25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HURLEY CLASSIC: VIDEO

I was really excited about the idea of being invited to the Hurley Classic. I have always wanted to surf and compete at the Hurley wave since I was 14 and first saw photos of the wave. I also have never been to England and was excited to check out a new location.

Aaron and Rhona Dempsy, the owners of Square Rock distribution, were beyond amazing and fully took me in under their wing and showed me around, fed me and gave me a place to stay, along with some more hoodlums like Stephen Wright, Jason Craig, and Mattiue Dumoulin.

I was fortunate enough to have a couple days in England. I was able to experience some of the English culture such as the famous ‘Fish & Chips’, which I tried to eat as much as I possibly could. While leading up to the event I was able to visit an elementary school and give a little talk about kayaking and show a couple videos to all the kids. It was amazing to see how excited to kids would get about watching some footage.

The event itself was incredible, with 220 competitors, boater-X, an old skool rodeo, and finals under the lights, there was lots to do and tons of excitement. For me the most fun was competing at night under the lights. It feels as if you are a Rock Star and competing during a concert, there are lights and music, people cheering and cameras flashing, it was truly amazing.

The Finals format was the top 10 people all compete in one large heat and everyone has two rides with the best ride winning. it was an awesome format and people were going big for the crowds. I had two pretty good rides filled with airscrews, back panams, clean blunts, and a blunt Mcnasty. After watching everyone finish both rides I felt it was pretty close, though in the end it was more then enough to end up on top of the Podium.

Check out the full results below.

1	Nicholas Troutman	198	Senior	M	Elite	K1	792.50
2	Stephen Wright	1	Master	M	Elite	K1	640.00
3	Sebastien DEVRED	58	Senior	M	Elite	K1	570.00
4	Quim Fontana Maso	77	Senior	M	Elite	K1	567.50
5	Gav Barker	14	Senior	M	Elite	K1	505.00
6	Jason Craig	47	Senior	M	Elite	K1	475.00
7	Dumoulin Mathieu	128	Senior	M	Elite	K1	442.50
8	Doug Cooper	44	Senior	M	Elite	K1	430.00
9	Brandon Hepburn	96	Senior	M	Elite	K1	405.00
10	James Bebbington	20	Senior	M	Elite	K1	172.50

GREEN RACE: VIDEO

Green race is one of the most well known and oldest Kayaks Races in the United States, with this year stating the 19 annual race down the Class 5 section on the Green River narrows.

With some of the fastest racers in the world, mixed with some epic carnage and one of the biggest crowds, it is no wonder why this is said to be one of the biggest spectacles in our sport.

Though in the end the race was amazing, it almost never even started. Racers and organizers alike woke up on Saturday morning to see 3-4 inches of thick snow covering everything in sight. In the end the decision was made to continue on with the race, though to postpone the start 1 hour later and to have racers limit to one boat category. This was a tough decision for most, being that the prestigious Ironman (which is racing both long-boat and short-boat categories) had almost 50 people signed up, and now racers were forced to pick only one class.

After a tough decision I chose to to race my new Zen. I ended up deciding on the fact that I knew the Zen would just be more fun to paddle, and being it is a brand new boat (I had only one run down the race course the day before) I just wanted to paddle it some more.

By the time I hiked in and got to the start line, most of the snow was gone, though being the air was still cold the water seemed warmer. The start line up was filled with some of the best kayakers I know: Dane Jackson, Isaac Levinston, Pat Keller, Andrew Holcomb, John Grace, more people then I could possibly name here. I was bib #56, so my start time was an hour after most of the fastest guys and gals out there. When they called my name I was ready, this was the first year of about 5 Green Races, where I felt truly ready to ‘race’ the Green. I have participated in the race several times before, though this fall I have spent a lot of time in my creek boat over the past 8 weeks, and therefore I felt truly able and ready to ‘race’. After getting a handful of practice laps in, and studying race lines from years past I finally had the race course memorized and new all the lines off the back of my hand.

