Thomas Bedford
Kayak History
I first learned to kayak with my dad on camping trips at the tender age of 3. It was just flat water for many years but by the time I was 10 I hade a keen interest in learning more.
I hade been enrolled into a kayaking squad at school at the age of 10. The school introduced me into white water slalom kayaking and then progressed in the down river white water kayaking. Witch the school we would train 3 times a week on paddling skills and compete in local competitions all most every month. My skills progressed fast and I gained a strong interest in white water kayaking.
I was first selected in to the state white water kayaking team in 2002 (my state being New South Wales) and have been selected for the state team every year since.
My first National championships for white water kayaking were in 2002, when I was 13 years of age. I remember competing in many different events of slalom and downriver and coming away with a few bronze medals. From that point I took it upon my self to learn more about white whiter kayaking. I attended nationals for white water kayaking from 2002 through to 2011, achieving a rank of number 1 in 2004 and held on to it up until 2010.
In 2003 and 2004 I was selected for the junior Australian team to travel to New Zealand and compete in the NZ nationals as an invitation country. The New Zealanders were strong competitors but I still managed win some races. In 2005 the sport got a lot more serious for me when I was selected in the Australian team to compete at the world cup in Italy. The water was big, but manageable and the competition was fierce. I managed to gain a 26th place out of 100 competing. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 I went to NZ again, but this time as a coach of the Australian junior team. During these trips to NZ and to Italy, Austria, Germany and Switzerland we often had free time after the races to explore and to paddle some big and fun white water rivers (like the Inn of Austria and the Kaituna of New Zealand). I gained a lot of big water experience from these trips which translated into better white water paddling later on.
While I was still at school I was also part of a life saving club which trained me in a number of flat water and white water life saving techniques. I gained my First aid certificate and CPR through this club, as well as a white water coaching certificate.
In 2005 I had finished school and got my provisional drivers license. My interests in white water was still strong but had changed from strictly competition to Creeking, play boating and competition. After rain I would call around to see who was up for a paddling tripdown the Nymboida or surrounding river and creeks.At first we would start on the lower down rivers with rapids ranging from grade 2-3, but as the group and I progressed with our skill and confidence we moved up to the higher creeks with bigger drops and harder rapids which would have a grade 4 as a standard hardness with some grade 3 interspersed in between and the occasional grade 5 to navigate. As we progressed in into harder creeks and rivers I became more aware of the dangers of the river and how to spot and avoid them. But that was not just enough for me, I had an interest in swift water rescue and proceeded to learn rescue techniques for many river situations, from a foot entrapment to a pined kayaker. On my kayaking trips I would always take 2 throw ropes, a whistle, a pin kit (consisting of 4 carabineers, 2 prussic loops, a pulley and a flip line) which could be used to set up a Z drag if needed. I would also bring a river knife and an emergency first aid kit which would also contain equipment for lighting fires, for if we were ever stuck out on the river over night. I would also wear a rescue PFD and a cow tether, for a swimming rescue if needed.
I moved from Armidale NSW down to Coffs Harbour NSW in 2007 with my partner. I gained employment later that year as a raft guide on the Nymboida River with a company called Liquid Assets Adventure Tours. Liquid Assets would take trips from 2 rafts up to 10 rafts on the river at a time and they would do 1 to 4 day trips. The most popular trip was the single day trip which ran 10 km of the upper Nymboida consisting of many rapids ranging from grade 3 to 5. This would take a trip of 4 rafts about 5 hours to complete safely. Liquid Assets had a number of senior guides that where very strict on safety. Every couple of months the company would go out on bigger water with all the guides and we would have training days and rescue situations to practice. Early in 2010 one of the senior guides from Liquid Assets formed another company called NRG (Nymboida Rafting Group) white water rafting, for which I was also employed. Working for the 2 rafting companies has given me a good sense of how to coordinate customers and the raft to navigate difficult rapids safely.
After leaving school I also worked for the sports master at my school coaching white water kayaking and as a kayaking event’s organizer. This work gave me some good experience dealing with children and teaching people white water skill that had previously had no experience. Most of the kids came to like me and could easily relate to my teaching style. I believe that the way that I teach children and customers in both kayaking and rafting is effective and is engaging, which leads to a better experience all round.