The Excitement Starts Here

The 2013 Wave construction is complete, and it’s time to celebrate! Join members of the Nantahala Games Organizing Committee, world-class athletes and  freestyle kayaking fans and enthusiasts for an official grand opening ceremony. Afterwards, paddlers can test drive the wave together while non-paddlers convene for a reception and viewing. 

The open paddling session is important, so please bring your boat and gear! Though construction is complete, event organizers have now started the process of “dialing in” the feature for both world-class athletes and everyday paddlers. The waveshaper has 24 different components and thousands of possible configurations, so this is a good opportunity to come and give feedback on the wave.

Grand Opening Celebration

The grand opening celebration will consist of a brief dedication ceremony detailing the state of the project, the concepts behind the feature, athlete comments and a dedication. Immediately afterwards a riverside reception will be held and paddlers are encouraged to hit the water for a group paddling session. Event organizers and project experts will be on hand soliciting paddler and and spectator feedback.

Where: River’s End Restaurant
When: Friday, December 16 at noon 

Celebration Program:

• Welcome
• Introduction to Feature Design and Calibration
• Athlete Comments
• Dedication and Thanks
• Reception
• Open Paddling Session

The good folks at the Nantahala Outdoor Center are excited to team up with World Kayak to host a FREE Hometown Throwdown event during the Guest Appreciation Festival at the NOC Wave and Surf School Wave located adjacent to the NOC Store near Bryson City, NC.

The Jr’s, Men’s & Women’s Novice classes will compete at the Surf School Wave and all other classes will compete on the NOC Wave.

The NOC Wave has been in spot light for the past four year as the feature of the NOC Freestyle Shootout.  This feature will soon be reconstructed into a permanent manmade  feature to host the 2013 International Canoe Federation Freestyle World Championships!  The current rock stacked dam feature continues to be worked on by local paddlers and is dialed in right now for a great Hometown Throwdown good time!  Make plans to join us! 

Click here for directions to the NOC

 NOC Event Day Guidelines:

• The NOC has asked that you please obey the parking attendants for parking directions when you arrive on site.  This is a very busy time of the year for them, so please be respectful of the parking situation.  Please carpool or plan on dropping off your gear and parking at a remote lot. Parking is limited albeit FREE. Parking in unauthorized locations will result in being towed. Please obey all rules or you will inevitably be towed, which is not FREE
• Paddlers please put in and take out on NOC property (river left)—do not use the lower Silver Mine commercial take-out.
• Make sure you have a USFS Nantahala River use pass!  You must have USFS annual ($5) or day use ($1) pass which can be purchased at the Wesser General Store, Outfitter’s Store or Rafting Center. The penalty is a $75 USFS fine and you cannot register without presenting your pass.
• Be extra careful about respecting the other outfitters.
• A SAFE event is a FUN event! If anyone on the water needs help at any point in time, the paddlers’ run will not be counted against them if they stop to assist. Also, paddlers will not be bumped or unable to jump back into play if they assist others.      

On-Site Registration for the event will be 11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. at the tent on the old steel bridge below the wave.  The event will kick off with a competitor’s meeting @ 12:00 P.M. on the old steel bridge below the wave.  The first heat of rides will kick off after the competitor’s meeting.  The awards ceremony and prize draw will follow shortly after the last heat of rides to conclude the event. 

The event will be ran with the typical World Kayak Hometown Throwdown format/rules & class registration that will be explained on event day.

 2011 NOC GAF Event Sponsors:

This is just one of several events that will be going on during the GAF weekend, so lots of BIG Boomin’ Fun is in store to be had at the NOC during this weekend.

If you have never had the pleasure to join in on the fun of a Hometown Throwdown and don’t know what it is all about; check out this blog post with photos, videos & the story from the 2010 NOC GAF HTTD event that was held at the NOC Wave last year: http://worldkayakblogs.com/throwdown/2010/09/29/2010-n-o-c-g-a-f-hometown-throwdown-event-coverage/

Event Contact Info:

Organizer: Rick Thompson and Cheska Barreto

Telephone: (678) 907-1378

E-mail: rdt70@bellsouth.net

I hope to see you on the Nanty for the NOC GAF Hometown Throwdown!

The good folks at the Nantahala Outdoor Center are excited to team up with World Kayak to host a FREE Hometown Throwdown event during the Guest Appreciation Festival at the NOC Wave and Surf School Wave located adjacent to the NOC Store near Bryson City, NC.

