The Ekstremsportveko

Hey guys, it’s Andi again with the story about the Extreme Kayak European Championship in Norway. I went there directly after my stay in America for the World Championship. As every year, the Ekstremsportveko took place in Voss. The Veko is one of the biggest extreme sport festivals in the world. They host competitions in kayaking, rafting, skateboarding, mountain biking, climbing, sky diving and many more. Beside all these competitions, the concerts and the night life has become an important part of the Veko.

My trip started with grabbing some fresh clothes and some food. As soon as I arrived in Norway, my friends Mikel and Ben invited me to join their lovely and cosy home under the bridge. You can even do some fishing in the living room. Apparently I suck at fishing, after 3 hours of unsuccesfully trying to fish something I gave up. I think I would need some advices from the Jackson Fishing Team!
A couple of days later Dag asked me to stay at his house which I couldn’t refuse. You never now what the weather is going to be in Norway so a proper roof and a kitchen were wonderful. Thank you Dag!
The paddling in Voss is amazing! Even though we didn’t have too much water, some rivers were good to go like the Raundalselvi or the Myrkdalsevi. Alongside I did my race training to get ready for the European Championship which was held on the Myrkdalsevi.
The race day was perfect. The sun was shining and many people showed up. After making it into the finals I got fired up for my last run. I gave everything and had a pretty good line. I made one mistake and ended up on the 2nd place. Of course I can’t deny that it annoys me a little bit that I made that mistake becuase without I could have won it. On the other hand I am more than happy to get vice-european Champion!
That was definitely a reason to party hard. 😉

The following day there was the endurance race on the Raundalselvi. Hangovered and with very few hours of sleep I tried to race again. Of course, there was another party at the end of that day, so the boatercross on the next day wasn’t about fighting with the other paddlers, it was more of a fight against my headache… It was saturday, when there was the last and biggest party of the Veko. It was a great opportunity to end the trip! Kayakers always win the party! What a night!

On the next day I drove home with a big smile on my face and dog-tired.

After an amazing season so far in Canada, America and Norway I am now ready for a big expedition. Stay tuned for an epic adventure and a great story from the Far East!

– Andi Brunner