Welcome back to my second article about the 2025 Palm and Pyranha Park Jam events. If you haven’t already read my first article about Park Jam – you can find it here. This article will be covering the second weekend of Park Jam at Tees Barrage and Cardiff white water centres. Enjoy!
Tees Barrage
After a week of getting random messages in the team group chat about get off locations, what people wanted for dinner that night and oddly frequent voice notes of Zack making mole noises, it was time to be reunited with everyone for the second weekend of Park Jam!
At 6am we collected Oli from his house and headed up north to the Tees Barrage. It was lovely to see everyone again and hear all about their Scottish adventures whilst setting up for the next Park Jam.
The Tees Barrage was absolutely booked out and there were so many people out paddling – lots of familiar as well as new ones. It was great to see George B and his dad Scott again who had come to all 3 Park Jams last weekend.
Once we were geared up, we got on and I bumped into a bunch of the older teenagers who I would describe as the mischief makers – in the most positive way possible. Dan, Jamie, Sam, Toby, Ewan as well as a few I’m sure I’ve missed. A really lovely group of boys who love to push themselves in their kayaking and just have fun. I told them I was looking forward to seeing what antics they got up to today.
They did not disappoint. Whenever I saw this group, they were having the best time, doing tomahawks off the side, backflips off the wall, all sorts of kayaking and just generally having an absolute blast.
There were many other teenagers there as well – Ted, Jacob, James, Patrick, Zach and more. They were also having lots of fun and it was great to see them really enjoying themselves – so much talent in paddlers so young!
Jacob’s little sister Abi went for a couple of laps with Zack in the duo. My favourite moment of this was when they were getting back in, Abi was at the front and Zack let go of the duo and it floated off. Abi happily started paddling it back herself, only for many of the team paddlers who were there to start yelling ‘No! Make him swim to you!’ about Zack. Abi being a kind hearted soul did paddle her way back to Zack however, much to Zack’s relief.
With the kids all happily paddling with each other, they left behind their parents on the water who were now without their usual paddling buddy. One such parent happened to be Scott who I accompanied down for some laps. I asked Scott what his goals were for the day and he said getting to the bottom upright so that’s what we worked on! Scott smashed some laps out with me and was really pleased.
George wanted to swap kayaks with Scott so Scott reluctantly handed his ReactR over in exchange for George’s Firecracker. I challenged Scott to try some laps in that and he agreed which was great fun. It took us a few attempts but Scott did smash a whole lap from top to bottom upright in the Firecracker and was thrilled with himself. Proud of you Scott!
I met quite a few happy paddlers in eddies over these laps and wanted to give a special shout out to Jamie and his friends who said they read this blog, as well as to Stuart who was celebrating his 60th birthday by coming to Park Jam!
The kids meanwhile were happily getting thrown off a wall in their kayaks by team members, although none quite as spectacularly as little Jacob! He seemed to relish in it! Much more so than his poor mother who watched with a mix of awe and horror from the sides. He smashed it though, look at his happy face below!
A particular favourite moment of mine was watching Palm Grom Maite Luz being unsure about how to tomahawk off the wall. She kept lifting up but not committing. Her caring mentor Heidi came to support and the next time Maite lifted up, Heidi gave her a supportive kick and into the water she went! It was a spectacular moment to witness and enjoyed by all! Don’t worry, Maite smashed it, and Heidi’s supportive ‘nudge’ proved to be effective!
Tees barrage actually has two courses – a short course and a long course. The short course was opened up for the first time in 6 years! Short and steep with one chunkier feature to end on, it caused a lot of entertainment. It only ran for 30 minutes but everyone had a blast. My favourite moment was watching Ewan and Jamie hand paddle the duo down. It ended with them being firmly launched out of the duo by the bottom hole but gosh was that swim a good crowd pleaser! Well done boys!
After paddling, there were talks from both Kalob and Adrian Mattern which were well received as well as prize giving and poster signing. As we were driving to Cardiff that evening, we were aiming to be on the road by 4pm which meant an efficient pack down was needed. Somehow, we managed it and 5 hours later we were in Cardiff!
Our car stayed with Oli’s parents for the night who are literally the coolest people I’ve ever met. Big shout out to Alison and Ian Cooper who not only let us crash at their house but also welcomed us with a roast dinner on arrival. You guys are amazing!
Cardiff
We woke up to Oli cooking us all breakfast – thanks Oli! After a quick good bye and Ian showing Tom his kayak sheds, we headed off to Cardiff for the final day of Park Jam!
We arrived at 8am and got to work on the set up. Once the flags were up and the van unloaded, it was time for the Flow Rider. We had a team Flow Rider session before Park Jam started and honestly it was SO MUCH FUN! I’ve never done it before and consequently had many wipe outs but gosh did I have fun doing it! Meanwhile Oli and Janice were showing us all their moves!
Afterwards, I went to change into kayaking gear and bumped into lots of friends and familiar faces along the way which was lovely. It was 10am and the course was filling up. If you’ve not been to Cardiff before, they gradually ramp up the course throughout the day, starting at 4 cumecs, then 6, then 8. It’s really quite neat and means that there is something for everyone.
Lisette who is a local Cardiff paddler, found me and asked if I would take some of their younger paddlers down the course. Lisette introduced to Ioan, Emily, Rowan and Tom. I was delighted to join them and grabbed team paddlers Oli and Heidi along the way.