The Jr’s, Men’s & Women’s Novice classes will compete at the Surf School Wave and all other classes will compete on the NOC Wave.

The NOC Wave has been in spot light for the past four year as the feature of the NOC Freestyle Shootout.  This feature will soon be reconstructed into a permanent manmade  feature to host the 2013 International Canoe Federation Freestyle World Championships!  The current rock stacked dam feature continues to be worked on by local paddlers and is dialed in right now for a great Hometown Throwdown good time!  Make plans to join us! 

Click here for directions to the NOC

 NOC Event Day Guidelines:

• The NOC has asked that you please obey the parking attendants for parking directions when you arrive on site.  This is a very busy time of the year for them, so please be respectful of the parking situation.  Please carpool or plan on dropping off your gear and parking at a remote lot. Parking is limited albeit FREE. Parking in unauthorized locations will result in being towed. Please obey all rules or you will inevitably be towed, which is not FREE
• Paddlers please put in and take out on NOC property (river left)—do not use the lower Silver Mine commercial take-out.
• Make sure you have a USFS Nantahala River use pass!  You must have USFS annual ($5) or day use ($1) pass which can be purchased at the Wesser General Store, Outfitter’s Store or Rafting Center. The penalty is a $75 USFS fine and you cannot register without presenting your pass.
• Be extra careful about respecting the other outfitters.
• A SAFE event is a FUN event! If anyone on the water needs help at any point in time, the paddlers’ run will not be counted against them if they stop to assist. Also, paddlers will not be bumped or unable to jump back into play if they assist others.     

On-Site Registration for the event will be 11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. at the tent on the old steel bridge below the wave.  The event will kick off with a competitor’s meeting @ 12:00 P.M. on the old steel bridge below the wave.  The first heat of rides will kick off after the competitor’s meeting.  The awards ceremony and prize draw will follow shortly after the last heat of rides to conclude the event. 

The event will be ran with the typical World Kayak Hometown Throwdown format/rules & class registration that will be explained on event day.

 2011 NOC GAF Event Sponsors:

This is just one of several events that will be going on during the GAF weekend, so lots of BIG Boomin’ Fun is in store to be had at the NOC during this weekend.

If you have never had the pleasure to join in on the fun of a Hometown Throwdown and don’t know what it is all about; check out this blog post with photos, videos & the story from the 2010 NOC GAF HTTD event that was held at the NOC Wave last year: http://worldkayakblogs.com/throwdown/2010/09/29/2010-n-o-c-g-a-f-hometown-throwdown-event-coverage/

Event Contact Info:

Organizer: Rick Thompson

Telephone: (678) 907-1378

E-mail: rdt70@bellsouth.net

I hope to see you on the Nanty for the NOC GAF Hometown Throwdown!

Cheryl Killman’s Nanty HTTD #4 photo album #1

Cheryl Killman’s Nanty HTTD #4 photo album #2

Cheryl Killman’s Nanty HTTD #4 photo album #3

Cheryl Killman’s Nanty HTTD #4 photo album #4

Cheryl Killman’s Nanty HTTD #4 photo album #5

Nanty HTTD #4 Award Ceremony photo album

[nggallery id=145] 

Cheryl Killman’s Nanty HTTD #4 photo album #1

Cheryl Killman’s Nanty HTTD #4 photo album #2

Cheryl Killman’s Nanty HTTD #4 photo album #3

Cheryl Killman’s Nanty HTTD #4 photo album #4

Cheryl Killman’s Nanty HTTD #4 photo album #5

Nanty HTTD #4 Award Ceremony photo album

[nggallery id=145]

 

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!

  Pyranha

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!!

123►

The second event in the 2011 Nolichucky/Nantahala Hometown Throwdown series was a rockin’ rodeo at Big Rock on the Lower Nolichucky River, TN!  We had 32 competitors join in for some fun freestyle competition!  We also had several spectators who watched and cheered on the competitors from the Riverpark Campground bank.  The river level was around 800 CFS which made the Big Rock wave/hole feature nice and fluffy for big air!  The weather for the afternoon was sunny skies and warm temps. 