After thanking the volunteers at the start line, I wait for the count down, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO! I started off with some strong paddle strokes and then got into my rhythm. First rapid is Frankenstein, which is a manky low volume rapid with lots of opportunity for mistake and slow times, I focused on smooth lines instead of paddling fast and making mistakes. After good lines at Frankenstein I felt good. I had a couple little bobbles here and there, though in the end the whole run was really coming together for me. The next big sequence was ‘Boof or Consequence’, into ‘Go Left, which was as smooth as I could ask for, keeping my speed up and on line, then was ‘Zwicks’, ‘Chiefs’ and ‘Flying Squirl’ you start to hear and see the massive crowds of people cheering for you, which can be a bit taunting as you come to one of the crux move ‘The Notch’ and ‘Gorilla’. This is where the biggest crowds are being that this is where all the most carnage happens. After nailing a great line through ‘Gorilla’ I tried to finish strong through the slides sections. I was able to keep my speed up through the slides, despite going deep in a couple spots.

I finished the race injury free, with a smile on my face, and feeling like I had one of my best runs I have personally ever had, that to me was more than I could ask for. Big props to Isaac Levinson and Dane Jackson for the first ever tie for 1st at 4:19, though the tie was broken and the 2014 Green Race winner is Isaac Levinson. I was able to take home some glass as well for 1st place in the Short boat category, though I am sure if Dane, Isaac, Pat and Eric had raced short boat it could have been a different story.

Here is a GoPro video of my entire race run:

BIG WATER IN THE SOUTH EAST: VIDEO

The Fall season brings cooler weather, shorter days and a changing of the leaves. Though in the South East it can also bring some Fall rains, which is what all Kayakers in the South East are hoping for. This October we had some heavy rains which lasted several days. With all this water the rivers swelled, and Rock Island was brought up to a whopping peak of 30,000 CFS.

Dane and I took advantage of some of this backyard high water, and we were able to get a couple laps in on the Falls and Sieve City.

OTTAWA VALLEY SUMMER: VIDEO

The Ottawa Valley is where I was born and raised. It is where I learned to kayak, and still one of my favorite places on Earth to kayak. Summertime on the Ottawa is hard to beat; warm water, perfect levels, good fishing, fun waves. To me this is the definition of summertime fun. Like all good things it must come to an end. As the summer ends, the leaves change color, kids go back to school, and the river gets a bit colder. I stop for a second and reminisce on such a perfect summer now past.
Check out a little video I put together from this past summer.

HABITAT 67 WAVE: VIDEO

This summer while I was coaching with the Keener Program I had the opportunity to paddle some of the best waves in Eastern Canada, though one of my most favorites of the summer was Habitat 67 in Montreal. It was a long drive, 4 hours there and 4 hours back, for only a couple hours of paddling, though it was well worth it. The glassy green face made it easy to launch any trick you could think of, and the foamy  catchers mitt made it almost impossible to flush. What more can you ask for.

Here is a quick little video from the afternoon session

CORNER WAVE CLASSIC

Corner Wave is one of the best features on the Ottawa river, though being that it can be a bit tricky at times, and sometimes can randomly flush you it is rarely the location for a large scale event. This year we decided to change that and start the annual Corner Wave Classic.
It was a simple style event, you show up, put your 20 dollar entry fee into the pot and winner takes home the cash. It was a uni-sex class and the women, jr’s and men all competed together.
For our first year we had a great showing with 13 competitors of world class athletes and locals alike. It was a tight round of prelims though the top five was obvious. The finalists were Clay Wright, Emily Jackson, Dane Jackson, Devyn Scott, and myself. Emily Jackson showed that she can play with the big boys and was sitting in 4th after prelims and beating her dad with some big tricks such at the Clean Blunt and Flashback. After the finals rides the order took a spin and Devyn Scott pulled it off on his final ride and took home the cash.
The full results were:
1. Devyn Scott
2. Dane Jackson
3. Nick Troutman
4. Clay Wright
5. Emily Jackson
6. Hayden Voorhees
7. Eric Jackson
8. Alex Voorhees
9. Matt Hamilton
10. Claire O’Hara
11. Anna Bruno
12. Courtney Kerin
13. Philip Robert

