Want to get involved with the 2013 World Freestyle Kayaking Championships?
- *Sign-up
- *Volunteer
- *Learn More
Click the link below to be a part of this BIG evevnt:
Want to get involved with the 2013 World Freestyle Kayaking Championships?
- *Sign-up
- *Volunteer
- *Learn More
Click the link below to be a part of this BIG evevnt:
The Nantahala Wave…still a work in progress
Jackson kayaker Stephen Wright sets up for a loop on the Nanthala Wave.
Construction on the Nantahala Wave, home of the 2013 World Freestyle Championships, was completed in the end of November. However, the feature is far from “done.” The construction phase consisted of excavating the area around the feature to make it deeper and constructing a wave shaper machine, which forms the feature.
There is still much work to be done to dial in the feature in by altering the wave shaper and altering boulders around the feature. However, recent rains have caused high water levels and Duke will have to continue releasing water, preventing work on the wave for the moment. When water levels go back down, engineers will begin tweaking the wave and will be getting feedback from a small committee of World Champion playboaters.
Stephen Wright looping on the wave
When the Water Rises and You Run Out of Daylight…by Kat Levitt
Jackson boater Kat Levitt wrote a really great article about what happens when the creek you are on flashes and you run out of daylight. She shares what she experienced recently when her husband and two other boaters did not return from a trip on the North Chick near Chattanooga. It’s an experience we can all learn from and she has shared some really great insights that we all need to think about.
Take the time to read this one!
When the Water Rises and You Run Out of Daylight…
The Nantahala Wave is ON!
Daniel Dutton surfing the new wave
The Nantahala wave in Wesser, NC “came on” today and boaters came out to test out the new feature, braving freezing cold temperatures to get a surf in.The water release was combined with natural flow from the recent rains, resulting in a feature that is “beefy” and very retentive. Playboaters will like the recovery pool the feature now has. No more rocks right below and a river right eddy that is much easier to catch and not blocked by guard rocks. There is also a new “bonus” wave that has appeared above the feature. There is still some work to be done to “fine tune” the feature in December.
The Nantahala Wave
New smaller wave upstream of the feature
Zach Thomason showing off some new tricks (and a few 'unintendos')
Lee Leibfarth demonstrating the retentiveness of the feature
Construction Finishing Up at the Nantahala Wave!
Construction is almost complete on the Nantahala Wave! They placed the last piece of the Wave Shaper yesterday! Dec 1, 2011 will be the first scheduled release for the new wave feature!!! Check out the Nantahala Wave webpage on the Nantahala Region of worldkayak.com for photos, video & news updates!
Nantahala Wave is Under Construction!
The transformation of the classic surf wave below the NOC is under construction to turn into a world class feature to host the 2013 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships! Check out the web page link below on the World Kayak Nantahala Regional site for a link to the live webcam, info about the project, and periodic photo updates from the locals!
Nantahala Wave is Under Construction!
The transformation of the classic surf wave below the NOC is under construction to turn into a world class feature to host the 2013 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships! Check out the web page link below on the World Kayak Nantahala Regional site for a link to the live webcam, info about the project, and periodic photo updates from the locals!
2011 Nantahala Hometown Throwdown Event #3
The third event in the 2011 Nolichucky/Nantahala Hometown Throwdown series was HUGE in size and fun!! We had a total of 61 competitors join together for a big booming freestyle rodeo on the Nantahala River, NC!!! This event had the most participation of any whitewater freestyle event to date this year in the USA! Nanty HTTD event #3 now holds the record for the most participation of any HTTD event that has ever been recorded in our 4 years of World Kayak hosting these events! We also set a record for the most juniors to ever compete at a freestyle event at the NOC! There was also a huge crowd of spectators who watched and cheered on the competitors from both sides of the river and bridges! Good vibes were all around at this throwdown!!
