Organisation
Despite the highly demanding nature of organising events such as this, the National Student Rodeo has always (and always will) be organised and run by a group of willing and enthusiastic volunteers. The 'Rodeo Bosses' are responsible for not only booking the venue and getting universities to turn up, but also arranging camping, finding sponsors, promoting the event and organising the myriad other jobs necessary. Event safety, first aid, judging, commentary, bar staffing and general 'gophering' are all dealt with by happy, enthusiastic members of LUUCC, River Legacy and other volunteers. The focus of the competition has always been on the "fun" aspect of the sport, in order to encourage participation from novice paddlers. This is mirrored in the prize-giving ceremonies, where the best prizes are saved for the novice and intermediate categories. However this is not to say that competition in the expert finals is not fierce. Many of the UK's best freestyle paddlers have competed at the event, former and current GB Freestyle Team members, loads of sponsored team paddlers and even more up-and-coming talent. The now legendary NSR parties were thoroughly compered and DJ'd to death by the Extreme Events crew, with waffle, banter, gibberish and occasionally the odd bit of useful information from DJ's Al, Shifty, Disco Dave and Tea Boy Tom. Extreme Events retired from the Rodeo in 2016 after a decade of brilliance. The 'National Student Rodeo' name harks back to the olden days of kayaking, when freestyle was referred to as 'rodeo'. Although a renaming was briefly considered in 2004, 'The Rodeo' has stayed true to its roots.Format
The core events for the competition are as follows: *Extreme Slalom - All competitors for K1 and C1 (Men's and Women's) enter this event to be seeded for the heats. *Men's Novice K1 *Men's Intermediate K1 *Men's Expert K1 *Women's Novice K1 *Women's Intermediate K1 *Women's Expert K1 *C1 *Squirt *Topo Duo *Open event A "King of the Wave" invitational event was held in 2006 but this has not been continued - Jon Fuller remains the official NSR King of the Wave. NSR MMX (2010) saw the introduction of 2 new events: 'Old Skool' replaced the traditional Open event and saw competitors hotdog it out in boats and kit pre-2000 with Dave Burne of York coming out on top. There was also in the introduction of the "Kukri Sofa Cross" which saw 80 competitors race down the course at Holme Pierrepont on inflatable sofas.Sponsorship
Long-term sponsors of the NSR includMedia
Due to its growing size and reputation, the media presence surrounding the event has also evolved. For example, in 2007 the event was trailed online with several humorous videos which can be founHistory
1999 - ?? 1998 - ?? 1997 - Arran Stephenson and Rachel Sutton 1996 - Arran Stephenson and Paul ShellySee also
*External links
* * * Holme Pierrepont (HPP) National Water Sports Centre