CANADIAN TEAM TRIALS/ NATIONALS/ PRE-WORLDS

This past weekend we just competed in the Canada Cup event on the Garburator Wave located on the Ottawa River. This was the Pre-Worlds event (host location for next years 2015 World Championships) as well as the National Team selection for Canada.
A ton of amazing paddlers came out of the woodwork to try their hand at making the Canadian Team. It was a spit showing between some on the new young guns and some of the older more established paddlers. The levels were perfect and the tricks were huge. After some tough battle rounds came the finals were Devyn Scott, Joel Kowalski, Dane Jackson, Stephen Wright, and myself in the finals. Though in the end Dane Jackson took home first while I finished second and Devyn third. Congrats to all the Canadain Team members and great job to all the competitors for the stiff competition.
It was an awesome weekend and I am proud to claim the Canadian National Championships. I cant wait for the World Championships in 2015, will be an amazing event for next year.
Nick

IT’S ALL ABOUT FUN!

Being that it has been a couple years since we have redesigned the Funseries, it has been a while since I have paddle a Fun (I have been loving my Rockstar, Zen and Karma). Though after taking this new Fun down the Ottawa I am a believer, this boat is joining the quiver.

The Fun was really just fun to paddle. It was great for downriver play like kick-flips, wave wheels etc. but more importantly it was STABLE which will be confident inspiring while river running, boofing, and punching holes. I can’t wait to take it down the Upper Gauley.

The Fun was also epic on a wave. We spent over an hour ripping up corner wave, which is a challenging little wave and one of my most favorite waves on the Ottawa. The Fun kept it’s bow and stern out of the water while spinning and landing tricks, which made it easy to stay on the wave. It was also great a hole, with amazing carving, and good cartwheels and loops.

Though one thing that is probably the most noticeable is the Speed. It is fast in flat water and while surfing. And just like while surfing, when you sprint the added bow and stern rocker keeps your ends out of the water while you are sprinting.

I am looking forward to having some more fun in this new boat!

COMPETING AT NIGHT: WORLD CUP FINALS

World Cup this year was an amazing trip. We had a lot of fun just traveling together in a big group with a lot of my close friends. We also pulled out some tourist stops and visited a couple beaches, ate some good sea food at the Mediterranean and did some good kayaking too. Though one of most favorite times was being able to kayak at night for the Finals of the last event of the World Cup in Sort.
It was an incredible experience, I was able to be sitting in an eddy upstream  of the feature with three of my best friends, with Jason Craig, Dane Jackson, Mathiue Dumoulin as we all wait for our names to be called. Then we paddle out from the darkness and into what felt like a live concert. The stands were packed with people all cheering, lights were flashing and music was blaring.
As for the actual kayaking, it is quite different to paddle at night. Even though the hole was well lit with lots of light, it was still very different from paddling in the day time. Your subtle markers of exactly where to plug your bow, or where to stay in the wave were lost, and it forced you to paddle with way more feeling than actual sight.
We all were  given three rides to outdo each other, and after some incredible tricks and high flying air, it was Dane Jackson was able to take home the top spot, Mathieu was second, and I took third just knocking out Jason by a couple points. They finished the night off with an amazing Fireworks show and Medal ceremony.
It was an event that I wouldn’t soon forget, and I can’t wait for my next opportunity to compete in a Finals under the lights.

FATHER’S DAY: TUCKER’S FIRST KAYAKING AT 11 MONTHS OLD

Well it is Father’s Day today and my first Father’s Day as a dad. My son Tucker is just now 11 months old and it has been the biggest and best learning experience of my life. I can’t express how much joy I get in such a small bundle. Just three days ago I was able to take Tucker out on the river for the first time. We have been having a blast at the Kelly’s Whitewater Park. He has been excited about my kayaks and paddles for a while, though I haven’t taken him onto the river yet. Though with the perfect weather and warm water I figured it was as good of time as any to take him out as he turns 11 months old.

NORTH FORK CHAMPIONSHIPS TRAINING

Well the North Fork Championships Elite race starts tomorrow. This is my first year being able to compete and race here and it blow away any expectation. The race course is extremely demanding with tough big whitewater and 5 added slalom gates to make it even harder. There is a ton of amazing paddlers here from all over the world, many of whom I have seen while at the Sickline Race in Austria. I have been here for a week and the levels have come up everyday which has made it hard to train and which has made the lines harder everyday. Yesterday was the qualifier with 45 racers and the top 5 making it into the Elite class Jacob’s Ladder Race along with the 10 top finishers from last year and the 10 paddlers voted in. Now the time has come, tomorrow we will see who is able to be the fastest.