2011 Nolichucky Hometown Throwdown Event #2 Results:

Women’s K-1:

1. Taylor Dwyer (65)

2. Ann Marie Pelcher (64)

3. Alisa Royen (54)

Junior Men’s K-1:

1. Kai Franken (155)

2. Zac Agnew (86)

3. Carter Davis (82)

4. Mitch Bearden (67)

C-1:

1. David Goodwin (91)

2. Chris Vella (35)

Men’s Expert K-1:

1. Ty Caldwell (215)

2. Duane Gibson (212)

3. Andrew Koch (208)

4. Matt Anger (203)

5. Daniel Dutton (198)

6. Rick Franken (190)

7. Brad Barker (156)

8. Clay Lucas (149)

9. Brad Caldwell (142)

10. Paul Butler (119)

Men’s Intermediate K-1:

1. Mark Tomlinson (124)

2. Chris Vella (111)

3. Steve Moore (97)

4. Wesley R. Bradley (91)

5.  Jason Miller (78)

6. Travis Vaughn (55)

Men’s Novice K-1:

1. Jeff Weatherford – Hand Paddler (98)   

2. Mike Dorsey (55)

3. Ian Watson (52)

4. Michael McNeal (27)

5. Shaun Freudeman (11)

6. Pat Ladner (8)

7. Cody McNeal 

Click here for PDF copy of Event #2 Results

Thank you to all the competitors for their participation and congrats to all of our class winners of Event #2!

Event Highlights:

*Several of our Johnson City Team River Runner Chapter members came to represent & compete in this event!  A sincere thank you to all of them for their service to our country as veterans!  That makes them all a big winner of the day in my book!!!

*I think we set a new world record of largest amount of Brown Claws thrown in one event…

*We had 5 swimmers during the event that went home with with the coveted River Gypsies “Everybody Swims” sticker award.

*Finely aged paddler, Mike Dorsey, joined us again to show that you can have fun in these events at any age!

*Mahoney’s, Pyranha, & the Jackson Action Wagon set up nice vendor booths on site for folks to check out their latest paddling gear for sale & demo.

*Everyone who competed or volunteered in the event went home with a prize!

Event #2 Photo Album Links:

Cheryl Killman’s Noli HTTD #2 photo album #1

Cheryl Killman’s Noli HTTD #2 photo album #2

Cheryl Killman’s Noli HTTD #2 photo album #3

Cheryl Killman’s Noli HTTD #2 photo album #4

Noli HTTD #2 Award Ceremony photo album

Event #2 Video highlights by Paul Butler:

Click here to view the embedded video.

A big thank you goes out to all of our great volunteers for their help in event #2:

Jennifer Bradley – Technical Judge & Registration

Shannon Christy – Technical Judge

Erin Weatherford – Scribe & Registration

Ben Carr – Scribe

Susan Jarvis – Time Keeper

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 really seems to be generating some new excitement at our events this year!  I have been contacted by several of the competitors to sign up to Get Ranked.  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! 

Participation in the events is the key to bring home a point series championship this year.  After two events, each class is already stacking up in tight competition!  Congrats to our current top 3 leaders in their class:

Men’s Expert K-1:

1. Duane Gibson (230)

2. Daniel Dutton (210)

3. Ty Caldwell (135)

3. Michael Patterson (135)

Men’s Intermediate K-1:

1. Wesley R. Bradley (230)

2. Steve Moore (210)

2. Chris Vella (210)

Men’s Novice K-1:

1. Jeff Weatherford (270)

2. Mike Dorsey (250)

3. Ian Watson (230)

Women’s K-1:

1. Jo Ann Pasqua (135)

1. Taylor Dwyer (135)

3. Ann Marie Pelcher (125)

Junior Men’s K-1:

1. Kai Franken (135)

2. Zac Agnew (125)

3. Carter Davis (115)

C-1:

1. David Goodwin (270)

2. Chris Vella (125)

 Click here for PDF copy of Point Series Standings after #2

Mark your calendar for July 2, 2011 to join in on the fun & CLICK HERE to Register for EVENT #3 @ the NOC!  I hope to see you on the Nanty to throwdown!!

123►

The second event in the 2011 Nolichucky/Nantahala Hometown Throwdown series was a rockin’ rodeo at Big Rock on the Lower Nolichucky River, TN!  We had 32 competitors join in for some fun freestyle competition!  We also had several spectators who watched and cheered on the competitors from the Riverpark Campground bank.  The river level was around 800 CFS which made the Big Rock wave/hole feature nice and fluffy for big air!  The weather for the afternoon was sunny skies and warm temps. 

