Man, those AIRE boats are shiny! 4 pro men and 4 pro women teams competed in this year’s USRA Rafting Nationals on the Upper Clackamas. Add in 5 recreational teams to the mix and we had one heck of a good time! Team Teva (CO) took 1st ahead of  the Ark Sharks (CO) and the Oregon Rafting Team (ORT, OR).

Some local press:
Oregonian article on UCWWF featuring ORT
Oregonian article on USRA Nationals featuring ORT

Team Teva leads the pack out of Fish Creek during the mass start downriver race to Memaloose.

AIRE graciously provided race boats for all the pro men and women teams during Nationals, thanks!

ORT peels out of upriver gate B above Carter Falls.

ORT members Law (left) and Ox (right) punch their way through the holes in Carter Falls rapid during the Slalom run.

A big thanks to the UCWWF organizers, event staff, USRA, and all who continue to support the USRA in our endeavors into bringing whitewater raft racing mainstream.

This weekend’s Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival outside of Portland, OR will play host to the most competitive whitewater event in the US. Teams from across the country are competing in this 4 event race, comprised of sprint, downriver, slalom, and head-to-head disciplines.

For more information, please visit the Upper Clackamas Festival website.

The UCWWF is an event open to all boaters (kayaks, driftboats, riverboards, IKs, cats, etc) and attracts hundreds of people from the Northwest. Come and join the action as a participant or spectator!

Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival 2009 from CRG Video on Vimeo.

FORGE Link
FB Event Link










The Wildwater Story

“When ordinary people, share a singular passion, the extraordinary emerges.

WildWater is a journey into the mind and soul of whitewater, into the places only river runners can go, places of discovery, solitude and risk. Its a visually stunning feast for the senses, and an expedition into new ideas. We set out to create a new kind of adventure film. One where image, sound and ideas trump all else. We wanted to communicate the essence of the thing – wild places and whitewater – and put its soul on film. A tall order. After thousands of hours of effort around the world and in our studio, we have achieved much of the goal. Borrowing Hollywood film tools and techniques, including RED digital cinema cameras and world class post production techniques, WildWater brings not only new perspectives, but new images to kayaking and the world of adventure cinema.

The film focuses on a handful of peoplle who share a deep passion for wild places, rivers and running whitewater. We meet Rod Nash, the wise elder of the river and one of the founders of the wilderness movement in the USA, while he is rowing the Grand Canyon once more at age 72. We meet Doug Ammons, author of the book Whitewater Philosophy and one of Outside Magazines Greatest Adventurers of the last 100 years. And we hear from the current generation of men and women, sharing their love of this shared epxerience. The result crosses beyond generational and experiental boundaries, even beyond whitewater, to look at the soul of adventure sports and what they mean to all of us as a practice that is about far more than just fun.”

The Colorado men and women’s raft teams volunteered in October 2010 with the Eagle River Watershed Council as part of the Edwards Eagle River restoration project. Team members cut willow branches to create will wattles, or “logs” made from willow clippings. The wattles were used in an effort to stabilize the stream banks from further erosion and to provide shade and cooling to benefit the health of the river and fish.

Check out some photos from the day:

Check out a few photos below and official times here from the 2010 Teva World Rafting Championships in the Netherlands.

The Pan American Championships are being held in Foz do Aguassu, Brazil August 20 – 23, 2010! Check out the event website here. The race is on the Itaipu Canal, an awesome WW park. If your organization/team is interested in representing the USRA and USA in these games, please contact the USRA here or the Pan American Championship event organizers.

View 2010 Whitewater Championship Series (CA, OR, ID, WA) race results and overall rankings here.

Great raft racing from the Pacific Northwest this past weekend at the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival! View results and photos HERE.

Bring your sunscreen. 77 degrees Saturday in Oregon! The Upper Clackamas WW Festival is hosting a multi-disciplinary, R4 showdown, in adherence to IRF standards. Pro and recreational divisions. Boats provided by Sotar to the teams with the top 12 times after the Time Trial on Saturday morning. This overall event is considered a “dress rehearsal” for the 2011 R6 National Championships which will also be held on the Clackamas!

Find all the details HERE. Of course our kayaking and catboating brothers and sisters will be gettin down as well… Free bar-b-q by Next Adventure Saturday night! The 27th Annual UCWWF is the #1 whitewater event on the West Coast:)

And of course there is the BIG AIR ramp…is there a way to get rafts down that thing?!

Check out the pics from last year event HERE.

The US National Cup will take place within the event structure of the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival (UCWWF). Registration, timing, and results will be done separately from the UCWWF by USRA race officials. The 2010 US National Cup is essentially a dress rehearsal to prepare local coordinators to host the R6 National Championships in 2011.

Visit the Official 2010 UCWWF Event site here.

Download the 2010 UCWWF Event Schedule here.