Here is a GoPro course Preview from my last run today, I hope I can pull it off again tomorrow.

WHITEWATER GRAND PRIX: STAGE 5: FREESTYLE: RESULTS/VIDEO

We just finished up the 5th Stage of the Whitewater Grand Prix. It was the last freestyle event on such an amazing feature. It felt like a slightly smaller but faster Skookumchuck wave. The format was everyone got four 1 minute rides, with your best ride counting. Out of your best ride only your best 6 tricks counted which was to entice the athletes to go bigger to separate the scores.

With such an amazing wave and such high level of paddlers it was just incredible to watch. So many people throwing down such great rides with huge tricks and sweet combos. I was glad I didn’t have to be one of the judges because I am sure it would have been a tough competition to judge.

At the end of the day I was able to just barely squeeze in front of Dane Jackson for the first place seat, followed by Bryan Kirk in 3rd, Mathieu Dumoulin in 4th and Rush Sturges in 5th.

Here is a video from the comp and the list of results:

Men’s

1- Nick Troutman

2- Dane Jackson

3- Bryan Kirk

4- Mathieu Dumoulin

5- Rush Sturges

6- Joel Kowalski

7- Devyn Scott

8- Bren Orton

9- Kalob Grady

10-  Gerd Serisoles

Womens

1- Adriene Levknecht

2- Marriann Saether

3-Martina Wegman

4-Sandra Hyslop

5- Hannah Kertesz

WHITEWATER GRAND PRIX: STAGE 4: BIG WAVE FREESTYLE: RESULTS/VIDEO

The WWGP has completed the 4th Stage. A freestyle competition held on the wave Black Mass on the Mistassibi River. The format was 2 minutes rides with your best 3 tricks scored. It was a great day with tons of huge tricks, massive airs and some epic wipeouts. I had my best rides during practice and had some difficult staying on the wave for my 6 comp rides. My best ride was my first one with a pretty large airscrew, a Bread/Butter combo and a flashback. Though it wasn’t enough to beat two of my best friends, Joel Kowalski and Dane Jackson. Joel was able to pul ahead on his last ride with a massive stern clearing Panam and both Flashbacks. And it was an obvious winner for anyone who saw Dane Jackson’s ride. Dane through back to back massive Airscrews and an airscrew/airscrew combo and airscrew/clean blunt combo.

Here is a video on my practice ride:

Here are the results:
Men
1st Place: Dane O Jackson (USA)
2nd Place: Joel Kowalski (CAN)
3rd Place: Nick Troutman (CAN)
4th Place: Rush Sturges (USA)
5th Place: Devyn Scott (CAN)
6th Place: Aniol Serrasolses (ESP)
7th Place: Marcos Gallegos ( Whitewater Kayaker ) (CHL)
8th Place: Kalob Grady (CAN)
9th Place: Sam Ward (GBR)
10th Place: Bren Orton (GBR)

Women
1st Place: Hannah Kertesz (USA)
2nd Place: Adriene Levknecht (USA)
3rd Place: Martina Wegman (NLD)
4th Place: Sandra Hyslop (GBR)
5th Place: Nicole Mansfield (USA)

WWGP STAGE 3: TIME TRIAL: RESULTS

The Whitewater Grand Prix has always been known for it’s extreme stature, and this years Time Trial was no different.The Shawinigan River is steep and manky and  made for a great Grand Prix race course. The race was 3 runs and your best 2 count.
The line was pretty obvious run down the mank on the left, boof the waterfall, sprint through the eddy and run the next rapid in an assortment of ways just finish pointing downstream and sprint through the finish. This might sound easy though there were lots of ways to screw it up: which I did several of. The biggest mistake I did was boof the waterfall and not land far enough left which then means getting pushed deep into the left eddy and costing valuable seconds when the race course is only 52+ seconds long. The next mistake I seemed to do on all of my race runs was to somehow run the bottom drop and either surf, spin or get pushed deep into the left eddy there as well.
At the end of the day It was a truly impressive race to watch and when the paddlers nailed the lineit looked good and crazy fast. There was also a little bit of carnage to add to the equation with some people flipping in the manky, surfing above the falls, running the falls backwards and one unfortunate swim over the falls that looked exceptionally gnarly, though luckily no one was injured. Dane Jackson and Chris Gragtmans just screamed through the course and took home the top two places, followed by an equally fast and consistent Tino Specht. I had my personal worst finish so far with a 17th place, though know we are off to the next competition and I get to try again.

