8am the next day and students are shuffling along, hats and sunglasses on, many utilising the bacon stand for a strong cup of black coffee. Kayakers are out on the water, proving that the kayaker can both party and paddle.Talking to Harry and Tom, two of the Rodeo bosses, I ask them what their highs and lows of the event have been: ‘Seeing it all come together is really nice,’ they tell me: ‘We’ve been planning for a year,
meeting every other week, so it will be weird to start Uni work again! Saturday night went really well and we enjoyed the party last night.There’s been a lot of nakedness, and Rodeo rabbit keeps being destroyed – that’s always a highlight.The weather’s been great for a change and there have been some awesome duo crunches out on the water! River Legacy put on a great party – we enjoyed it and we can see everyone else enjoyed it too, so thanks to them!’
It seems this event has been an all-round success. Everyone I speak to has only good things to say; from drunken antics to kayaking wins and fails. Spirits are still high by Sunday evening at the prize-giving NSR is ultimately a kayaking event showcasing great talent on the water, the partying and teamspirit of the event was, it seems, the highlight for most people I spoke to. River Legacy put on a great party both nights of the weekend, and the DJ kept the party going all day at the rapids, with everyone being just as energetic about kayaking and supporting as they were about raving and dancing at night. As predicted, Birmingham Uni win the team spirit of PGL award, presented by PGL, sponsors of NSR: ‘It’s not about how good at paddling you are, it’s how much you put into paddling and have fun’, which, I think it’s fair to say, summed up the entire weekend.
Birmingham Uni
s: Sarah W to
Ph o
all
The Saturday night party has to be the highlight of the week. It kicks off around 7pm when near enough a thousand students cram into the marquees for (the most amazing) pies, mash and mushy peas, served with smiles by the ever-cheerful River Legacy volunteers and kitchen team. The drinking starts slowly, pints at the bars going down nicely and people start disappearing off to their tents and returning in their circus fancy dress. Many of the outfits don’t stay complete for long as I discover a couple of hours later, and in a full marquee you’d never know you were in the middle of a field in March, more like a club in Zante. People are dancing, topless, on each other’s shoulders jumping and singing as the DJ plays music, which is probably great but nobody really cares by this point…
es of being again and again et their hands top of me in a bundle last year ended up
eaking ribs!”
ThePaddler 39