Support American Whitewater! Support American Whitewater!

[please login to make this ad block disappear]

Articles

Interview: Dave Speller

dave-speller-th Interview – Dave Speller - World Champion 2009 (Short Boat)

kayak surfThis interview was originally produced for the Portuguese Playak partner site  'kayaksurf.net'.

spell1 Name: David Speller
Age: 19
Address:Jersey
Occupation:Student/Surf Kayak
Paddling since:1997
Gear: kayak: MEGA Neutron. Helmet: None, but would help!. Paddle; Werner Sho-Gun.
Sponsors: Mega (www.surfkayaks.com), Werner Paddles (http://www.wernerpaddles.com )-(www.systemxkayak.co.uk ). ESC Sporting Programme that helps me, and some of Jersey top athletes by providing training facilities and trainers. Big Thanks to Pete Irving And John Scriven for their help!
Recent Competition Results:

  • 2005 Short/Long Boat UN18 Champ
  • 2005 Jersey Sport Person of the year
  • 2007 UN18 Short Boat World Champ
  • 2007 Jersey Sport Person of the year
  • 2008 2nd World Surf Kayak Tour
  • 2009 World Champion

Favorite move: Low Tide Splash (my own)

spell3

What is your opinion about the Worlds in Portugal?
I had a mix of feelings about the worlds in Portugal but I was amazed by the greeting of stands of facilities Ocean Spirit had provided for the Surf Kayak Worlds. Big thanks boys! The competition was sick! I didn’t compete on the first few days and I saw surf kayaking at a new level not just in one or two paddlers but in most people who were competing - it was great to see! I don’t think I spent 20 minutes without seeing someone throw an air!

spell4

What would be your favorite destination for the next Worlds?
Australia (derr) – Laugh - I have a few reasons for wanting Australia, mostly because I was heading to University around there, and secondly because of the quality of the surf there and the potential profile raising it could have for our sport!

spell6

What’s your personal vision about the Ocean Spirit Festival?
Very good event and I can see it having a great impact on the sport. People may come to watch some of the other ocean sports there and will see Surf Kayaking, and it may be the first time some people will see the sport at a high level and will realize we are not all a bunch of Kooks!

spell7

How do you see the evolution of kayak surfing in the near future?
From watching the sport develop from 2005 to 2009 there already has been a great evolution in the sport, such as new radical and bigger moves being executed. I’m not too sure how the evolution of the sport will go from here but I would like to see surf kayakers surfing heavier, more punchy waves that are good for hitting and tweaking out and aerial, I know there is so much possible in a kayak that we haven’t seen the day light of yet!

nifty-375

What are your personal goals in this sport?
Next year I want to win the world kayak surf tour!

speller2

Any thoughts about Portugal?
This was my third trip to Portugal and it won’t be my last for a while... Obrigado! See you next year!

Text: Luis Pedro Abreu / www.kayaksurf.net
Photos
: Pete Copp and Tim Harvey - www.photof8.co.uk

spell8

Surfrider Foundation
See the AUP for our Acceptable Use Policy and a Privacy Statement. Verein Playak is responsible for all editorial content on this site (including all graphics). No part of this site may be duplicated in any way without explicit permission from Verein Playak. Verein Playak takes great care to only publish original content, but since part of the content is user generated, we cannot always guarantee this 100%. If you notice any copyright violations, please let the editors know through the contact form and they will take appropriate action immediately. As a news and information platform, we republish small text snippets and thumbnail images, but always link to original content on other sites, and thus aim to adhere to a 'Fair Use' policy. If you believe we violate this policy in any particular case, please contact us directly and we'll take appropriate action immediately.