« Performance comes with fun ! »

I practice kayak since I’m 6. More than just a sport, kayaking has become over the years a real passion and an art of living! So I naturally wanted to share this with the youth of my club.

The idea was already going through my mind for several months... some youth seemed to be lost in the  rigor and the discipline imposed by slalom…they were demotivated and had lost their self-confidence. Foremost, sport is a game which has to bring fun and fulfillment!

So, I created a freestyle section in my club. I had to impose this idea since freestyle kayak isn’t a discipline very extended and recognized in France. The main goal was to teach the basics of freestyle while having fun : slides, Eskimo rolls, front points, balance ... freestyle is playful and fun, isn’t it ?

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At first, we were five in this adventure : my boyfriend (Luc Goujon), a friend, member of the Team France (Amélie Bruet), me and two fresh 15 years-old members; so we had plenty of time to teach! When they were confident enough, we took them to competitions, where they discovered the freestyle atmosphere! Warmth, mutual aid, the pleasure of being all together on the water ...

Two years later, we are 14! And I'm proud to say that 7 of them are girls! The results are already there with five medals at the 2011 freestyle championships in France.

I’m hoping that the Voray freestyle section will keep on running on the wave of success for many many years...