BV Pro Rodeo

Saturday was the first annual BV Pro Rodeo. The South Main Project, an environmentally friendly neighborhood created by kayakers, hosted the event at the top hole of the play park. Twenty two pros came to the event to compete for a $2000 cash purse.

The hole was dynamic and flushy and only 5 advanced to the finals, so competitors had to be on to make it. In the first heat Jonathon Shales and Dustin Urban had great rides. I had good rides in the second heat which put me in third place, but there were still many great paddlers to come. In the third heat, Nick Troutman and Jason Craig threw down to bump me into 5th place. The last competitor in the fourth heat, Dane Jackson, had high scoring rides which placed him into second. It came down to the last ride in prelims and I just missed the cut which earned me the name “bubble boy” for the rest of the day.

Top pros that didn't make the cut include Erick Jackson, Stephen Wright, Bryan Kirk, Andrew Holcomb, Clay Wright, Jed Selby and the list goes on. It was interesting to see younger generation dominate this competition. We will have to see how the rest of the season goes.

In finals, the best of two rides advanced to the top three. Jonathon Shales and Jason Craig didn’t make the cut and finished in 4th and 5th. From there the best of three rides determined who won. Dustin Urban had an awesome first ride at 122 points. Nick Troutman came close with 119 points to finish second and Dane Jackson finished third.

Here are the results that I remember. Complete results should be posed at the BV Pro Rodeo site soon.

Mens
1. Dustin Urban
2. Nick Troutman
3. Dane Jackson
4. Jonathon Shales
5. Jason Craig
6. Greg Parker
7. Stephen Wright

Womens
1. Emily Jackson
2. Ruth Gordon
3. Katie Urban

Below is a short video of the highlights from my competition rides.

CKS Paddlefest 2008 Video and Photo Recap

CKS Paddlefest 2008 was awesome and a huge success for participants and the Colorado paddling community! We had many participants in the numerous clinics and educational events, great movie premieres, the 'dating game', on water demos, live music and much more. The huge storewide sale was complimented by the fact that customers could check out all the new gear while interacting with Manufacturer reps and professional athletes like Dan Gavere (Werner) and Eric Jackson (Jackson Kayak).

Check out the Paddlefest Video! (below)


A main element of Paddlefest is the used boat and gear swap where paddlers can buy or sell any of the 5 essentials. This is an excellent way for newbies to get very affordeable, quality gear and for paddlers seeking to buy new boats or gear to sell their used to buy new. This year we had a HUGE selection of boats at the swap from many eras and in all price ranges from $50 - $ 700. On average, you could get a great playboat, creekboat or river runner for about $300.

Kids love Paddlefest and there wer lots of kids and family friendly activities! Bring yours next year but just dont let them watch the 'Dating Game'...that one is for the adults.

The street scene at Paddlefest

EJ (Eric Jackson) got out in the instructional pool to help people 'bombproof' their role. It was fun to see techniques from EJ's Rolling and Bracing in real life.

The Kid's paddling clinic at the BV town lake (one block from CKS) was a great success. Kids love kayaking.
Corey Volt dressed up as....himself!
Paddlers gathered at the Ska beer garden for afternoon and after paddling socializing, food and refreshments.

Live music was free on both Friday and Saturday nights.

CKS Paddlefest is conviniently located 2 blocks away from the 4 amazing features of the Buena Vista Whitewater Park. Check out a recent video from the park below!

Here it comes! Each day the weather gets a little warmer, and, little by little, the water levels rise. As many runs are still inaccessible due to high snow levels in the mountain passes, we wanted to find some water other than the local runs, but we couldn't make too long of a trip because two of our crew members, Mark Reed and Miles Small, had to work the next day. So, we learned that Bailey (North Fork of the South Platte) is good to run down to 160cfs and it was running at 250. It turns out that a run on Bailey at 250cfs is a perfect low-water class IV/V- season warm up. Check out some pictures!

Aubrie and I dinkin' around at the put in

4 Falls scout (Mark, Miles and I)
Aubrie on the bottom section of 4 Falls
Mark on the bottom section of 4 Falls
Checkin' out Supermax
Ready for takeoff on the bottom of Supermax (AKA Tampax)
Mark riding the pillow on the bottom of Supermax
Mark on the last drop of Supermax
Miles, gettin' wicked
This is what Miles does when he gets excited...
BOOF!

Aubrie cleaning Tampax!

There are three or four other rapids (not pictured) that should be scouted if you're new to the run, including Deer Creek Rapid, so take care and scout the blind corners. A Colorado guidebook will inform you more fully on the put in, take out, and rapids worth looking at. Beware of the top sections of 4 Falls and Supermax!

Fil Payne