7 Spine Roll

The Spine Roll is an odd roll. Take care of your shoulders and warm up before trying the roll. I find that the setup is ok and the capsize but when I recover there is some overstretching and it can be slightly painful. 

My biggest struggle has been getting the lower end of the paddle caught on the gunwale as I recover. I want to push my head back into the water as my upper body gets on to the back deck and that is when the end of the paddle gets caught. Please stretch before you do this - but I push my lower hand up my spine, right up between my shoulder blades. I try to set up that way because then I can get the tip of the paddle all the way down to the qajaq as I capsize, which is an advantage. 

It is ok to hold the paddle up close to your ear at setup and the paddle can come out to almost 90 degrees at finish. You do need to return to the setup position to get full points. 

There are two parts which will get you high in the water and make this roll easy. The blade angle and the twist of your torso. It is easy to get your sholders perpendicular to the surface rather than parallell which you should be aiming for. A good upper body twist, and an active twist is my key. 

I would say that if your are not training for competition, consider to skip this one if you're older than 40. 

Judges note:
You cannot hold the paddle around the end.