We got on for the first lap and there were a few nerves. Nobody wanted to surf and that was okay! A few laps later however and the nerves were beginning to disappear. We were now paddling laps where we caught every eddy and surfed every feature which was awesome!
We paused at the pontoon to join a group in doing loops / splats off the pontoon. I always enjoy launching children off pontoons so got right to joining Zack in throwing kids. The media team appeared on a raft and insisted I too get in my kayak and get launched and so I did… into a perfect splat! Hopefully that gave them a giggle!
The course was now at 6 and so we smashed some more laps and surfing. We ended the morning on the bottom wave practising our surfing. Emily was utterly fearless in every attempt that she went for, Tom had an incredible roll and I was so proud of Ioan for throwing himself into it. Ioan had had a swim on 8 earlier in the week and so was a little nervous but he was facing that fear head on and giving everything a go! Go Ioan!
John Haines came to take some photos and told me to ‘get the kids to Brown Claw’. None of the kids knew what a Brown Claw was (which made me and John question if we were getting old) and so I proceeded to teach them and teach them how to Brown Claw whilst surfing. It was great fun!
Meanwhile little Rory who is only 8 years old was smashing out laps with Oli. Every time they came past us, Rory was grinning from ear to ear and we’d all give him a big cheer. His dad Mike was following closely behind each time and I didn’t want him to feel left out so gave him a big cheer as well which he seemed to appreciate!
We stopped for lunch and the kids did not want to get off! At Cardiff, they stop the course at lunch time before releasing it at 8 so that they can do some course changes. With it being quite a long day on the water, it is a good opportunity to force everyone to take a break and recharge before the afternoon. If you know many kids, you know that their energy is endless and Ioan came to find me 3 times over the lunch period to ask if we could get back on for some more surfing! I promised we would get back on as soon as the lunch break was over / the course was releasing!
A family I’d met at the Nene the previous weekend had come to Cardiff today. The kids George and Isabel were keen for kayaking but didn’t have a huge amount of white water experience. I asked if they would like to come down in the duo and Isabel was very keen on the idea! Once again I asked our best duo driver, Oli, if he would come down and off they went. They smashed their laps and every time Isabel had the biggest smile!
The afternoon was full of fun. Every time I went down for a lap with someone, we were passing all sorts of fun things. There was surfing, there was wall splatting, there were games of ‘touch the wall’ and everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time. It was great to see Palm Grom Riley Wilford again who was smashing his kayaking, as well as Eva who I’d spent quite a bit of time with this Summer.
HPP locals George and McKenzie were enjoying paddling together as well Gregory and his mum who were smashing their surfs. My favourite moment however was Scott Barber coming down in a duo with Oli – in his passenger princess era! It was great to see and I know his son George really enjoyed watching his dad smash some laps. I ended the day practising some eddy crossing at the bottom with Isabel and by the time we were done, we were both very ready to get off!
I quickly got changed and was ready just in time to do the final introductions for the talks. Aaron gave the first talk and Zack gave the final talk of Park Jam 2025.
Photos and poster signing happened afterwards as well as the opportunity just to chat to people which was lovely. Kalob suggested we give a special shout out and prize to George B as he had attended every Park Jam event over the two weeks. All of the team had signed the shirt and it was a very special moment.
If you would like a Park Jam t-shirt, you can purchase one here. All profits are going towards supporting future Park Jams and also the Whitewater Paddlers Memorial Trust.
Eventually we did finish the pack down and ended up accumulating in the car park. The lovely Simon Morse was there and giving out beers and heroes to everyone. If you don’t know Morsey – he is one of UK kayaking’s nicest folks. He always gives more than he takes and is super considerate. Everyone was very thankful to him for bringing the beers and helping us to end the weekend in style.
After an incredible but very busy two weeks, it was a really lovely way to end Park Jam. Aaron suggested a group photo (excellent idea Aaron!) and then we had an hour of chatting and celebrating in a carpark with the whole crew. It was nice to hear about everybody’s highlights from the last two weeks as well as their future plans.
Thank you Cardiff for a great day and a perfect end to the Park Jam weekends.
Thank you + shouts outs
to pyranha kayaks & palm equipment
Massive thank you to Pyranha Kayaks and Palm Equipment for making Park Jam happen and to Janice, Chips, Cheesy and Mat for their tireless work organising everything.
to the white water centers
Huge shoutout to the teams at all of the white water centres that facilitated the Park Jam events. Your support makes all the difference.
to the team behind the scenes
Behind the scenes, it was a real dream team of people making the Park Jam a success. There were no egos, just great attitudes, hard work, plenty of passion and a little bit of playful banter.
A special thanks to the media team who made sure that there were plenty of photos and videos to capture the memories. You can find all media here.
Events like this only happen through people working together. Thank you dream team for everything you did and for letting me be a part of that team. ❤️
to everyone who attended park jam
Finally thank you to all the paddlers and supporters who attended any of the Park Jam events. Each event had its own special atmosphere and community of paddlers which was incredible to see.
Final comments
Park Jam was Bren’s dream – to bring together young paddlers on the water and help them to grow. Park Jam isn’t just about showcasing incredible talent but about building confidence and inspiring passion in young people. It is about bringing our community together and celebrating everything that makes this sport so special. For every wave surfed, wall splatted, loop attempted and smile shared – Bren’s legacy was being carried on and that is something special.
Thank you to every paddler, supporter, and organiser who made the Palm and Pyranha Park Jam 2025 so special. See you all next year!
One reply on “Little Kayaks, Big Dreams: Inside Park Jam 2025 – Part 2”
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