Now in it’s 4th year, GalwayFest has become THE annual event on the freestyle/white-water calendar.
The event is run over a single weekend and features white-water racing and boatercross on the Boluisce River in Spiddal on Saturday with a freestyle event on the Clare River in Tuam on Sunday.
Part of what makes the event such a success is the guaranteed water release on the Boluisce River which takes a lot of the guesswork out of the planning.
Competition is fierce and paddlers from all over the country travel to compete to try and break the course record (5.36)set by organiser and local boy Barry Loughnane.
The whole event is put together by Barry and Andrew Regan and a host of local volunteers.
This year they introduced live online timing with the simple use of a google doc. This worked really well and resulted in someone in Dublin being able to tell me my race time before I had a chance to find out myself!
Sunday morning dawned with rare sunshine and perfect water levels for the hole in Tuam.
Competitors were able to throw some big moves to wow both the crowds and the judges.
In the end, the results from both the Saturdays racing and Sundays freestyle were combined to give the overall results below.
Mens Expert
1. Barry Loughnane
2. Aran Kilroy
3. Andrew Regan
4. Shane Little
5. Eoin Keyes
Women’s Expert
1. Niamh Cleary
2. Roisin Millard
3. Aisling Ffrench
4. Aisling Brenan
Mens Junior
1. Robert Kierans
2. Jack Ledwith
3. Alex McGourty
4. Alfie Cavaliero
Mens Sport
1. Ronan Stapleton
2. Eoin Howard
3. Marcin Staszek
4. Conor G
Women’s Sport
Lydia Gault
Masters Class
David Glasswell
Team Race Winners:
Cian Mc Nally Aran Kilroy Eoin Keyes Neil Slevin