Devyn Scott successfully debuted his stylish, new orange kayak on the Black River.

Whether the "super awesome" new boat aided his performance or not, the 17-year-old from Pakenham, Ontario, squeaked out a victory in the junior men's final of the North American Cup and Junior Can-Am freestyle kayaking championships held Sunday at Hole Brothers wave in Watertown.

"I love the boat, love the competition; I actually really like it here," said Scott, who has been paddling for three years. "I'm really happy, kind of privileged, that I could come here this year."

The second leg of competition is slated for this weekend on the Ottawa River in Canada.

Scott, who also won the preliminary round Saturday and the semifinal competition earlier Sunday, edged Kyle Hull in the final by just one point.

"The only thing that helped me actually win was a clean spin," Scott said. "And then right at the end, a pistol flip, which is the highest-scoring trick in the book."

To execute a clean spin, the paddler takes just one stroke and performs the entire spin by using his hips to power the boat into rotation, instead of using the paddle to position the boat. A pistol flip scores 16 points if the competitor flushes off the wave but a whopping 22 points if the paddler lands the trick without coming off the wave.

Alex Shallhorn claimed the junior women category, while Brenna Kelly captured the pro women division, and Joel Kowalski secured first place in the pro men.

This year's Blackwater Challenge event was a low-key affair, due in part to the World Cup being contested in Europe this month. The world event drew most of the mainstream competitors. The local contest did attract 33 kayakers, ranging in age from 10-52, and hailing from as far away as Ireland (Moe Kelleher, pro men), California (Hull) and Oregon (Quinn Connell, junior men). Most of the weekend's competitors included Ottawa Kayak School instructors and youth from the school's Keener Program.

Although the Black River is not as exotic a location as many of the kayakers experience, most rave about what the river and the community do provide.

"Every time I've come here for the competitions, the local community is very supportive of the event," said Kowalski, an Ottawa Kayak School instructor. "Everyone's asking a lot of questions, very interested.

"There aren't many great runs in urban areas. This is a great run. The canyon section down below Glen Park dam is a really fun section of whitewater that any kayaker with some experience can do."

"The Black has lots to offer," Scott agreed. "The only downside is it's a small wave, but it's here, you got it; it's a great wave, it's nice and deep."

The weekend's events included clinics conducted by the Ottawa Kayak School. A group from Watertown's teen center took part in the instruction, according to event organizers Tom O'Riley and Sara Daniels.