2011 Nolichucky Hometown Throwdown Event #2 Results:

Women’s K-1:

1. Taylor Dwyer (65)

2. Ann Marie Pelcher (64)

3. Alisa Royen (54)

Junior Men’s K-1:

1. Kai Franken (155)

2. Zac Agnew (86)

3. Carter Davis (82)

4. Mitch Bearden (67)

C-1:

1. David Goodwin (91)

2. Chris Vella (35)

Men’s Expert K-1:

1. Ty Caldwell (215)

2. Duane Gibson (212)

3. Andrew Koch (208)

4. Matt Anger (203)

5. Daniel Dutton (198)

6. Rick Franken (190)

7. Brad Barker (156)

8. Clay Lucas (149)

9. Brad Caldwell (142)

10. Paul Butler (119)

Men’s Intermediate K-1:

1. Mark Tomlinson (124)

2. Chris Vella (111)

3. Steve Moore (97)

4. Wesley R. Bradley (91)

5.  Jason Miller (78)

6. Travis Vaughn (55)

Men’s Novice K-1:

1. Jeff Weatherford – Hand Paddler (98)   

2. Mike Dorsey (55)

3. Ian Watson (52)

4. Michael McNeal (27)

5. Shaun Freudeman (11)

6. Pat Ladner (8)

7. Cody McNeal 

Click here for PDF copy of Event #2 Results

Thank you to all the competitors for their participation and congrats to all of our class winners of Event #2!

Event Highlights:

*Several of our Johnson City Team River Runner Chapter members came to represent & compete in this event!  A sincere thank you to all of them for their service to our country as veterans!  That makes them all a big winner of the day in my book!!!

*I think we set a new world record of largest amount of Brown Claws thrown in one event…

*We had 5 swimmers during the event that went home with with the coveted River Gypsies “Everybody Swims” sticker award.

*Finely aged paddler, Mike Dorsey, joined us again to show that you can have fun in these events at any age!

*Mahoney’s, Pyranha, & the Jackson Action Wagon set up nice vendor booths on site for folks to check out their latest paddling gear for sale & demo.

*Everyone who competed or volunteered in the event went home with a prize!

Event #2 Photo Album Links:

Cheryl Killman’s Noli HTTD #2 photo album #1

Cheryl Killman’s Noli HTTD #2 photo album #2

Cheryl Killman’s Noli HTTD #2 photo album #3

Cheryl Killman’s Noli HTTD #2 photo album #4

Noli HTTD #2 Award Ceremony photo album

Event #2 Video highlights by Paul Butler:

Click here to view the embedded video.

A big thank you goes out to all of our great volunteers for their help in event #2:

Jennifer Bradley – Technical Judge & Registration

Shannon Christy – Technical Judge

Erin Weatherford – Scribe & Registration

Ben Carr – Scribe

Susan Jarvis – Time Keeper

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 really seems to be generating some new excitement at our events this year!  I have been contacted by several of the competitors to sign up to Get Ranked.  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! 

Participation in the events is the key to bring home a point series championship this year.  After two events, each class is already stacking up in tight competition!  Congrats to our current top 3 leaders in their class:

Men’s Expert K-1:

1. Duane Gibson (230)

2. Daniel Dutton (210)

3. Ty Caldwell (135)

3. Michael Patterson (135)

Men’s Intermediate K-1:

1. Wesley R. Bradley (230)

2. Steve Moore (210)

2. Chris Vella (210)

Men’s Novice K-1:

1. Jeff Weatherford (270)

2. Mike Dorsey (250)

3. Ian Watson (230)

Women’s K-1:

1. Jo Ann Pasqua (135)

1. Taylor Dwyer (135)

3. Ann Marie Pelcher (125)

Junior Men’s K-1:

1. Kai Franken (135)

2. Zac Agnew (125)

3. Carter Davis (115)

C-1:

1. David Goodwin (270)

2. Chris Vella (125)

 Click here for PDF copy of Point Series Standings after #2

Mark your calendar for July 2, 2011 to join in on the fun & CLICK HERE to Register for EVENT #3 @ the NOC!  I hope to see you on the Nanty to throwdown!!

