The site of the venue is Salida, Colorado, which is home to the legendary FIBArk (First In Boating The Arkansas) Festival – the oldest downriver race in the country. The traditional FIBArk downriver race takes place each year in mid-June and celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 1998. The WWOC Downriver National Championship course will feature the first 9.4 miles of the traditional 26 mile FIBArk downriver course and is scheduled for July 16-18 to anticipate the most desirable water level for the race based on historical flow data. The Arkansas River mainly depends on snowmelt and the level can fluctuate from day to day. Changes in the water level does not necessarily change the level of difficulty of this section of river, though the size of the waves increases as the flow increases. Mass starts will be used for all classes and the scheduling of events allows for competitors to race more than one class in both the downriver and sprint races.

The downriver course contains nearly continuous class II/III rapids and above 1,500 cfs will challenge racers’ abilities to keep their canoes dry. The final ½ mile of the downriver course is known to kayakers as Squirt Dome and is home to whirlpools, strong eddy lines and boils. It will be a challenging finish for exhausted racers and could decide the final outcome of closely contested classes.

The sprint course will be 1.1 miles long, or about 6 ½ to 7 minutes in length depending on the water level, and will showcase Bear Creek Rapid. The course contains continuous whitewater. One minute intervals will be used for the sprint.

There are two types of canoes raced at the downriver nationals: Formula 14% canoes and Formula 16% canoes. Formula 14 % canoes represent fiberglass/kevlar/composite and woodstrip canoes with a minimum width of 14.375% of its overall length. The 16% canoes represent canoes sold for general recreational use. In general, ABS, polyethylene, aluminum and wood/canvas canoes will qualify for inclusion (assuming they meet all weight and dimension requirements).

The Rocky Mountain Wildwater Championships (kayaks and decked canoes) will take place in conjunction with the WWOC Downriver National Championships. Wildwater competitors will compete in a sprint race on July 17 and a classic race on July 18 on the same race courses as described above.

In addition, there will be a Boy/Girl Scout Canoe Race to promote paddling as an integral component to the scouting experience. It will allow the scouts to compete amongst themselves on a 4 mile, class II downriver course from Salida to Stockyard Bridge (above Bear Creek Rapid).

So dust off that canoe in the back of your garage, pull out your atlas and begin planning a trip to Colorado.

Scott Overdorf, Race Chairman
1026 5^th Ave
Longmont, CO 80501