Why don't most of us race?

[ChrisKelly]

last week I was camped near a bunch of the nationals racer heads and spent an evening campfire chatting with them.

We got to discussing why most open boaters do not race, and, to some extent why many racers only race, rather than boating much just for fun. Many of the racres who were at the NOC event had never paddled the Nantahala upstream of the course, nor had they ever paddled the Ocoee, Tellico etc.

In my own case I used to race a bit at our Club's annual event and went a couple of times down to the Alabama races but generally would rather just paddle. Plus, if I am honest, I know that I do not want to look silly, missing a bunch of gates etc.

I think that we all accept that paddling gates is excellent for one's skills.

If you paddle but do not race why not? Would you be willing to and if so, under what circumstances?

thanks for playing, Chris Kelly

[sbroam]

I went to the Nationals which made, I think, my 4th slalom racing an open boat. I've been in maybe 5-6 decked boat slalom races. I've paddled in 3 downriver races, too. That's about it since I started paddling whitewater in '91. I really enjoy racing, but I can think two primary reasons I don't do it more :

Proximity : There are very few races near me - the nearest are at the NOC (4+ hours), the new Charlotte course is a lot closer (1.5 hours) which might help. [Based on what I've read though, I'm not sure it wil be an "easy" course or very suited to OCs] There appear to be a lot more in the mid-atlantic to New England regions.

no racers locally, no gates : Nobody else local is into racing and we don't have a good place to hang gates. Having some peer pressure really helps. Briefly in the late 90's there were a couple of folks into it and we hung some gates on a channel, however they were subject to high water and vandalism.

I'm a bit puzzled at the folks who race but don't paddle "recreationally".

[Craig Smerda]

Simple Answer... I don't know.... but it's good to be well rounded.

It always amazes me how putting tough gates on a class II-III piece of water can mess with someones head. If there is a slalom race to go to I think people should. If you look at some of the best "talent" in the sport (this includes kayaking btw) most of them have some sort of racing background.

Craig

PS. Nothing irritates me more than paddling with someone who can't make eddies when they "HAVE" to.

[John Coraor]

I guess that I would qualify for being called a "racer head." I fell in love with slalom racing in the early 80s and, even though I'm now the proverbial "old, slow, fat guy," I would still choose to race over running a river if given a choice on the same weekend (I couldn't make this year's Armada because it was the same weekend as the Esopus Slalom.). That's in part because there aren't that many opportunities to race, so I usually don't pass them up when they present themselves.

That being said, most racers that I know, myself included, also enjoy running rivers. If nothing else, river running helps to build whitewater skills essential for performing well at harder races, but most of us just enjoy it for its own sake. Conversely, I know that the boat control skills that I learned training and racing slalom are largely responsible for my advancement in running rivers.

While personal preferences will always help govern the choices we make, as Scott notes, availability and proximity of resources tends to skew those choices significantly. If you have a whitewater park or a great park & play spot nearby, along with access to the right type of boat and suitable role models, you're likely to get into freestyle. When my wife and I were in graduate school at Penn State we had a year-round slalom practice course within 15 minutes drive, 3-times a week pool sessions in the winter (all 3 including gate workouts), other motivated and experienced racers, a national champion as an informal coach, and access to appropriate materials, molds, & expertise to build and even design the latest race boats (via J.R. Sweet). It's pretty understandable why we got involved in slalom racing.

Without easy access to nearby races, other racers, race boats, and regular training sites, most whitewater paddlers lack sufficient exposure to develop an interest in the sport, much less have the opportunity to participate. Then, as with any sport, there is an inherent learning curve that can be a barrier to some paddlers. Without access to regular gate training, the right boat, experienced role models, etc., race performance inevitably suffers, even among experienced whitewater paddlers. To acquire new skills in running gates requires time actually running gates, which means less time for running rivers. That's a difficult choice for many, assuming that they even have the opportunity to make the choice.

John

[sbroam]

speaking of racing... pictures from the new course and the nationals held there:

http://subido.info/index_files/page0010.htm

[Craig Smerda]

I guess that I would qualify for being called a "racer head." I fell in love with slalom racing in the early 80s and, even though I'm now the proverbial "old, slow, fat guy," I would still choose to race over running a river if given a choice on the same weekend (I couldn't make this year's Armada because it was the same weekend as the Esopus Slalom.). That's in part because there aren't that many opportunities to race, so I usually don't pass them up when they present themselves.

That being said, most racers that I know, myself included, also enjoy running rivers. If nothing else, river running helps to build whitewater skills essential for performing well at harder races, but most of us just enjoy it for its own sake. Conversely, I know that the boat control skills that I learned training and racing slalom are largely responsible for my advancement in running rivers.

