Nile River Festival 2014 - The Hendri Coetzee Itanda Falls Memorial Race

The grand finale of the Nile River Festival 2014 was held on day four at the notorious Itanda Falls. The rules, set by the late Hendri Coetzee, challenges the paddler to not only be quick but to be imaginative down this awesome big volume grade 5 rapid. Head-to-head heats took the top 5 quickest paddlers to final. In the final it was all about style and creativity. Sam Ward once again took the win with innovative new line above the fearsome 'Pencil Sharpener' before doing a kickflip entry move into the right of the hole. Yusef Basalirwa and Jackson Two, both from Uganda, closely followed in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. The overall event winner was Sam Ward but he donated his $500 prize money amongst the other standout paddlers, second was Colin Wong and third Anton Immler. Sam also won himself a coveted invitation to the White Water Grand Prix in May later this year. Local lady, Amina Nailrya put in a stellar performance, competing in all events and took the overall women's prize. We'll be back again, same time, same place, next year, for the Nile River Festival 2015!