Kelsey Thompson's Blog (39)

With paddling season over for most, at least those of us who live in colder winter climates like myself, I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on the my first few days back in my boat during spring 2012.

Paddling the Recon on the Green (Photo Bryan…

The first episode of Balance is online! I'm super excited to finally be releasing this series and am stoked to be starting things off with this episode featuring Blair Trotman kayaking in Interior BC and joining the military... yup joining the military. It's only suiting since Blair aka "Sarge" is paddling the new Recon throughout this video!

Check it out!

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Things are really starting to pick up in the editing room for my Balance web series. Today marked the launch of the official trailer, check it out!

Lots of good Recon shots in there and plenty more to come with the launch of the first episode on October 15! For more info on the shooting of the kayaking…

In case you missed it check out the promo video for Wave Sports new creek boat the Recon. This boat's been seeing lots of action in BC lately and is preforming like a champ!

Happy Paddling!

Kelsey Thompson

I've been hard at work recently on my latest video project, a web series that focus' on people who use adventure sport as a form of work life balance. The series, which is called Balance, will focus on whitewater kayaking, mountain biking, and backcountry snowboarding. I recently launched a website for the series, check it out for more info: www.balancetv.net/index.php

Huge thanks to Wave Sport…

The secret is out and the rumours are true, Wave Sport is going to be releasing a new creek boat in the near future! About a month ago I had the pleasure of paddling a prototype version in the south east for ten days, all I have to say is you're in for a treat, this boat is awesome! After a winter of skiing in Canada I was hesitant to jump right into class 5 but felt at home in the new design!

If you haven't seen it yet check out the quick teaser video I put together from my…

Today marks one year since the official release of my first kayaking movie Locals Only. It's been a good year since then with lots of time spent touring the movie and learning more about filmmaking.

As I was finishing filming Locals Only I had a chance to sit down with Spencer Cooke and talk to him about the process and some of the characters that I had been shooting with. Spencer has recently released that interview, check it out!

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The Back Deck Roll is one of the fastest rolls a kayaker can preform. It requires little to no set up and finishes in an aggressive forward position ready for your next stroke. Before learning the “Dry” Back Deck Roll I recommend you learn how to do the motions of the roll without keeping your head out of the water. Although this is a cool move and will likely impress your friends 99% of the time you won't be able to keep your head dry during an unplanned flip.…

The Flatwater Loop is a complete front flip done in flatwater.

The first thing you need to do is get into a stable bow stall. If you can’t bow stall yet you’ll need to learn this first! You can either double pump into a bow stall or do a bow plough.

Once in a…

The Flatwater Cartwheel is a move where the paddler links vertical bow and stern ends resembling the spinning of a wheel. Perfecting this move is a great achievement and prepares you for cartwheeling in holes.…

The Stern Stall is a move where the paddler balances their kayak vertically on its stern end. Most paddlers find this move more difficult to learn than the bow stall but the concept is the same.

Just like the bow stall you need to be able to get your boat vertical only this time on the stern. There are two ways of doing this: you can stern squirt into a stern stall or you can use a reverse double pump. Although maybe not the easier of the two, using…

The bow stall is an advanced playboating move that involves balancing vertically on the bow of your kayak in flat water. This move requires amazing control and will take lots of practice to master. Mastering the bow stall will improve your vertical moves and help you better understand the balance points of your kayak.

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The Double Pump is a drill that involves bobbing in flatwater, alternating from your bow to your stern. By pulling the stern of your kayak underwater you create more energy to force your bow underwater when your stern resurfaces. This is an important skill to master as it is a major step towards any of the advanced freestyle moves that involve getting your boat vertical. 

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Making the intro to Locals Only was one of the funner parts of putting this movie together. Rather than going with a cliche intro that involved mountain time lapse's, water droplets moving in slow motion and athletes sporting gang signs I wanted to do something a little different. Enter Bryan Kirk and his favourite little kayak.

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I'm pleased to announce that my upcoming movie Locals Only is now available for pre-order through Rapid Transit Video. Pre-orders will close on April 15^th and everyone who purchase's a copy before that time will be entered into a draw for a free Wave Sport boat of choice including the all new Project X! The winner will then be announced on April 25^th. Huge thanks to Wave Sport for there support with this project and offering a boat for this draw!

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I don't think it's a secret that everyone on the Wave Sport team is really excited about the new Project X. It's super loose, releases off of the water with ease, loops huge and is surprisingly stable and smooth on end. For a boat that is only 5'11" long I was shocked at how well it cartwheeled, much easier than any other short boat I've paddled. Even though it has more volume than the Project 52 it's easier to initiate cartwheels because of the slicy side wall and more retentive because of…

The Official Trailer for my upcoming movie Locals Only is online! Huge thanks to Wave Sport for coming on board as one of the main sponsors for the video which will be released Spring 2011. 

Happy Holidays!

Kelsey…