Here are a full list of results.
Mens:
1st Place: Dane Jackson (USA)
2nd Place: Chris Gragtmans (CAN)
3rd Place: Tino Specht (USA)
4th Place: Gerd Serrasolses (ESP)
5th Place: Tyler Curtis (CAN)
6th Place: Aniol Serrasolses (ESP)
7th Place: Mathieu Dumoulin (FRA)
8th Place: Galen Volckhausen (USA)
9th Place: Rush Sturges (USA)
10th Place: Marcos Gallegos (CHL)
11th Place: Joel Kowalski (CAN)
12th Place: Bryan Kirk (USA)
13th Place: Jules Domine (FRA)
14th Place: Bren Orton (GBR)
15th Place: Evan Garcia (USA)
16th Place: Kalob Grady (CAN)
17th Place: Nick Troutman (CAN)
18th Place: Tyler Fox (CAN)
19th Place: Sam Ward (GBR)
20th Place: Devyn Scott (CAN)
21st Place: Juanito de Ugarte (PER)
22nd Place: Leif Anderson (USA)
23rd Place: Casper van Kalmthout (NLD)
24th Place: Louis-Philippe Rivest (CAN)
25th Place: Ian Vogel (CAN)

Womens:
1st Place: Martina Wegman (NLD)
2nd Place(tie): Adriene Levknecht (USA) // Mariann Saether (NOR)
4th Place: Sandra Hyslop (GBR)
5th Place: Nicole Mansfield (USA)
6th Place: Lu Urwin (NZL)
7th Place: Hannah Kertesz (USA)

WHITEWATER GRAND PRIX: STAGE 2: BOATER-X: VIDEO/RESULTS

Well just finished but the stage 2 event: Big Water Boater-X. It was an awesome event and a great day with perfect weather, awesome levels and big rapids. The course was set up on the Rouge river with a long set of standing waves and a bit of craziness at the bottom just to keep it interesting. The crux was ‘The Gauntlet’ which was a roll of the dice whether the waves would crash on you and destroy you of the rapid would let you pass with ease.

We started off with a Time trial to seed everyone in the heats, followed by quarter finals heat of 7 and 4 advance, and then a semi finals heat of 8 5 advance, and a super finals of 10.

I did pretty well in the Time Trial and finished in 7th place, and then 2nd in Quarter Finals heat, and 2nd in my Semi Finals heat. Though Finals was a whole other story. It started off with just a mass start of 10 paddlers and I was able to stay in the top 5 off the word Go. It was an all out sprint through some big waves and a couple crashing holes until the start of the ‘The Gauntlet’ which I chose to head far left to avoid the big breakers which paid off and I was able to pull ahead into first place. The final crasher was all that was left and I knew I was having a great line. I punched though the first part no problem though the next wave jacked up and launched me into a backloop. I rolled up to find myself amongst everyone else and still near the front of the race. Though as were we coming over the hole I was the outside man and couldn’t make it in to make the eddy and flushed down stream. That concreted 10th place for me.

Here are the full results and video of the Semi Finals.

Men’s Results:
1st Place: Marcos Gallegos (CHL)
2nd Place: Joel Kowalski (CAN)
3rd Place: Dane Jackson (USA)
4th Place: Rush Sturges (USA)
5th Place: Bryan Kirk (USA)
6th Place: Tino Specht (USA)
7th Place: Evan Garcia (USA)
8th Place: Bren Orton (GBR)
9th Place: Tyler Fox (CAN)
10th Place: Nick Troutman (CAN)
11th Place: Jules Domine (FRA)
12th Place: Kalob Grady
13th Place: Aniol Serrasolses (ESP)
14th Place: Leif Anderson (USA)
15th Place: Sam Ward (GBR)
16th Place: Gerd Serrasolses (ESP)
17th Place: Lane Jacobs (USA)
18th Place: Galen Volckhausen (USA)
19th Place: Louis-Phillipe Rivest (CAN)
20th Place: Devyn Scott (CAN) [dnf
21st Place: Juanito de Ugarte (PER)
22nd Place: Casper van Kalmthout (NLD)
23rd Place: Tyler Curtis (CAN)
24th Place: Chris Gragtmans (CAN)
25th Place: Ian Vogel (CAN)
26th Place: Mathieu Dumoulin (FRA)
27th Place (tie): Ben Marr (DNS)
Eric Jackson (DNS)

