Gearing up for the British Championship

Rob / 07.09.2003

Preparations for the second British Championship Final in North Wales at the end of the month are well under way, but these is still time to get an entry in, as a team or in the new pairs category.

The start will be in Caernarfon, where last year’s race finished, and once again the 4 day competition has been designed with a flexible format to ease competitors into multi-day racing. Race Director Brian Elliot commented, “The BARC final is designed to reflect elements of the series races but spread over 4 days. It’s a supported stage race and within each stage most controls are optional, so you can miss some out and take a penalty. It’s not a non-stop race either, and there will be rest periods between stages ranging from 7 to 12 hours. It’s all intended to allow teams of varying abilities to take part, gain experience and finish the race.”

The pairs will race over the same route as the teams (with only one support person) and the course will have some testing sections. The first course notes, posted on www.Britchamps.com recently said, “There will be at least two kayaking sections, so prepare for any single paddle of up to 33 Km, you will need to practice your technique to develop the stamina for this section and use appropriate clothing for open water paddling.” Expect some adventurous rope stages and a few other surprises too.

Teams don’t have to have taken part in the series races to enter, the race is open to all, but for the teams who have collecting BARC points the race will be the culmination of their campaign. To achieve a British Championship ranking for the year teams have to take part in the final, and those who have kept the same team through all the scoring races in the series will also get a 10 point bonus, which could have a decisive affect on who are declared champions.

With the final series race still to come (the ACE Races XXX Challenge next weekend) the leaderboard shows several teams are in with a chance. Although Saab Salomon won the first two races of the year, they won’t be carrying the 40 points they won forward to the final as Nicky Davies can’t now take part. (And the female racer must be one of the two team members to remain consistent.)

So they began their campaign again at the recent Salomon X-adventure in Wales with a different team, called Saab Salomon GB. They could still win, but this has left open the chance for Thomas Cook or Team One to take the title, especially as both could claim the 10 point bonus.

The North Face team competing at the XXX Challenge, who won the Irish Championship, could also be in with a chance and competition will be close for places throughout the top 10 ranking positions. Everything will be decided in the next few weeks and there will be plenty of twists and turns of fate and fortune along the way.