Prelims Results

With around 30 competitors, we ran through the BV Pro Rodeo prelims yesterday at the downtown hole, just off the South Main Square. It was great to see so many world class boaters demonstrate the potential of the bottom feature. Early sun gave way to gray and wet conditions for the third heat of men. Finals have been moved from Sunday to today, Saturday, at 6pm. Here are your finalists:

Men’s K1:

1. Eric Jackson
2. Dustin Urban
3. Nick Troutman
4. Andrew Holcombe 
5. Stephen Wright

Women’s K1:

1. Emily Jackson
2. Tanya Faux
3. Ruth Gordon

Schedule of Events

Preliminaries for the BV Pro Rodeo will take place Friday, May 22nd at 3pm. Registration will take place between 1pm and 3pm, just before prelims, at the site of the competition. “Where is that?” you might ask. Well, we’re freestyling that decision, depending on the level (which continues to come up in the midst of hot weather!). But we can tell you that it will either be located at the Uptown Hole (drive to the end of East Main Street, and it’s just above the footbridge) or at the Downtown Hole (adjacent to the South Main Square. See the map below or click here for directions). With the early runoff, the feature promises to be sweet either way. See you soon!

Announcing Keen Unsponsored

In this time of economic uncertainty and fiscal fright, KEEN would like to help enable you to live your Hybrid.Life.  This year at the BV Pro Rodeo KEEN will award the top male and female UNSPONSORED* paddlers with entry into the FIBArk Freestyle Competition in June.  So sharpen up your skills and get ready to throw down at the BV Pro Rodeo during Paddlefest and you could win this prize valued at $50.**

Create.Play.Care – It’s a way of Life…We call it Hybrid.Life.

*Unsponsored – One who does not currently receive cash or product from any kayak, footwear, or apparel manufacturer in return for representation
**$50 cash value – As you will not receive any cash, only entry into the FIBArk Freestyle Competition, your amateur status will be safe

CKS Paddlefest & BV Pro Rodeo Join Forces in 2009

We are excited to announce that this year the BV Pro Rodeo will occur in conjunction with the Colorado Kayak Supply’s popular Paddlefest. From May 22nd-24th thousands of river enthusiasts will descend upon the historic mountain town of Buena Vista for an action-packed weekend of festivities, education and competition. The BV Pro Rodeo will be the centerpiece of Paddlefest 2009 with the world’s top athletes battling it out on the new and improved Buena Vista River Park Friday and Sunday afternoon.  Winners will be crowned the king and queen of the Buena Vista Riverpark and will take home one of the largest cash purses of the 2009 Pro Rodeo circuit.

Prelims for the high flying Men’s, Women’s and Junior freestyle kayaking classes will take place on Friday, May 22nd. Finals will take place Sunday afternoon and will be followed by a huge party at South Main’s new Eddyline Restaurant and Brewery. Check out the pics and video below for a taste of the action.

Good times at the play park. The above shot was taken at the uptown hole.

Good Times on New Features

It’s starting to warm up here in BV, and the water is slowly starting to rise. The Ark has made it into the 800 cfs range on two days now, and a real warm spell could start bigger runoff any day. We locals have been enjoying the water though, and it turns out that we have several features to work with that are a good time at these levels. I just got off the river at 700 cfs and thought I’d give a synopsis.

The uptown hole is steep and cranking, offering up loops, McNasties, blunts, backstabs, tumblewheels… most anything is possible there and it’s been really nice to have access from river left again after the improvements this spring.

The midtown hole is a local favorite these days. It’s more powerful after the changes, with a dynamic curler feeding in on surfer’s right. That makes for good blunts and backstabs, loops, McNasties, cleans, etc. I usually hit on my loops but not on my wheels.

The downtown hole is quite fun, and I’m really hopeful that this one will be excellent with higher flows. It’s got a lot of wave character and is very deep right now. It’s a bit slower-paced but seems to be speeding up with each rise in water level. At 700 I was able to cartwheel, clean and tricky woo in the small pourover feeding into the hole from river right.

So we’re already having fun on the BV whitewater park, and we should be in great shape for the BV Pro Rodeo. Can’t wait to see everyone there!

Buena Vista Whitewater Park New and Improved!

Many thanks to all who helped make this spring’s whitewater park improvements possible! For a comprehensive rundown of the features and improvements, check out this great post at the CKS blog. It’s hard to say how it will all look as the water comes up, but things are definitely looking promising, with several features really fun already. Loops, clean cartwheels and more are a go in the Midtown and Downtown holes between 600 and 700 cfs. We should have plenty to work with come event time!