Think you have what it takes to compete in the whitewater rafting championship? The best of the best compete in the U.S. Whitewater Rafting National Championships each year in three regions of America (Western, Central, and Eastern) and the winners move on to compete internationally. Many of the best teams are from Colorado.
The United States Rafting Association (USRA) oversees the Rafting Championships and works with the International Rafting Federation on competition rules so that anybody who competes in the US championships will only win according to IRF rules.
Rafting Championship Competition
The competition usually takes place in Colorado during the Royal Gorge Whitewater Festival in Cañon City since this is where most of the best teams are located but have moved around to different areas of the US in recent years for variety.
This year, the U.S. Rafting National Championship took place May 2-4, 2014 at Salmon River, California. There were four different formats that teams had to compete in with only four paddlers per raft.
The Rafting Races
They began with a Sprint where each raft did an individually timed short race. Then they faced Head-to-Head to knock-out the competition like in a ladder. Those that moved on to the next round were challenged by the Slalom, where each team did two solo timed runs. The best time counted towards their score. Finally, the last event Down River counted for 40% of their scores and was the longest, most technical route of about 7 miles or approximately an hour of intense paddling.
2014 Rafting National Champions
For 12 years in a row, Behind the 8 Ball of Colorado won the national championships for the men’s division. This 13th year, Ark Sharks of Colorado won it. The women’s team, Red Lady Rafting, also of Colorado, are the winners this year and will join Ark Sharks to compete in the World Championships of Rafting in Foz de Igaucu, Brazil in October with the honorable title of USA Raft Team. This is Red Lady Rafting’s second national title.
Not All Fun & Games
Just like other sports, these champs don’t just jump on the river the week before the competition to get ready. Practice begins as early as December hitting the gym several times a week for conditioning until they can get outside. For Ark Sharks, they train throughout the year paddling, working as river guides, and condition with Crossfit.
Red Lady Rafting will sometimes drop a raft into an indoor pool to work on their muscle memory and use bungee cords for resistance. Other times it’s practicing in reservoirs where there are still chunks of ice on the banks. It’s hard work but these ladies and guys are living the dream.
Next year, nationals will take place again in Colorado so be sure to pencil it in, the Royal Gorge Whitewater Festival happens the weekend of the summer solstice. Since June is the start of the spring runoff, it’s also a great time to hit the rapids yourself and join in the celebration of the river and summer.
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