123►

The first event in the 2011 Nolichucky/Nantahala Hometown Throwdown series was a fun change in format and a great time for all!  Rock splats, rock spins, split wheels, splat wheels, wave wheels, eddy wheels, and macho moves abound in the throwdown!  We had 19 competitors join in for some friendly downriver freestyle/slalom competition!  We had 25-30 spectators who watched and cheered on the competitors from the Riverpark Campground bank.  The event was held at Big Rock on the Lower Nolichucky River, TN. 

The river level was around 1,200 CFS which made the main Big Rock wave/hole feature too flushy for our typical rodeo format.  So we took a lemon and made lemonade by laying out a fun slalom course through the rapid.  The first part of the course involved catching 3 eddies down through the rapid marked with traffic cones on the rocks.  The competitors got 10 points for each of the marked eddies they caught.  The next part of the course was a football toss into a bucket for 10 points.  The last part of the course was a paddle toss through a hula hoop for 10 points.  Competitors had 2:00 minutes to complete the course while attempting downriver freestyle moves along the way to earn additional points from our Variety and Technical judges!  A big thanks to Daniel Dutton for helping us set this fun course!

The weather for the afternoon began with partly sunny skies and mild temps.  As we were finishing up the first heat of competitors, a small severe thunderstorm rolled through the valley that made us stop the event for 45 minutes to seek shelter.  After the storm passed the event went back into full swing with warmer water thanks to the storm! 

2011 Nolichucky Hometown Throwdown Event #1 Results:

Women K-1:

1. Jo Ann Pasqua (99)

C-1:

1. David Goodwin (223)

Men’s Expert K-1:

1. Michael Patterson (377)

2. Kerry Porche – Hand Paddler (215)

3. Daniel Dutton (198)

4. Duane Gibson (184)

5. David Ledford (155)

Men’s Intermediate K-1:

1. Alex Andrews (198)

2. Wesley R. Bradley (161)

3. Andrew Bentley (160)

4. Travis Vaughn (153)

5. Steve Moore (148)

6. Chris Vella (142)

7. Randy Pasqua (133)       

8. Ryan Shealy (125)

Men’s Novice K-1:

1. Jeff Weatherford (154)   

2. Mike Dorsey (145)

3. Ian Watson (135)

4. Michael McNeal (15)

(Click here for a PDF copy of Event #1 Results)

Thank you to all the competitors for their participation and congrats to all of our class winners of Event #1!

Event Highlights:

*Michael McNeal, from our Johnson City Team River Runner Chapter, competed in his first ever kayaking event at this throwdown!  He has only been in moving current on the river twice before this event… He completed his run through the Big Rock rapid and showed a lot of GUTS to represent for JCTRR!  Congrats to Michael on this feat and a sincere thank you to him for his service to our country as a veteran!  That makes him the big winner of the day in my book!!!

* Mike Patterson once again dominated the competition and entertained the crowd with a variety of downriver tricks!  He remains the undefeated champion of the Noli!

* Andrew Bentley gave us a great show in the new Jackson Kayak Coosa with a dance & crash in one run!

* Dave Ledford got loose in turn #2 and had a wild roll over NASCAR style crash over the ledge into the eddy!  He rolled up finished the rest of the run in style!

*Chris Vella finished his last run with an open cockpit seal launch!

*We had 6 swimmers (3 Experts) during the event who went home with with the coveted River Gypsies “Everybody Swims” sticker award.

*Finely aged paddlers, Mike Dorsey, Jo Ann Pasqua, & Randy Pasqua, join us in event #1 to show us that you can have fun in these events at any age!

*Mahoney’s & the J.A.W. set up a nice vendor booth on site for folks to check out their latest paddling gear for sale & demo.

*Everyone who competed or volunteered in the event went home with a prize!

Event #1 Photo Album Links:

Cheryl Killman’s Noli HTTD #1 photo album #1

Cheryl Killman’s Noli HTTD #1 photo album #2

Cheryl Killman’s Noli HTTD #1 photo album #3

Noli HTTD #1 Award Ceremony photo album

A big THANK YOU goes out to all of our great volunteers for their help in event #1:

Jennifer Bradley – Variety Judge & Registration

Melanie Patterson – Technical Judge

Brian Vermillion, Mike Patterson & Ben Carr – Scribes

Susan Jarvis – Time Keeper

Cheryl Killman – Photographer

Andrew Smith – Football Toss Referee

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 really seems to be generating some new excitement at our events this year!  I have been contacted by several of the competitors of event #1 to sign up to Get Ranked.  Don’t MISS OUT on your chance to win 1 of 4 Jackson Kayak Stars that we are giving away to all members who pay $10 to Get Ranked by June 1, 2011! 