Women’s Results:
1st Place: Martina Wegman (NLD)
2nd Place: Sandra Hyslop (GBR)
3rd Place: Mariann Saether (NOR)
4th Place: Nicole Mansfield (USA)
5th Place: Lu Urwin (NZL)
6th Place: Hannah Kertesz (USA)
7th Place: Adriene Levknecht (USA)

Winning Stage 1 of the WWGP

Well the Whitewater Grand Prix has begun. The first stage, the Best Trick Competition, took place on the infamous Gladiator wave on the Ottawa River. The format was two groups of 14 men each got 2 hours to do as many rides and tricks as they could and the single best trick would win. It was an amazing day of good whitewater, some fun tricks, and beautiful sunshine. It was a tight competition and 1st and 2nd were only decided by a couple votes difference, though after all was said and done I was able to pull after of the mighty Dane Jackson and take the 1st place seat.

WHITEWATER GRAND PRIX- STAGE 1 ‘BIG TRICK’ GLADIATOR

The first Stage of the Grand Prix finished up with the Big Trick Competition on Gladiator yesterday. We were lucky enough to start the whole Gran Prix off with a bang: Big Water, Sunny Sky, and some huge tricks. Here is a little GoPro Teaser, stay tuned for the Stage 1 Edit:

WHITEWATER GRAND PRIX- TRAINING VIDEO

5 more days until the Whitewater Grand Prix begins. Top athletes from all over the world are beginning to flock to Eastern Canada to compete at the six stage event being held over the next two weeks. With high water on the rise and a huge pool of skills I’m sure it will be a spectacular to watch. Stay tuned for the event videos and competition content. Here is a training video as we get ready for the event to start.

Nick

WHITE NILE, AFRICA: 1 PART ROCKSTAR, 1 PART GOPRO AND A PINCH OF DJI: VIDEO

The Hairy Lemon on the White Nile was yet again our choice for a couple week stay this winter,’specifically for training purposes’, the hot weather, warm water, big waves and fun river run, well that is just a coincidence. This is training. We all had an epic time as usual, and clearly it is the reason we all keep coming back. Though this year we did have a couple new little toys to play with: 1. The 2014 Rockstar, 2. the DJI Phantom quadcopter, and 3. the GoPro Hero 3+ camera. The three of these means a lot of fun, and some cool footage, check it out.

CHINA KAYAK TRIP: VIDEO

China was an eye opening experience for me for sure. It wasn’t exactly what I thought, and it isn’t the Communist atmosphere  I expected. Though it was a lot of fun and people were extremely happy to see us and so excited to show us around their rivers. The whitewater is easy access and tons of it, with hundreds of kilometers of roadside access, big water and pool drop rapids it gives up huge wave potential, and I personally can’t wait to go back. The only down side is there is lots of travel to get there, though it isn’t much of a downside if you love to travel.

Here is a little video from our trip.

6TH ANNUAL ALSESECA RACE- VIDEO RECAP

The Alseseca is a river close to my heart ever since I was able to be part of the First full descent 8 years ago. The river is littered with amazing whitewater and many different day sections available. Though every year since 2008 there has been a race held on the ‘Roadside section’. This section has been run for many years, well before the entire river had been stitched together of different first descents. The Roadside section also makes for a great race course with easy access and perfectly clean drops and rapids.

This was my second year racing and I couldn’t wait to get back in race mode. With perfect weather and high water is made for an exciting race and fast times. The Karma made for a perfect boat, flying out of all the little boofs and drops. Though, EJ and myself had a couple little mistakes though lots of clean lines as well, though we left the door open for Dane to take home first with fast runs the entire day.

Check out a little video from the 2014 race and the full results.