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3nd�Annual Riverhouse Rendezvous Slalom No. 3 will take place on Sunday March 27, 2011 at 10 a.m. in the Deschutes River behind the Riverhouse Convention Center and Hotel in north Bend. Throughout the day, paddlers divided by age group, type of boat and gender will test their skills and endurance on the quarter-mile whitewater course.
If folks would like to volunteer, we'll be setting the gates at Friday starting at 10 a.m. Come down for as much or as little as you can. As a tradition, we like to paddle the gates, as well as encouraging as many Riverhouse Runs as possible over the weekend until it stops running for the season. Friday afternoon and Saturday the course will be open and the Tumalo Creek vans will be running shuttle for the run. We will also be hosting a Paddler's BBQ Saturday evening at Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe!
Central Oregon is a place where the mountain snow is transformed into gushing whitewater play parks every spring - is known world-wide as a great destination for the whitewater kayaker, and slalom racing has been a part of this tradition in Bend since the 70s.
Two years ago, kayak enthusiasts Bert Hinkley (Pacific Northwest representative of the National Whitewater Slalom Committee), and Geoff Frank (owner, Tumalo Creek Kayak and Canoe) worked together to revive the Riverhouse Rendezvous whitewater kayak slalom race, that time in it�s fourth re-incarnation. Drawing top paddlers from Oregon and Washington, the race is part of the Northwest Cup slalom paddle series and is a Junior Olympic qualifier.
"Paddlers don't have to be highly skilled racers to participate,� said Hinkley.���Slalom is a great way to hone river running technique. The friendly competition can provide an opportunity to challenge friends and see who can be fast, clean, and precise in the gates using the flow of the water.�
Whitewater slalom kayaking as been a sport since the 1940s, when Swiss alpine skiers embraced the runoff from the mountains to race the rivers on their off-season. Today, this spectator-friendly sport is known to test not only the physical skill of paddlers, but their knowledge of the river and their ability to use currents and river features to their advantage.
"The League of Northwest Whitewater Racers is grateful to the Riverhouse Resort for their generous support,� Hinkley said. �The river provides the technical challenge and the Resort allows us to the chance to test our skills.�
For more information on the race and volunteer opportunities please contact Bert Hinkley�bert@webskis.com�or Geoff Frank�geoff@tumalocreek.com�or visit the event�s webpage at�www.tumalocreek.com.
Course set up will start on Friday night and we are always looking for volunteers. Competitors are welcome to run the course on Saturday.
For more details past events, please see this excellent article by The Bend Bulletin�s former sports reporter, Katie Brauns:
http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090330/SPORTS05/903300382
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