, West Virginia, Maine, Montana, and Wyoming, while McIlwaine has been to rivers all along the east coast in states north of and including West Virginia and also the Colorado River in Colorado and Yellow River in Wyoming.

Over the summer, the boys made two memorable trips to Watertown, NY and Ontario, Canada to compete in the North American Championships, which bring together to the best kayakers form all over North America. The North American Championships is a competition of white water kayaking, where you showcase your talents to the best in the nation, in this case the ‘freestyle’ division.

“There are four different types of kayaking,” Flory said, “There’s freestyle, which is what we do. Freestyle is basically surfing on a feature called a wave on the river. There is also slalom, boater-cross, where competitors race down difficult, tight rivers, and there is also just recreational white water kayaking.”

In order to qualify for the second leg of the Championships, the boys had to travel to New York for the first stage and finish in the top 10. Both boys did so, and gained entry into the second stage in Canada, referred to as the North American Cup or Canadian Cup.

The layout and judging for the North American Cup is simple. There are two age groups, Junior Men, which is kids ages 18 and under, and Men, which is men ages 18 and up. There are 3 rounds, the preliminary round, the semis, and the championship round. Judges score the kayakers by giving them points for each trick they do, whether it is aerial or non-aerial. The more difficult a trick is, the more points the kayaker is awarded and the less difficult, the fewer points. There are 25 kayakers at the beginning of the Cup.

In each round, “you have 3 rides and the best two count towards your score. It’s the same for the semi round too,” said McIlwaine. The semi round brings together the top 10 riders, slimmed down from 25 at the beginning. To make it to the final round, you must place in the top 5. Flory finished in 9^th place, keeping him out of the running for the final round, but still set his mark as the 9^th best kayaker in the nation.

McIlwaine on the other hand placed 4^th to make it into the championship round. “In the championship round, you get two rides and your best one counts,” he said. He ended up in 4^th place, making him one of the top 5 kayakers in the country.

Both boys did an exceptional job at the North American Championships, and continue their kayaking throughout the school year, making weekend trips to rivers all around the east coast. After all, there’s no stopping even if you’re one of the best.