We had so many competitors show up for this event that we were afraid we were going to run out of water due to the water release schedule on the Nanty for the day. To help solve this issue, we ran two rodeos at the same time! All the novice classes competed on the Surf School Wave and the expert, intermediate, & C-1 classes competed on the NOC Wave. This also meant we had to have two sets of volunteer judges, scribes & timekeepers, which we worked out thanks to a few would-be competitors volunteering to judge instead of compete. Big thanks to all those folks for their efforts to make the event work well!
The weather for the afternoon was perfect with sunny skies and warm temps. The only thing that did not go as planned was a late start. This due to my wife and I getting stuck in some bad Asheville holiday traffic on the way to the event… Due to this late start and the huge turn out, we began to run out of water at the NOC Wave before the Men’s Expert class started. With some quick thinking from our volunteer staff, we came up with a quick format for the Men’s Experts to do a quick, one ride round robin style rodeo for double points! Big thanks to the Men’s Expert class for going along with this plan to complete the event. Please accept my sincere apologies for my tardiness in getting the event started. I do not like to waste other people’s time and cut into their event fun. I will do my best to make sure the last two events start on time 
2011 Nantahala Hometown Throwdown Event #3 Results:
Women’s Expert K-1:
1. Rowan Stuart (81)
2. Sara Hunter (74)
3. Ann Marie Pelcher (42)
Women’s Novice K-1:
1. Annabell Plush (54)
2. Francheska Barreto (52)
3. Catherine Hardin – Jr. (51)
4. Mary Mills (48)
5. Julia Kendrick (47)
6. Melissa Pennscott (43)
Junior Men’s Expert K-1:
1. Hunter Katich (284)
2. Carter Davis (199)
3. Dylan Riddle (146)
4. Miles Murphy (137)
5. David Jaben (133)
6. Matt Smith (112)
7. Bennett Smith (92)
8. Alex Andrews (85)
9. Ben Ghertner (83)
10. Joey Brown (64)
11. Ted Ballenger (63)
12. George Boss (54)
13. Zac Agnew (43)
13. Eric Mount (43)
15. Eric Lee (42)
16. Michael Egues (28)
17. Davis Morrs (20)
Junior Men’s Novice K-1:
1. David Perrin (77)
2. Hunter Cooper (57)
3. Jack Egues (45)
C-1:
1. Jon Clark (249)
2. Jezz (96)
3. Alex Vargas (57)
4. Garrett Mays (37)
5. David Goodwin (34)
Men’s Expert K-1:
1. Tommy Yon (234)
2. Matt Anger (210)
3. Brad Caldwell (144)
4. Ryan Baudrand (130)
5. Andrew Koch (122)
6. Clay Lucas (118)
7. Casey Jones (104)
8. Ty Caldwell (88)
9. Paul Butler (62)
10. Duane Gibson (50)
11. Chan Jones (34)
12. Zach Sanders (28)
Men’s Intermediate K-1:
1. Sam Ovett (159)
2. Jared “Blue” Smith (119)
3. Maximillian Ovett (115)
4. Emerson Clauss (95)
5. Trey Lawson (65)
6. Rick Thompson (63)
6. Ryan Richardson (63)
8. Steven Naylor (20)
Men’s Novice K-1:
1. Wayne Dickert (68)
2. Mike Dorsey (56)
3. Jeff Weatherford – Hand Paddler (52)
4. Mitch Odom (45)
5. Shaun Freudeman – Hand Paddler (41)
6. Don Robertson (37)
7. Michael McNeal (34)
Click here for PDF copy of Event #3 Results
Thank you to all the competitors for their participation and patience. Congrats to all of our class winners of Event #3!
Event Highlights:
*Several of our Johnson City Team River Runner Chapter members came down from the Tri-Cities area to represent & compete in this event! They all really seem to be loving this event series and the sport of kayaking with the great TRR program. A sincere thank you to all of them for their service to our country as veterans!
*Jr. Men’s K-1 class winner, Hunter Katich, had the highest score of the event out of the entire field of compeditors!! He had some of the most text book McNasties I have ever seen!
*There was bromance in the eddy…
*Of Course their were brown claws thrown!
*Much respect to Jezz for all his kids camp work he does over the summer and thanks for bringing a ton of Jr’s to compete in this event!