While personal preferences will always help govern the choices we make, as Scott notes, availability and proximity of resources tends to skew those choices significantly. If you have a whitewater park or a great park & play spot nearby, along with access to the right type of boat and suitable role models, you're likely to get into freestyle. When my wife and I were in graduate school at Penn State we had a year-round slalom practice course within 15 minutes drive, 3-times a week pool sessions in the winter (all 3 including gate workouts), other motivated and experienced racers, a national champion as an informal coach, and access to appropriate materials, molds, & expertise to build and even design the latest race boats (via J.R. Sweet). It's pretty understandable why we got involved in slalom racing.

Without easy access to nearby races, other racers, race boats, and regular training sites, most whitewater paddlers lack sufficient exposure to develop an interest in the sport, much less have the opportunity to participate. Then, as with any sport, there is an inherent learning curve that can be a barrier to some paddlers. Without access to regular gate training, the right boat, experienced role models, etc., race performance inevitably suffers, even among experienced whitewater paddlers. To acquire new skills in running gates requires time actually running gates, which means less time for running rivers. That's a difficult choice for many, assuming that they even have the opportunity to make the choice.

John

Agreed!.... You can turn ANY piece of water into a slalom course with a bit of imagination and use whatever boat you normally paddle. One thing we do quite often when river running is to take pieces of water, sections of rapids or drops and take alternate lines through them.... keeps things interesting. If you always run a standard line through a rapid change it up a bit now and then by catching a few different eddies or using rocks and features as your gates. Imagination can go a long ways to helping build your skills.

There is another skill people used to have... it was called attaining

[sbroam]

There is another skill people used to have... it was called attaining

... and they used to have long boats that were capable of it!!!

[bearboater]

I am getting to the racer head type, I still run rivers, i have a play boat that I took out yesterday, and ran a 1 mile section of low key class II with lots of little play holes to learn on (as that's where I am in that boat) and spent almost 2 hours in that one little section. It was great, but I found myself working on offside ferries, and pivot turns (which are surprisingly energetic in a 6 foot 6 inch boat). while going from hole to hole/wave to wave. I guess I look at the river now more as a where would I put gates, and is that ferry doable from both directions. The reason I am so attracted to slalom is that it's so dynamic with pivot turns and how much flow it has to it, not that C or OC boating aren't dynamic, but the sport of Slalom is based on being smooth, keeping the line, figuring out the most efficient way from 1 to 21. And some of the World class athletes: Martikan, Estanguet, Bell, Mincik, etc... are just awesome to watch, the amount of boat control they have, and the way they can manipulate the boat to do exactly what they want, every time (I am aware that there are people who have his control and ability outside of slalom, be it creeking, playboating, river running what have you, however I am just more privy to video of slalom than other types and therefore able to analyze it more fully). It is just impressive how precise they are able to be on course; I guess, I just fancy racing more than Freestyle, because I understand it more, Freestyle is awesome to watch, and I love to surf, and what not. however, it is something I less practice, and work on, and therefore am more enwrapped in slalom, and paddling like i was on course while recreationally paddling. I love to paddle my fink as well, which is a really fun boat, and everytime I do, I am glad I have it, but when I return to the slalom boat, everything, seems more like a dance.

I have a ton of respect for people like Mr. Broam, and Seth Chapelle, who can just work a hole or wave feature like nobody's business, and someday, maybe I will get to a fraction of their abilities, but at the moment, I understand slalom, and therefore I enjoy that more. But I am working on diversifying my paddling, and hopefully I can enjoy all aspects of the sport at the same level.

If I offended anyone, that was not my intent.

cheers
-isaac

[Jan_dettmer]

I think racing is great. I love it. Bot not on slalom courses.
I personally enjoy racing steep creeks in a downriver race. There is nothing like racing a steep section of whitewater where you feel the breath of the next paddler in your neck. Dropping down steep boulder gardens and paddling as hard and fast as you can, always trying to find the fastest line is a lot of fun. I know that not everyone likes that kind of race but I'd love to see more races like that.

Even on easier whitewater mass start races can be a lot of fun. We raced the upper Gordon here last winter and it was awesome. We had 12 racers doing a mass start on a class 3 to 4 creek.

Downriver racing is sweet.



Cheers, Jan

[yarnellboat]

Great question! I'd love to try "racing" as a social event, a way of testing/improving my paddling, and a way of promoting canoeing.

Also a lot of paddlers stay on class II-III runs and don't want to paddle rivers with more consequences, so slalom is a good way of making an easier/safer run more challenging.

