Slalom race replaces Animas River Days
‘Biggest race in the country’ set for June 10-12

Nic Borst, front, and Chris Wiegand,rear, of the Front Range Paddling Association out of Boulder, navigate the frigid waters just below Smelter earlier this spring. Nearly 100 slalom paddlers are expected to descend upon Durango the weekend of June 10-12 for the National Senior Team Trials, of which the top three finishers in each category will move onto the national team and World Cup./Photo by Todd Newcomer.

by Missy Votel

First the bad news: There will be no official Animas River Days rodeo this year. Now for the good news. For the first time in more than a decade, the U.S. Canoe and Kayak Team will be packing up and heading west of the Mississippi for its annual Senior Team Trials. The trials, which qualify boaters for the national team, will be coming to Durango for the first time June 10-12.

"It's a huge deal," said John Brennan, Durango Whitewater coach and course designer for the races. "It's the biggest race in the country."

And while the race may be a coup for putting Durango on the international slalom racing map, it just happened to coincide with the only weekend available for the annual hometown rodeo. According to Andy Corra, past organizer of Animas River Days, the first weekend in June, typically reserved for the event, was bypassed because of stiff competition from rodeos in Vail, Steamboat Springs and Golden. With the second weekend of the month already booked here, and water levels iffy beyond that, he decided to take a year off. However, he notes the hiatus will hopefully only be temporary.

"It's kind of taking a sabbatical," he said, noting that there will still be a river parade and party on June 10.

However, according to Brennan, there still should be plenty of action for local whitewater fans, with the country's top slalom boaters vying for a coveted few spots on the national team. The team trials are pivotal for slalom racers because they determine whether racers go back to their hometown training courses or on to bigger and better.

"As an athlete, it's such a highly contentious race because it decides the next year of your life," he said. "If you do well, then you're going off to the show."

The expected high water should also make things interesting, he added.

"No matter what the level is, it will definitely be bigger than what most of these athletes are used to," he said. "It's super fun and fast to race at that level. I call it linking recoveries."

Corra was more succinct in his assessment of the possible conditions.

Corra was more succinct in his assessment of the possible conditions.

"The high water is making all the Eastern boaters nervous," he said.

Brennan said the Animas River course, which will start at Smelter and run down to below Corner Pocket, should be similar in conditions to the Olympic Course at Helliniko in Athens. Although the Athens course ran at 800 cfs, a fraction of the 4,000 to 5,000 or so expected in Durango, it had a much steeper gradient of 100 feet/mile, compared to Durango's 20 feet/mile.

"Although I've never been to the course in Athens, a lot of people and commentators were comparing it to the Animas," he said. "They're both very powerful, and that's what they're wanting these days. More and more powerful courses."

Brennan said to keep things fair, the course, which will be designed to run 90 to 100 seconds per heat, will not be revealed to racers until the night before. However, they are welcome to race gates on the whitewater course as much as possible up until then.

Angela Lokken, Durango Whitewater mother and U.S. Whitewater Slalom Events Coordinator, said racers will likely start showing up in mid-May to get a feel for the changing levels. Overall, she said about 90 racers from throughout the country are expected to compete, including Olympic Silver Medalist Rebecca Giddens (womens K1) and Scotty Parsons and Brett Heyl (mens K1).

Also expected to attend is former Durango C-1er Ryan Bonds, who is currently going to school in Washington, D.C. Although the pool of local candidates has yet to be determined, Lokken said there are two opportunities for them to qualify for the trials, this weekend at a race in California and next month at a race in Golden. She said her son, Will Lokken, 16, and his Durango Whitewater teammate John a, 16, hope to qualify for the men's K1 division.

"If they do, they will be some of the younger competitors," she said.

The top three finishers in each category - K1 Men, K1 Women, C1 and C2 - will be chosen for the national team based on the best two out of their three days. From there, they will go onto international races in Germany, the Czech Republic, Spain and ultimately, the World Cup in Sydney, Australia, in September.

"It should be exciting, I'm really looking forward to it," said Lokken who has been organizing races in Durango since the late '80s. "People will have a chance to come out and see some real exciting world-class paddling."