NUMBERSBOATERX, BUENAVISTA,COLORADO
Thissummermarksthefifthseasonof theNumbersBoaterCrossRaceSeriesin BuenaVista,Colorado.Theten-week
seriesfeaturesa massstartracefrombelowNumber1 rapidtoNumber5.5eachTuesday.It’sBeerleagueskiing,
butwithkayaks.Racersearnpointsbasedontheirfinishingposition;theathletewiththemostpointsattheendof
seasonwins.Currentlyleadingtheseasonrankingsis seasonalraftguideBrentDenyswithformerseasonchamps
NicBlakeandSergioVidalchompingat thebitbehindhim.Thecurrentwomen'sleaderis CarriganSchlemmerwith
AveryPotternotfarbehind.Attheendoftheseason,theoverallchampionswillreceivea cashpayout(fundedby
everyracerpayinga $20entryfee),anda customweldedBoaterX trophy.Thelineupis entirelydifferenteachweek,as
visitingboatersarealwayswelcometo joinin. 2019 sawevena fewprosmakeappearancesastheyswungthrough
theColoradotour.Thishomegrowneventattracts 15 orsoracerseachweekandis alwaysreadyformoretojoin.
“Thisseasonis especiallyexcitingbecauseofa hugesnowpack,’'saystheevent’sorganizer,NicBlake.“Wehavea
“leisureclass”comprisedoflocalswhodon’twanttorace.Theymakeupoursafetyandhavebeenparamountfor
theevent’ssuccessthisseason.”Onehighlighteachyearis4thof Julyweek,whenracersswaptheircreekboatsfor
sliceyboats,andtheirspeedforverticalityin a downriverrodeojudgedbyformerrodeochampturnedSUPPioneer
MikeHarvey.IfyouarecomingthroughtheArkansasValley,thisis a worthyeventto visit.Takepartorcatcha glimpse
ofhowthelocalpaddlingcommunityblows off steam after a busy day. Either way, you are always welcome to share
a coldEddylinebeeratthetakeout.Report: Fred Morrison | Photography: Anna TollTHELIVELIKEMARIAFREESTYLECLASSIC,
NORTHCAROLINA,USA,MARCH 2019MariaNoakeswasandremainsa hugeinspirationandrolemodelin theglobalkayakingcommunity.Is therea better
waytocelebrateherlifethana superfun,all-inclusivefreestyleevent?TheFreestyleClassicwasstartedin 2017by
MariaNoakesandToddMcGinnisasa freestyleshootout.AfterMaria’spassingin 2018,it becamea competitionin
herremembrance.TheeventtakesplaceontheNantahalaRiverin BrysonCity,NorthCarolina,and,in additionto the
regularfreestyleclasses,hasa sliceyboatclassanda beginnerclass.Thisyear’sLiveLikeMariaFreestyleClassicwas
a greatsuccess,withpeoplefromalldifferentaspectsofthekayakingcommunitycomingtogethertopartakeand
towatchthecompetition.CompaniessuchasLiquidLogicKayaks,ImmersionResearch,AstralBuoyancy,andmany
othersgenerouslysponsoredtheevent.Thehighest-scoringrideswerethrowndownbyHunterKatich(1035),Mason
Hargrove(830),andOliviaMcGinnis(610).Thiseventhassucha friendlyandwelcomingvibe,andhaseverythingin
a competitionthatMariastoodfor.Thereis nothingMariawouldhavelovedmorethanseeingkayakersofalllevels
enjoyingtheriverwhilecheeringeachotheronandhavinga blast.So put it on your calendar for next year, and take part!Report: Olivia McGinnis | Photography: Mason HargroveEKSTREMSPORTVEKOJUNE23TH-30TH,VOSS(NORWAY)
In June2019,Ekstremsportveko(Extremesportsweek)tookplacein Voss,Norwayforthe22ndtime.Vekobringsathletesfrom
allovertheworld,andfromallkindsofdifferentsports,togetherfora weekofextremesportsandextremepartying.Sports
representedincludekayaking,rafting,longboarding,skydiving,basejumping,mountainbiking,paraglidingandmore.Water
levelsweregoodformostofJunewhichmeantloadsofgreatkayaking,includingMyrkdalselviandTeigdalenwiththefamous
DoubleDrop,forallthekayakerswhocameto Vossearly.It’salwaysa suresignthatVekois gettingclosewhencarswithkayaks
ontheroofareeverywhere.DuringVekowaterlevelswerelow,whichmeantthattheAWPEuropeanChampionshipstookplace
ontheMyrkdalselvi,whichhashousedtheDownrivercompetitionforthepastthreeyears.Theweatherwasgreatthedayof
thecompetition,whichsetthesceneforanawesomedaywithsmoothlinesandquicktimes.Finaltimesweresuperclose,
andthetop 10 inthemen’sclasswereallwithinthreeseconds.NicolasCaussanel(France)grabbed1stplacetoclaimthe
titleofEuropeanChampion.Lastyear’sMyrkdalenChampion,AndiBrunner(Austria),endedupsecond,whileJamieSutton
(NZ/Voss)andJonasLeMorvan(France)tiedfor3rdplace.Inthewomen’sclass,BethMorgan(England)claimed1stplace,
followedbyNouriaNewman(France)in2nd,andLucieSediva(CzechRepublic/Voss)in3rd.Friday’sTimberholeEndurowas
a greatsuccess.MicheleRamazza(Italy)tookthewinin themen’sclass,whileNouriaNewman(France)tookthefirstplacein
thewomen’sclass.MovingtheHead2Headtotheriverin townandintroducinga MassStartcompetitionleta newgeneration
ofyounggunsentertheirfirstkayakingcompetitionever.At Vekoyoucanalwayspartyhardbetweenbattlesif youwantto,but
thisyearthekayakersputuptheirbestshowonthelastnight.AndiBrunnerandJoeRea-Dickinscrowd-surfedtheVekocrowd
thebestwaypossible– nakedandin aninflatablecar,withwaterguns.We’restoked for next year, and hope you are joining us.
21st- 28thofJune2020.VISIT:ekstremsportveko.comforinformation.Report: Tora Heggem | Photography: Ane Dahl KristengårdNEWS