Participation in the events is the key to bring home a series championship this year!  Check out the current standings below:

Click here for a PDF copy of Point Series Standings

Mark your calendar for June 11, 2011 to join us &  for event #2!  I hope to see you on the Noli to throwdown!!

12►

Base Camp Cullowhee’s 6^th Annual Kayak Demo Day we off without a hitch this past Saturday. Pyranha, Jackson, Bliss-Stick, and Wave Sport athletes arrived the Eternity Hole just before noon, staging up todays freshest kayaks for an afternoon session which won’t soon be forgotten. Dagger and Liquid Logic boats were also available for demo, with a solid 2 ½ hours of demo time before the first event of the 2011 World Kayak Hometown Throwdowns. Everyone attending the demo was encouraged to participate in the Pro-Am format event scheduled for the afternoon. Competition participants would be split into teams of three with one boater, a second good boater, and a third better boater. With 24 local paddlers registering for the event, an even eight teams were easily divided. The competition would run in 3 heats with each paddler getting two rides, each lasting for one minute. Individual scores within a team were compiled for an overall team score.

Scoring was done by the team of Jason and Samantha Miller (Charlotte Region), as well as the team of Brad Caldwell (Nantahala Region) and myself.  Points were awarded as such: 1 point (any 180 degree rotation), 4 points (loop, Godzilla, or any variation), 6 points (loop, Godzilla, or any variation with air), and 10 points for the more advanced tricks (McNasty, Phonics Monkey). In addition to technical points, all paddlers were able to score a maximum of 10 style points (brow claw, paddle guitar, blowing kisses to the crowd, ECT).

Heat #1 brought the teams of Tommy Pagles/Jay Mahan/Brand Caldwell, Hugh Willard/Mike Dorsey/Paul Butler, and Andrew Blease/Michael Thurmond/Kerry Porche to the water for their much anticipated minute ride in Eternity. Heat highlights included kickflip entry moves from Kerry and Mike, well established side surfs, loops, paddle tosses, and stealth beer chugging.

12►

With Heat #1 coming to an end the boat swap began, everyone eager to be in their favorite demo boat. Heat #2 would welcome to teams of Shannon Christy/Trent Thibodeaux/Tommy Yon, Spencer Redmond/Ian Kennedy/Casey Jones, and Shawn Sheffield/Ashley Doty/Sam Fulbright to the Eternity Hole for a round full of cartwheeling, air-looping, and a little swimming. Big style points go to Shannon and Tommy for their excellent team work (it does take two for the Hand of God; twice…)

12►

Heat #3 was the smallest of the rounds with only two teams. After watching the beginning of the competition, the final teams of Matt Redmond/Mich Beardon/Chan Jones and Zach Agneu/Jackson Amburn/Chris Wing took to the water. More big loops, a few snappy window shades, and a Brown Claw or two made for a thrilling final heat.

With the competition complete, participants packed up and headed back to the Illusions Club at Western Caroina University for some prizes, pizza, and paddling porn. Final scores are as follows:

1^st:          Team 4 – Shannon/Trent/Tommy            219 points

2^nd:         Team 6 – Shawn/Ashley/Sam                     188 points

3^rd:         Team 8 – Zach/Jackson/Chris                      142 points

4^th:          Team 5 – Spencer/Ian/Casey                      134 points

5^th:          Team 1 – Tommy/Jay/Brad                          119 points

6^th:          Team 2 – Hugh/Mike/Paul                           118 points

7^th:          Team 3 – Andrew/Michael/Kerry             114 points

8^th:          Team 7 – Matt/Mich/Chan                          104 points

Shwag!

Ready to charge…

Many thanks go to all of our participants for starting off the 2011 World Kayak Hometown Throwdown Series off with a bang. For more information on upcoming World Kayak Events in your region check the Hometown Throwdown Site. We would like to thank all of the sponsors and supporters of this event: Base Camp Cullowhee, World Kayak, Diamond Brand, ERA, Pyranha, Jackson Kayak, Bliss-Stick, WRSI, Team Scum, Outdoor 76, LVM, River Roots, Eno, Watershed, Monster Energy, Mountain Kahki, Ripple Noseplugs, NattyShred, WCAT, and Tuck Reader.

See everyone on the water real soon,

Justin Kleberg