Esme Durrant celebrates a successful Canoe Slalom season with Tracsis’ support
12 December 17
Esme Durrant is a junior athlete who is currently sponsored by Tracsis/MPEC Technology to compete in Canoe Slalom, an Olympic sport for both men and women who race in different categories. These categories are C1 – Canoe, K1 – Kayak single and C2 – Canoe Double.
Last year, Tracsis’ support allowed Esme to acquire a brand-new Canoe, one of the top models well known around the world. The boat’s modern and slick design allows Esme to move faster and turn more quickly in the water, improving her performance massively.
The 2017 Racing Season
Esme started this year’s season in the top Premier Division being ranked number 22 nationally in Women’s Kayak. By the end of the season, she had moved up 7 positions and is now ranked amongst the top 15 female competitors in the country, which includes both Senior and Junior athletes.
In the Women’s Canoe C1 classification, Esme started the season ranked number 15 and has now moved up 4 positions to number 11 in the top Premier Division for Women’s Canoe.
After completing a great season, she is looking forward to taking on her final season next year as a junior (J18) and start a hard winters training.
Qualification for Senior Selection in both Kayak & Canoe
Esme’s ranking positions at the end of the 2017 season also means she has qualified to race at the 2018 Senior Selection Series. This event will be held at Lee Valley during Easter 2018 alongside the racing to make the junior team.
English J18 Women’s Champion
Esme’s best result in the 2017 season was at her home course at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham. She made it through to the Kayak finals and finished 5th overall. She was also the top English J18 female, becoming the English J18 Women’s Champion.
Pan Celtic Cup Team
As an English team member in the Pan Celtic Cup, Esme also helped England to become the Champion in the Pan Celtic Cup competition.
European Competition & Training
During the summer, Esme’s squad took the opportunity to travel to the Czech Republic and Poland. She trained for a few days on the Krakow Slalom Course in Poland before taking part in the European Canoe Association races, finishing 3rd in her Tracsis sponsored Canoe with points being awarded from each individual racing run. The squad then moved to the Czech Republic on the Ceske Canoe Slalom course where they did a further 5 days training. Esme finished 2nd in the Canoe class by the end of that racing weekend. This was a great paddling opportunity as it allowed her to train and race on new, different water and race against foreign paddlers.
Tracsis continued support has allowed Esme to continue on her Canoeing journey and has enabled her to train and race with the best equipment available. This has allowed Esme to perform at her very best and achieve some excellent positions and results throughout the year.
Good Luck for the 2018 season Esme!