Heidi Walsh is quickly becoming one of the world’s most renowned whitewater kayakers. This young Brit has become one to watch as she throws huge flips in her freestyle kayak, drops off giant waterfalls in her creek boat, and shares her knowledge and passion with others in any kayak she can get her hands on. Her endless energy, continuous smile, and dedicated approach to paddle has seen her named as Kayak Session magazine’s Female Paddler of the Year. So we caught up with Heidi to find out how she got to where she is and how you can too.
How and when did you get into paddling?
I was a swimmer my entire childhood until the age of around 15. Our team would go to a local lake every summer to try different outdoor activities. We tried kayaking and I really enjoyed it so by 16 I had joined a local canoe club and the rest is history.
What was your route to the paddling you are doing now?
The local club (Hillington Junior Canoe Club) was mainly a freestyle club. The club had a lot of support from local dealer Squarerock so access to playboating was easy. I didn’t really know about the different disciplines of whitewater so I just learnt everything sitting in a playboat. The natural progression then was competition freestyle.
When I found a love for the sport, I watched every kayaking edit under the sun. Videos that really sparked my interest were old Whitewater Grand Prix edits, Substantial Media House and Demshitz videos. From these, I knew I always wanted to follow in their footsteps, merging freestyle with huge waves, sending big rapids and waterfalls, etc.
I grew up in Watford so access to real rivers was slim. Moving from there to Loughborough University, it was easy to keep going on the freestyle grind but I found it was really easy to burn out on Nottingham freestyle training sessions all day every day. I loved that learning to whitewater kayak kept freestyle fun and avoided kayaking from becoming too repetitive so I was always motivated to train.
I would say geographical location became the biggest influence in my kayaking. Going up to Scotland each year got me hooked on whitewater, and then finally leaving the UK and travelling created the big switch for me. Exploring the best rivers around the world was a pivotal moment in my career.
Best trip/adventure you’ve been on?
This is such a hard question to answer. Every trip is epic and unique in its own way. I can give you a top few trips.
- Uganda back in the day when Nile Special was still around. It was my first ever big trip away and the experience of big water and African living was mind blowing.
- The Zambezi. Big water joy kayaking. What’s not to like?
- Learning to boof and my first few big waterfalls in Mexico. It’s steep creeking paradise.
- Going to White Salmon, Washington, for the first time in spring, 2024. Having the Little White on your doorstep is the perfect training ground as well as being surrounded by so many big waterfalls. The community there is also epic.
- Chile is probably my ultimate location. I could go there every year. There is every style of kayaking there that you could ask for. From learning waterfall technique on small drops to testing your skills on huge waterfalls. Steep creeks to big water paradise. You could easily spend a whole winter there and never get bored.
Aims for 2025?
Same same but bigger. In 2024 I pushed all aspects of my kayaking and I’m aiming to do the same this year. I’ve started working for World Class Academy to help to earn some money and keep kayaking as much as I can. My personal kayaking days will be less this year but I’m aiming to keep it just as high quality as previous years.
Who has been the most influential person in your paddling?
I’ve been lucky enough to be taken under a lot of people’s wings at different points in my kayaking career. During my freestyle days, I got adopted by Alan Ward who coached me in freestyle and also showed me the ropes on my first big international trips abroad, both travelling and competing.
When I first got into whitewater, Will Chick and Nick Bennet were two very influential names for me. They took me on my first trips up to Scotland and Wales and introduced me to the rest of the river running community. We also went to Nepal together in 2022. It was my first big expedition kayaking trip and I didn’t know how anything worked and they had so much patience with me.
Since then, I’d say I’m heavily influenced by everyone I paddle with. I always try to paddle with people who have high stoke and skills. I learn so much from all of my friends that are better than me and I love to bring high energy, fun vibes to the river.
What do you get from being on the water?
At this point, almost everything I know in my adulthood is from being on the water. I graduated from university during COVID, tried to work off the water jobs to get by and I hated it! Kayaking has brought me so much joy and a family all around the world. I feel like I have been really well accepted in most places I go to and there’s no way I could have done it without the support from friends, and I am forever grateful for the network of incredible people all over the world that have shaped me to become who I am today.
What did the Kayak Session paddler of the year award mean to you?
I was so stoked to get the award. It was a huge life accomplishment! I often wonder if I am doing the right thing with my life (not growing up and getting a job, to buy a house, pay the bills, rinse and repeat). I’m also quite hard on myself, am I a good kayaker? Am I improving? Am I where I want to be? Paddler of the Year was epic. It confirmed to me that whatever I’m doing, I’m not doing too badly. The award itself was a dream, but what was really special was the response from the community. I had hundreds of messages from people saying how proud they were of my progress and how well deserved it was and that for me was the most special part.
Is there any type of paddling you’d like to try?
I’d really like to try slalom. I feel like the ultimate kayaker has skills in both freestyle and slalom and when you can combine those two skills, you unlock another level of paddling. Freestyle helps you to get creative on the river, helps you tumble and have underwater awareness and a bomber roll. Slalom teaches you how to be smooth, great stroke technique and makes you really strong.
What advice would you give someone starting out paddling?
Do what you love and do it well. Get stuck in, try it all and find a part of paddlesports that you are really passionate about. Decide where you want to go with your paddling and set some goals to help you get there.
Don’t worry about other people, judgement, failing, etc. Everyone starts somewhere and that’s totally okay. It’s much better to throw yourself at it and learn from your mistakes than be too scared to start. On the flip side, take it slow. You’re not going to be a top sender instantly. Make smart decisions, step up when you are ready and don’t take unnecessary risks for the send. In the words of Eirik Hanson, go hard and come home.
Be focused in your paddling. You don’t get better at going kayaking just by going kayaking. Every time you get on the water, have something in your mind that you are trying to improve. Most of your skill improvement will happen on flat water or easy whitewater so don’t worry too much about not having access to the best rivers all the time.
Mix it up! Remember we all go paddling because we love it. There’s no need to push yourself to burnout in a discipline. Bored of freestyle? Go creeking! Bored of creeking? Go surf kayaking! Bored of surf kayaking? Do some flat water tech sessions! All aspects of paddling compliment each other. I found that I gained so much boat control and learned new freestyle moves since I left the concrete ditches.
Above all, have fun, be kind, and make friends. It doesn’t matter how good you are at kayaking if no one likes you. We do it for the love and our community is really special. Big boofs last seconds but the people last a lifetime.
