2012 Wyoming Whitewater Championships

Words and Photography by: Stephen Williams

This weekend, the 16th Annual Wyoming Whitewater Championships is joining forces with the USA Wildwater National Championships to create a competition like the rivers around Jackson Hole have never seen. Some of the best paddlers in the country will hit the Hoback, Snake and Greys river for three days packed with races, parties, freestyle kayaking, film festivals and boatercross action. This year the competition will be higher than ever and will provide competitors and spectators alike with the opportunity to enjoy a great weekend at the river. The events are presented by the Jackson Hole Kayak Club and all proceeds from the weekend will go to benefit their programs.

www.jhkayakclub.org

The Jackson Hole Kayak Club has been providing paddling opportunities and river experiences for young people since 1996. From flat-water to moving water to whitewater, our affordable programs take local youth onto our unique and beautiful waterways.

In addition to the action on the river, the 2012 WWC is bringing the action to Pink Garter Theatre as well. The Reel Paddling Film Festival stops in Jackson in conjunction with the competition to highlight some of the best paddling films of the year. Presented by Teva and Rapid Media.

From Rapid Media: Rapid Media’s 7th annual Reel Paddling Film Festival showcases the world’s best paddling films to audiences around the world. The festival inspires more people to explore rivers, lakes and oceans, push physical and emotional extremes, embrace the lifestyle and appreciate the heritage of the wild places we paddle.

The Reel Paddling Film Festival is a film contest awarding winning films in 10 categories. The winners and other shortlisted films are then toured to more than 100 cities around the world, screening for an audience of more than 30,000 outdoor adventure enthusiasts and their friends and families.

USA Wildwater National Classic Race

This 10k race down the Hoback River is the second part of the USA Wildwater National Championships and winds down the Hoback river through several rapids and S-turns. The classic race has mens and womens classes as well at youth and adult divisions.

Last spring’s historically high runoff made it difficult to find a wave to host the Kayak Rodeo with a lot of the popular locations being washed out. The water flows are down significantly this year, which makes finding a venue for the competitors to showcase their surfing and freestyle abilities much more abundant. My guess is that they will choose either Kings Wave or Taco Hole on the Snake River which both offer large waves and room for a crowd to gather to watch the action. This is the most spectator friendly event of the WWC, so come on down and cheer on and support the competitors of all ages and skill levels as they showcase their skills. With limited parking available in the Snake River Canyon, JH Kayak Club will arrange a shuttle from a larger parking area like Alpine Junction to the event venue.

After the kayak rodeo come join the competitors and sponsors at Cutty’s for the WWC Awards party featuring drinks/food specials and a raffle. Great food, great prizes and a great time.

The 2012 Wyoming Whitewater Championships conclude with a kayak boatercross down the Grey’s River just outside Alpine, Wyoming. This year, multiple heats will run the course that starts at the Slalom Rapid and runs through the Class V Snaggletooth rapid. The number of heats will be determined by the number of competitors and the top few kayakers from each heat will adavcne to compete in the final heat. This technical section of the Grey’s River will test the skills and athleticism of each competitor as they not only try to safely navigate the rapids and obstacles, but race the other kayakers to the finish.