Cody Fagan needs help to achieve his sporting dream
The chance to represent your country in the sport you love doesn’t come to many, but through dedication, hard work and sacrifice, Baltinglass kayaker Cody Fagan has earned the right to compete in the Irish colors at the World Kayak Freestyle Championships in Columbus, Georgia this October.
alented Cody is currently number one in the Ireland junior team after claiming a superb win in Limerick earlier this year and he is hoping for a top 10 finish in the USA to add to his impressive 16th place finish at last year’s competition in Nottingham improve.
And when you consider that the young Baltinglass athlete has one more year at junior level after that year, it’s clear there are no limits to this ambitious and capable young man.
But there is a problem. And it’s one that most people are very familiar with in this current economic climate, and that’s cost.
The financial cost of this trip to Georgia is very high and Cody is asking any local company or individual to come on board to support him on this unique opportunity so he can make the trip and make the most of his ability against the strongest freestyle kayaker in the world.
In return, Cody, a student at Scoil Chonglais and footballer with the Baltinglass GAA Club, offers to promote his gear and as much publicity as possible on his very active social media channels.
The Fagan family is already focused on raising as much money as possible themselves, but given the significant expense of even bringing his gear to the event, let alone him and his family, Cody has decided to to ask for help.
Cody is a proud member of the Balto Kayak Club and trains with the South East Freestyle Club. In order to train he has to travel to either Tuam, Limerick or Clonmel or Nottingham.
“I’m looking for someone to help me achieve my sporting dream,” he said. “After this World Cup, I hope to finish in the top three at the 2024 European Championships in Spain. That’s my big goal. Of course I have to qualify for that. This is my last year at Junior. After that, it’s up to adulthood.
“I hope someone might consider supporting my dream, be it directly or through suppliers. I’m aware that people do and do receive a lot of requests for support, but I hope someone can see how important this is for an athlete from Wicklow to compete in the Worlds,” said Cody.
The son of Stephen and Melanie Fagan, whose father was the well-known GAA umpire, Cody fell in love with kayaking shortly after his mother took him to an open house at the Balto Kayak Club.
“There was an open house down by the river. My mom signed me up for it, so I went down. I think I was 10 or 11. I started attending weekly sessions at Balto Kayak Club and progressed through the levels. After level 3 I got into freestyle and this is the one I love.
“Freestyle is basically gymnastics in the water. There are certain tricks you can do, and the more difficult tricks earn you more points. Let’s say you do a frontflip – it’s called a loop – when you get really high, you get a bonus for being high. You get a clean bonus for not using your paddle and so on. There are many different moves. You have to land the moves right,” he added.
The freestyle discipline requires a high level of skill, stamina and courage as the competitions take place on very powerful river formations and often at high tide.
Cody was drawn to it for the thrill.
“I like to show myself. I’m a little adrenaline junkie. Freestyle is much more difficult to do. It’s easy to impress people with it. You can make it look easy if you’re good at it,” he said.
The cost of his beloved sport is high.
A new boat that Cody needs for the World Cup starts at €1,600 for the most basic model, while a paddle will likely cost between €500 and €600.
Throw in boots, gear, helmet, body warmer, and life jacket and the bill starts to climb to massive levels.
Cody’s record in all competitions over the last three years is impressive to say the least. Last year he finished 16th at the World Championships. He qualified for this year’s competition by winning in Limerick. He placed second at the Galway Fest in 2022 and second at the same competition this year.
He picked up gold at the South East Fest in 2021 and 2022. Baltinglass earned another gold after the Junior Liffey Descent in 2022, finishing third at the 2021 Nationals, first at the 2023 Jackson Fest, and first at the 2022 Canoe Kayak Cross.
Cody pays tribute to two men who have accompanied him on his journey through kayaking.
“Chris O Loan at Balto Kayak Club helped me tremendously from the start and once I made a bit of progress I went to the South East Freestyle Club in Clonmel where Dave McClure helped me a lot. He is also in the Irish team.
The Fagan family has two fundraisers planned over the next few months to help with the cost of Cody’s trip.
“My grandparents are holding a bake sale on the town hall square on April 29th. They’re Helen and Billy Jones,” Cody said.
“We have a sponsored waxing and shaving on June 17th. My father shaves his head. I get waxed and some of the other guys from Balto Kayak Club get waxed too,” he added.