ICF African Freestyle Development Project - Camp Report For the last 2 weeks 10 kayakers from over 6 African nations have come together for the ICF African Freestyle Development Camp run by world class coach, Sam Ward and world number 1 freestyle Kayaker, Dane Jackson. The Participants were hand picked as some of the most promising kayakers from their respective nations and were chosen not only based on their kayak abilities but also for their dedication, motivation and enthusiasm for the sport. For many of these participants, it truly was a life changing experience, and all of them now travel back to their home nations with improved skill level and a good knowledge base to help develop the sport in their home nation. DEVELOPMENT CAMP The aim of this ICF funded scheme is to promote and encourage freestyle participation and grass roots competition across the continent and increase African nation participation in major freestyle kayaking events. We approached this during the camp by: - Carefully selecting participants based on referrals from trusted individuals and companies in the industry. - Including various off the water workshops in the development camp, encouraging discussion and idea sharing around topics related to kayaking specifically in Africa. - Inviting world class kayakers to coach and guide the individuals. - Organizing community-focused activities and encourage all local kayakers to take part maximizing the impact of the scheme. - Prepare the participants to run and take part in competitions by holding a range of different competitions throughout the camp ranging from fun, friendly participation
orientated events to ICF format competitions such African Freestyle Kayaking Championships. - Ensuring longevity of the project by providing each participant with an action plan for when they return to their home nations. - Inspiring the participants by Inviting inspirational characters such as Emily Ward, Dane Jackson and Juma (local kayaker) to share their personal stories. WORKSHOPS Time off the water was put to good use, encouraging the participants to take part and contribute to the various workshops that were being held. - Women s participation in the sport Two local female kayakers, Tammy Muir from S.A. as well as Jessie Stone and Emily Ward contributed to the discussion on how we can increase the number of female kayakers in Africa. - ICF Scoring and rules Providing and explaining the information need to both judge and take part in ICF format competitions. - The power of social media How can we use the social media platforms to encourage discussions and interaction between kayakers in different countries. Using social media as a tool to promote the ICF Freestyle Development project. - The future of freestyle kayaking in each country - discussions and idea sharing around the obstacles, strengths and action points specific to each individual nation. Following their workshops, each participant was given the action plan specifically for their country to use post camp. - The benefits of flat water freestyle With few good freestyle features across Africa flat water freestyle is integral to development of the sport in a number of countries. The participants have been provided with coaching videos on flatwater moves as well as advice on how to use video feedback and are now in a position to work on their skills independently. FREESTYLE COACHING SESSIONS With two of the worlds best coaches and freestyle kayakers running the freestyle sessions this was an incredibly motivating opportunity for the participants to work on their personal skills. The paddlers had varying degrees of freestyle experience but each of them improved dramatically over the course of the 10day camp. The coaching sessions were split between Superhole (a small hole feature) and Nile Special (a world class wave feature). A day was also spent focusing on down river freestyle, highlighting the ability to utilise a range of features using them for play or for holding fun events / competitions on.
COMPETITIONS AND EVENTS Junior Ugandan National Freestyle Championships Having seen all of the international kayakers along with Dane Jackson Training on the water a few of the local young kayakers showed a new bout of enthusiasm and were keen to get involved. As a result the Junior Ugandan National Championships were held during one of the training sessions giving the participants the opportunity to gain experience with the ICF scoring system as well as giving the youths an opportunity to take part in a fun kayaking event. Ugandan National Freestyle Championships This competition was held on the 29 th March with over 15 local, Ugandan kayakers competing. This competition was later judged on a big screen at camp (overseen by Sam and Dane), which once again allowed the camp participants to further their understanding of ICF format events. African Freestyle Kayak Championships 2016 With participants from 6 different nations having just completed 10 days of freestyle coaching it was a perfect opportunity to hold the first ever African Freestyle Kayak Championships. This event was publicized locally and internationally and over 20 competitors took part and buses of spectators coming along for the show. The Ugandan National Canoe Federation representative was in support of the event and was very proud for the first event of it s kind to be held in Uganda. Ugandan Kayakers were represented on the podium taking 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd in the Men s competitions and 1 st and 3 rd in the Women s. South Africa took the silver women s medal. Each of the camp participants performed outstandingly and represented their nations proudly. Some local paddlers, having heard about the ICF scheme and the African Champs had been training hard over the prior few months and impressed the both judges and the crowd alike.
COMMUNITY PADDLE Jinja has an exceptional kayaking community with multiple rafting companies and kayak schools based here. On the final day of the Development camp we felt that it would be highly beneficial for everyone to meet, build friendships and forge connections, and for the other nations to see how a community can be brought together by a sport. With over 30 kayakers joining us it was a fantastic opportunity to build relationships, meet new people and for some of the local Uganda kayakers to be inspired by some of these guys who have travelled internationally to participate in the camp. POWER OF ADMIN WORK. Since the project began Admin days has proved to be both constructive and productive in the development of the sport of kayaking and consequently the scheme. With clear results already being seen not only with the success of the Development Camp but also with the increased activity online and within the communities in some of the African Nations. Here s a brief summary outlining what the admin work has managed to achieve thus far: - National Freestyle Championships being set up in 4 new nations (Kenya, Swaziland, Zambia, Uganda ) - Re instigating and helping with the organization, planning and promotion of the ZambeziFest a multi day kayaking event which attracts kayakers from all over the world to compete in a variety of events - Develop and progress both new and existing relationships with Canoe Federations in Kenya, Swaziland, Uganda and Zambia. - Organise, plan and host a two-week training camp on the River Nile. - Set up and launch a social media kayaking community group (African Freestyle Kayaking) encouraging interaction and communication between kayakers across the nations. The number of members has grown to 550 members in only 3 months.
