Arriving Together; an Introspective on the Airscrew

 Natalie reminisces over Stakeout, 2023 Freestyle Worlds, and the progression of the airscrew in the sport of freestyle kayaking. This post was cross posted with one published on the Kokatat team Blog.

In May 2023, I travelled to Quebec for Stakeout and arrived just in time to hit Molly for some prime flows and witness the first fully rotated double airscrew by Luke Pomeroy, which is two full aerial rotations before landing. He spent the evening hours try after try, and just as the light was beginning to dim, a huge cheer went up. Two days later, on Cheese Wave, Dane Jackson was the first to throw a double airscrew and stick it, a trick he had been trying since 2013. Dane commented to me afterwards “Seeing Luke get the closest one we have ever seen with such wild rotation got me more fired up to go and land it.”  It felt historical and special to witness both Luke and then Dane be the firsts to land something I would never have imagined was possible within a couple of days of each other. Other ridiculous tricks included combos such as airscrew-airscrew-clean blunt-pistol flip and airscrew to airscrew in the reverse direction. 

Caption: Dane Jackson, truly an inspiration for all. Cheese Wave, Mistassibi River, QC Canada. Photo by Leif Anderson.

While the men were showcasing a new elevated baseline from which others in the sport can now aspire to, the women were doing the same. I can safely say that after this stakeout season, the hull to hull airscrew is no longer the holy grail for women, but a common occurrence. The airscrew is an immensely gratifying, beautiful and difficult trick and I have always wanted to throw one as large and impressive as the men, not just sporadically, but on command. Even though I've almost had this trick for over a decade (here is a promo video from 2012 where I was pretty damn close), In the last few years, I have felt a competitive push to focus on this trick to be able to perform it more consistently because I knew other women were working on this too. Just like how Dane and Luke arrived together with the double airscrew, I feel like we women have arrived together landing the hull to hull airscrew on command.

And so, for me, stakeout felt like the closing of a long circle and the start of a new one. I am no longer working alone alongside the men, but there are other women, pushing their skills with me in a competitive yet positive way, where we are inspired by each other. I feel a new energy to keep working, keep striving and keep playing, buoyed up by the rising power of my younger ‘sisters’. The days where women doubt whether they can do this trick are over and I feel honored to have been a small part of that progression. I also feel inspired by the men and the new heights of possibility and finesse that they are demonstrating are possible.

Me, Natalie Anderson, throwing an airscrew on Cheese Wave. Photographer, Leif Anderson.

Ottilie Robinson-Shaw on Cheese Wave, Mistassibi River, QC, Canada. Photo by Leif Anderson

Cation: Heidi Walsh with an airscrew on Molly Wave Mistassibi, QC. Photo by Leif Anderson.

Caption: Darby McAdams with a massive pan am on Cheese Wave, Mistassibi River, QC, Canada. Photo by Leif Anderson.

Darby McAdams summed up stakeout 2023 perfectly in her statement “What a great stakeout, there were new waves and new tricks for myself, and new tricks for the sport. It was special to be there for it.” I was only there for ten days, but during that time there was a convergence of healthy competition and that felt relaxed and yet invigorating. Everyone was focused on improving themselves without one-upmanship.

What greater joy is there than being able to celebrate one another? Sometimes it isn’t about being first, but a convergence in a moment in time when we are able to arrive at an achievement together.

After stakeout and over the course of the summer, I had the pleasure of watching the progression of many younger women in the sport really go after and get that airscrew; see 2023 summer edits from: Ottilie Robinson-Shaw, Heidi Walsh, Leah Hough, Sophie Gilfan, Abby Holcombe.

In October 2023, the efforts of summer training were showcased during Worlds on Good Wave, Columbus, Georgia, USA,  when both Ottilie-Robinson Shaw and Hitomi Takaku scored airscrews in every round during competition and impressed head judge Shep with how well they executed their moves. Several other women were close, even if they didn’t receive full scores and the replays are very fun to watch (the semis for the Women start at 16 min and finals start at 2hr 14min). 

Caption: I also just had to put up this beautiful photo of the photographer himself, Leif Anderson, on Cheese Wave, Mistassibi River, QC, Canada.  I am always inspired by my husband’s steady focus on improvement through the years. Photo by Darby McAdams.