*We had 3 swimmers during the event that went home with with the coveted River Gypsies “Everybody Swims” sticker award.
*Everyone who competed or volunteered in the event went home with a prize thanks to all of our awesome sponsors!
Event #3 Photo Album Links:
Cheryl Killman’s Nanty HTTD #3 photo album #1
Cheryl Killman’s Nanty HTTD #3 photo album #2
Cheryl Killman’s Nanty HTTD #3 photo album #3
Nanty HTTD #3 Award Ceremony photo album
A BIG thank you goes out to all of our great volunteers for their help in event #3:
Jennifer Bradley, Erin Weatherford, Melissa Pennscott, Brad Caldwell – Registration
Jennifer Bradley, Erin Weatherford – Surf School Wave Technical Judges
Jeremy Adkins, Wesley R. Bradley – NOC Wave Technical Judges
Daniel Dutton, Tommy Yon, Francheska Barreto – Scribes
Mike Seek, Melissa Pennscott, Wayne Dickert – Time Keepers
Cheryl Killman – Photographer
A special thank you goes out to our World Kayak Partners listed in the banner at the top of this page & the local sponsors below for all the great prizes & support of the events!
The World Kayak Amateur Points System continues to gain excitement at our events this year! I have been contacted by several of the competitors to sign up to Get Ranked. I encourage all participates of our events to sign up… Don’t MISS OUT on your chance to win 1 of 4 Jackson Kayak Stars that World Kayak is giving away to all members who pay $10 to Get Ranked by September 1, 2011! You still have two chances to win a new kayak in the August & September drawings.
Participation at each event in this event series is the key to bring home a point series championship this year. After three events, the point series is heating up to be a great rivalry in all the classes! Daniel Dutton, Ann Marie Pelcher & Carter Davis have taken over the points lead in their respective classes. Matt Anger & Michael McNeal now find themselves on a possible podium spot in their respective classes thanks to their consistent participation! The Men’s Expert & Novice classes are in a very tight points clash for gold! David Goodwin has established a commanding points lead in his C-1 class, but he has found some stout competition with some new competitors that have join his class! Congrats to our current top 3 leaders in their class:
Men’s Expert K-1:
1. Daniel Dutton (295)
2. Duane Gibson (275)
3. Matt Anger (230)
Men’s Intermediate K-1:
1. Wesley R. Bradley (315)
2. Steve Moore (210)
2. Chris Vella (210)
Men’s Novice K-1:
1. Jeff Weatherford (385)
2. Mike Dorsey (375)
3. Michael McNeal (285)
Women’s Expert K-1:
1. Ann Marie Pelcher (240)
2. Taylor Dwyer (135)
2. Jo Ann Pasqua (135)
2. Rowan Stuart (135)
Women’s Novice K-1:
1. Annabell Plush (135)
2. Francheska Barreto (125)
2. Catherine Hardin (115)
Junior Men’s Expert K-1:
1. Carter Davis (240)
2. Alex Andrews (200)
3. Zac Agnew (160)
Junior Men’s Novice K-1:
1. David Perrin (135)
2. Hunter Cooper (125)
3. Jack Egues (115)
C-1:
1. David Goodwin (365)
2. John Clark (135)
3. Jezz (125)
3. Chris Vella (125)
Click here for PDF copy of Point Series Standings after #3
Mark your calendar for July 17, 2011 at high noon to join in on more HTTD fun & CLICK HERE to Register for EVENT #4 @ the NOC! I hope to see you on the Nanty to throwdown!!
July’s winner of a JK 2010 star is…………………………….
Samantha Collins from Atlanta, GA is our second winner of a Jackson Kayak star. We are drawing a winner each month for the next two months from the pool of folks that have registered to be tracked in the WK Hometown Throwdown series. It only costs $10 to get ranked and you can look at it as a super inexpensive opportunity to win a free boat! Sign up at www.worldkayakblogs.com/throwdown/get-ranked/ to make sure you are in the running for the remaining two boats this summer.
Later ; Colin