Support staff During the camp we allocated one additional member of staff to work alongside the coaches ensuring smooth running and efficiency during the limited amount of time that we had with the participants. This proved to be exceptionally beneficial and worthwhile. The support staff s responsibilities during the camp included but were not exclusive to: - Booking all transport and agreeing prices. - Booking all food an accommodation. - Liaising with ICF Freestyle committee, regularly updating them on the camp. - Liaising with the ICF Social Media representative on a daily basis, sharing media, content and news. - Collecting all footage / images at the end of each day. - Communicating with additional staff (videographers / photographers / judges etc) - Posting regular updates on social media (over 21 Instagram images, updates on Twitter, Facebook status posts and sharing images / photos.) - Creating short edits to post on social media - Capturing photographs / videos on the days where no videographer or photographer were employed. - Keeping track of expenses, accounts and budget. - Ensuring coaches had all information needed to run the workshops. - Co-organising the African Freestyle Championships. - Communicating with the Ugandan Canoe Federation. - Promoting the scheme to magazines, media and kayaking organisations across Africa who might be interested in covering the story. - Organising the Ugandan National Freestyle Championships BUDGET AND EXPENSES Prior to the development Camp we worked hard to build relationships with the local companies, spending time promoting and explaining the aims and objectives of the camp. As a result of these ongoing discussions, and our pre-established relationships we managed to negotiate lower prices and deals with many of them allowing us to hold the camp under budget. A brief summary of the camp costs is as follows: COST $ Flights (inc. visas) $2693 Transport $647 Food and accommodation $700 Coaching wages $2750 Other staff wages: Photography (3days) Videography (8days inc. edit time) support staff (10days) $150 $400 $500
Other (admin costs, printing, equipment rental etc) $1296 African Championships $285 TOTAL(10 participants for 12 days): $9421 Admin days prior to the Development camp, (32days - organizing, planning, preparing for the camp as well as working on longer term goals across Africa i.e. liaising with contacts in other African Nations and helping to set up National Championships and other kayaking events.): $1600 TOTAL EXPENSES TO DATE: $11,021 / 9,698 NB A full breakdown of itemized costs, and receipts will be provided for both the camp and the scheme as a whole, this is just a brief summary for this report. POSITIVE OUTCOMES The standard of kayaking seen from the 10 participants increased dramatically over the course of the camp as did their enthusiasm and passion for kayaking. They showed motivation and a genuine desire to contribute to the progression of the sport upon their return to their home nations. It s been less than one week since the end of the camp and we have already seen two of the participants successfully incorporating freestyle sessions into kayaking events in South Africa: promoting them within their local kayaking communities and sharing them online. These were both a direct result of the training they received in Uganda. In the run up to, and during the camp itself we saw an increased participation in the local Ugandan Kayakers training on the river resulting in a number of new competitors taking part in both the Ugandan and the African Championships. Visible goals for these kayakers and incentives to improve seems to be a huge motivation for them to work on their kayaking skills. The camp has also instigated a couple of the less tech-savvy participants to learn learn to use computers. Having rarely used computers before they are now able to use video feedback during their training as well as having a grasp on social media and understanding it s importance and how it can be of huge benefit to them in the long term.
Long term outcomes from the scheme involved plans for an African Competition Circuit being put in place. This will link up both existing and new events in countries such as Uganda, South Africa, Zambia and Kenya. In addition each of the participants left the Development Camp with an action plan with some key points for them to tackle upon their return to their home nations. In addition we plan on editing a short documentary to release through online platforms about the camp and the personal journeys of it s participants. THE FUTURE The ICF African Freestyle Development camp marked the beginning of what we hope to be a positive and successful future for the sport in Africa. In order to maximize and ensure long term positive impact of this camp, we believe it is crucial to have ongoing support, and a future for the scheme, rather than an isolated training camp, the benefit of which eventually fades. The Camp was only a portion of the original ICF Freestyle Development Project proposal and for this reason we worked hard prior to, and during the camp to ensure expenses were kept to a minimum without compromising the experience for the participants. We are proposing that the remaining money is put towards admin work, which will provide continued support to the kayakers, and thus work towards achieving the goals of the camp. During the camp, brainstorming and discussions were had about the future of the scheme, and potential ideas to be incorporated into the scheme to really maximise the benefit and ensure that the original aims and goals are met. The Camp was only a portion of the original ICF Freestyle Development Project proposal and for this reason we worked hard prior to, and during the camp to ensure expenses were kept to a minimum without compromising the experience for the participants. As we have seen the days spent doing admin work have provided us with the some of the most promising and quantitative responses so far. For this reason we are proposing that the remaining money is put towards admin work and providing support to the kayakers across Africa. As a result this extra work with help achieve the mid-term goals of the both the Camp and the scheme. We would like to discuss ideas for future development and funding for the scheme with the ICF freestyle committee further to establish what the scheme s role would be in aiding the ongoing support and growth of the sport in Africa, once the current funding has been finished. We have seen momentum build over the last few months and we feel that it is crucial to keep this going. The momentum combined with the fresh motivation and enthusiasm seen from the participants of the camp, is what the sport needs to make a leap forwards in its growth.