June 30, 2011
 

Dear Wildwater Racers and Friends:

It has been a busy month for wildwater racing in Colorado - with lots of water. There was the Teva Games, Lyons Outdoor Games, and FIBArk (the hosts for the 2011 USA Wildwater National Championships).

Congratulations to the 2011 USA Wildwater National Champions:

• K-1 Men: Doug Ritchie
• K-1W: Haley Popp
• C-1: Tom Wier
• C-2: Bryson and Colton Popp

The FIBArk organizers did an outstanding job hosting the 2011 USA Wildwater National Championships. Special thanks to Ed Loeffel for his hard work with FIBArk and the Wildwater contingent. You can read all about the Nationals and FIBArk in the first two articles in this e-Zine.

Thanks to Jeremy Rodgers for keeping me informed about the Lyons Outdoor Games and Teva Games. The related articles include links to more about both of these events.

The last article is about the Southeastern U.S. Wildwater Championships, scheduled for August 13th on the Nantahala River. The "Southeasterns" is being sponsored jointly by the Georgia Canoe Association (GCA) and the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC).

I also received good news from Jack Ditty about the Senior Wildwater Team Trials. The US Army Corp of Engineers has agreed to give us an extra dam release for training the day before the race in October (Friday the 14th). So plan on a 3-day weekend. This should make it easier for those from far away to show up a day early and learn the course. Dam releases will also occur the 2 weekends prior to the race.

I'm sorry to report that I have not received any news about the USA Junior Wildwater Team. I assume that they are all too busy getting ready for their participation in the Wildwater Junior World Championships on July 25-30 in Opava, Czech Republic. I do want to thank the team members who responded to my request for their bios and photos. You can learn more about the current junior and senior team members at http://www.usawildwater.com/athletes.html.

Chuck Brabec
Editor & Webmaster, USAWildwater.com