Payette River Games 2013
Stephen Wright going huge in 2012 |
Last year I saw this photo of Stephen
Wright and knew that this was a feature I would really like to visit.
Then in September at the World Cups I was told about the 2013 Kelly's
white water park event, a big white water festival that would be
hosted at the end of the US freestyle tour. 1 year on and I am out
here in Idaho having just competed in the first annual Payette River
Games event.
Kellys White Water Park |
The Payette River Games is the brain
child of Mark and Kristina Pickard. Mark funded and
built the Kelly's Whitewater Park to celebrate the life of his Kristina's sister Kelly, who was tragically killed in a car crash in 1997. The park
which was built to celebrate her spirit and love of the river and the
great outdoors has revolutionised the small idaho town of cascade and
now draws hundreds of paddlers each year.
Kelly Brennan Memorial |
Hosts of the US Freestyle Kayak
Nationals in 2012 they decided to increase the event size this year
and make it a multi sport event. So this weekend saw hundreds of
athletes, from golfers to volleyballers, kayakers to stand up
paddlers, climbers to lumber jacks and fitness fanatics, travel to
Idaho to compete in a whole array of events.
Training begins on the brand new Volleyball court |
Over the course of the weekend I
competed in 3 events (freestyle, sprint and boater cross) completing
my own boating triathlon. The sprint and boater cross was quite a
shock to the system as training for freestyle I rarely paddle forward
anymore. So the 1.5 mile flat water sprint really tested me
physically and mentally as I raced against some very experienced
sprint competitors. In the boater cross I had great fun battling
competitors young and old to try and be the first across the finish
line and progress through each round.
Competitors wait for the boater cross shuttle |
And in the freestyle well, Kellys Top hole
is amazing. A tough yet awesome river wide hole with the perfect wave
shoulder capable of allowing athletes to throw every possible wave
and hole move. It was great to be out here in America competing
against all my US tour friends again especially to see how much they
had come on since last year.
Plugging for a big loop |
In the freestyle competition despite
leading all the prelim rounds I couldn't bring it together to match
Emily Jackson's first ride in the finals. She threw an awesome wave
routine and at 8 months pregnant took the win. However I was very
happy with 2nd place and my rides especially after having
had only a few days practise here at Kelly's before the event.
Courtney Kerin (NZ) throwing down in the finals |
In the end the Sprint and Boater cross
results were combined and US downriver champion Adrivene Levknecht
took the win with a clear lead and, in a big boat for the first time
in almost a year, I was again very happy to take another 2nd
place finish. Especially after a super fun and well fought boater
cross final battle with young US paddling super star 12 year old Sage
Donnelly.
Loving life in Cascade Idaho |
All in all it was an amazing event at
an awesome whitewater park on a beautiful sunny weekend. Thousands of
people came out to celebrate and watch all the athletes compete for
the massive prize purse (the biggest kayaking purse in the world) put
forward personally by the Pickards.
Mark and Kristina Pickard enjoy the event |
And the original inspiration for me
coming to the event, Stephen Wrights huge loop. Well this weekend at
the first annual Payette River Games Stephen Wright set a new World
record for the highest score in a 1 minute ride using the US scoring
system with a huge 2160 points! What an event!
Stephen Celebrates his winning ride |
I have to say a massive thank you to a
number of companies and individuals who have played a huge part in
helping me be able to attend this event. Special thanks to Sweetwater
Coaching, Peak UK, Jackson Kayak, Teva, Alpenglow Mountain Sport
store, Phillip Robert, the Donnelly family and of course Mark and Kristina Pickard
and the team at Kelly's for creating such an awesome white water park
and putting on such a massive fun event.
All photos by Phillip Robert.
All photos by Phillip Robert.