But, there is no critical mass where I am to try gates, and no nearby races that are suitable for your average open boater. Most paddlers I know might want to try it in their rec OC-1s, but probably don't want to buy (or sit in) a race boat.

We have recruited a local racer to offer some clinics and maybe we'll get enough people to have a rec class in a regional race, or maybe our club will have an annual race, but nobody has the time or expertise to make it happen.

Racers get busy racing and have their own community to paddle/train with, so they loose touch with the masses of class II open boat wannabes (me).

Rec boats only see racing in racing boats, and it's too diferent. Aside from the water being difficult for many, it's just not very welcoming to be the only few open boaters, especially when you don't know anything about gates, except that you won't make half of them.

In other (eastern) regions there seems to be more open canoe races or events. I doubt it will amount to much here, but we're exploring it a little.

PY.

[cbcboat]

I think that a lot of people don't race because they hear the word race and think it is elitist-I disagree-. I like to race but I don't let it get in the way of paddling for fun, I do however think racing is very fun, partly because it is a time when a large group of paddlers gets together to boat and be social. I will never be an olympic caliber paddler but its fun to race your friends and also race yourself(most important). I also don't train to race because that isn't why I paddle. Many paddlers think racing is all about getting the fastest time instead of having fun w/ the group and testing yourself. It's great to win but if you aren't having fun if you're not winning you may want to evaluate why you are paddling. Races are fun and more people should race, but don't lose out on the rec side of paddling. Most importantly people should be having fun when they paddle

[sbroam]

I have a ton of respect for people like Mr. Broam, and Seth Chapelle, who can just work a hole or wave feature like nobody's business, and someday, maybe I will get to a fraction of their abilities, but at the moment, I understand slalom, and therefore I enjoy that more. But I am working on diversifying my paddling, and hopefully I can enjoy all aspects of the sport at the same level.

Respect me all you want, but I think you have me confused with somebody else! With Seth, and I've seen Seth paddle, it is Seth that works the hole. However, with me, it is the hole that works *me*!

I like slalom. I like playboating, especially surfing. I like going fast in a straight line. I like river running. I like cruising on flat water - be it a pond or technical flatwater (yes - let me show you the Edisto at flood). I like canoe camping. I like flatwater freestyle. I like open water. I'm not terribly good at any of it, probably because I dabble in all of it.

I like your comments about the"dance" - I look for that in all aspects of paddling, but suspect I come off as someone with 2 left feet.

I did hear at the OC Nats that they are considering/encouraging/something more citizens class racers to get folks to try out racing without the perception that they had to have a 25# glass race boat to compete and that they wouldn't be going up head to head against hardcore racerheads only.

[AJ]

We have a slalom course reasonably close to us in Golden, CO. I mess around on it early in the season, when all of the serious racers are not practising and the water is still low around the state.

I respect the ability of the racers and do think running gates makes you a better paddler. We have the opportunity in Colorado for a few races during the paddling season, but I have never entered.

I personally find racing boring, maybe it is may age? The only thing that I find more boring then racing is rodeo! To me, it is a bunch of standing around watching on race days. I am also not really into the whole seen. I prefer paddling a stretch of river with a few friends without all of the hype. I am sure socializing with other racers is fun and that I surely could learn a few things, but with my limited time availability, I still rather paddle a stretch of river then race.

With that said, I am sure my ability to perform well in gates and race situation is somewhat of a deterrent. I realize there is a lot to be learned by racing and practicing gates. I definitly need to learn more technique from practicing gates to improve my abilities. With the encouragement of the Kanukid, I worked on some of that this year, and I will try to work on it more next season. Not for racing, but for improving my overall paddling ability.

Racers and Rodeoers, good luck and have fun doing what you like to do!

Cheers,

AJ

[Bob P]

...
I personally find racing boring, maybe it is may age? The only thing that I find more boring then racing is rodeo! To me, it is a bunch of standing around watching on race days. I am also not really into the whole seen. I prefer paddling a stretch of river with a few friends without all of the hype. I am sure socializing with other racers is fun and that I surely could learn a few things, but with my limited time availability, I still rather paddle a stretch of river then race. ...
AJ

I've been racing for 20+ years in C1 and OC1/OC2, but the reason I race is that I like to train, especially in gates. In fact, I did gates for a year before I did my first race. I guess it's because I like being in control much more than I like the adrenaline rush of a difficult drop (and I did quite a few of those before I started racing). Fortunately, I had gates fairly close to me, so that was never a factor - except chainsawing through the ice in the winter.

[Dale@half-shaft]

Attaining is an important skill for any playboater.

Attaining in a 7 foot long open boat is difficult but rewarding.

I'm far too lazy to race, but I'll work my asss off playboating.