2008 USA Wildwater National Championships
Race Schedule
| Sunday July 27th | All events at Zoar Gap parking lot unless otherwise noted. Down River Race 10 am - noon - race registration 1 - 3 pm race from Fife Brook Dam through Zoar Gap |
| Thursday July 31st | All events at Zoar Gap parking lot unless otherwise noted. Time Bomb Race 10 am - noon - race registration 1 - 3 pm - race from Fife Brook Dam to Zoar Gap 3:30 - 5 pm Clinic - Intro to WW paddling and boats 6 pm - Awards and BBQ at Zoar Outdoor |
| Friday August 1st | 9 am - 3pm – Registration at Zoar Outdoor noon – 4 pm - Practice runs on the Dryway 4 - 6 pm - Racer meeting, start list & bib distribution, boat approvals at Zoar Outdoor 7 pm - High Performance talkby Chip Hipgrave at Zoar Outdoor |
| Saturday August 2nd | All events at Dunbar Brook picnic area unless othewise noted. 8:30 - 10 am – registration 9 am - Volunteer meeting 10am -Last chance Racer meeting 11am – 3 pm - Sprint Races on the Dryway – 2 heats: 11am & 2pm 4 - 5:30 pm - Clinic - Intro to WW paddling and boats 6:30 pm - Team alumni/Race BBQ at Zoar Outdoor |
| Sunday August 3rd | All events at Dunbar Brook picnic area unless othewise noted. 9 am - Volunteer meeting 9:30 am -Last Chance Racer meeting 10:30 – noon - Classic Race on the Dryway 2 pm - Awards presentation |
Zoar Outdoor will be hosting the USA Wildwater Nationals on the Deerfield River in western Massachusetts on August 2 & 3, 2008. During the 1990s, Zoar Outdoor hosted a number of national competitions on the Deerfield River including Slalom Nationals, Junior Team Trials, Open Boat Nationals, and the Wildwater Nationals in 1993 and 1995 and 2007.
This year the Wildwater committee has decided to make a week (July 27 - Aug. 3) out of the Nationals with fun, easy races and training camps, clinics, talks and a cookout. All this is designed to increase participation in the nationals and get more paddlers in to wildwater boats. The committee is planning on providing some ww boats and wavehoppers for paddlers to try out and then do an easy race in. Most events during the week of July 27th to July 31st will be on Zoar Gap a10-mile, class 2-3 section on the Deerfield River.
The Time Bomb race originally scheduled for Wed & Thurs. has been turned into a one-day race on Thurs. July 31st. At race registration each paddler will predict his/her race time. A percentage is calculated between actual and predicted time. The winner of the race will be the entrant who most closely predicts his/her actual time- not the fastest boat. This race is open to any type of boat. The winner will take home a new Zastera "Lizard composite wildwater boat and sprayskirt. The 2nd place fisnisher will receivea a $200 voucher for the Zoar Outfitter's Shop and 3rd place a $100 voucher.
The site of the National Championships is the Dryway, a 4-mile section of continuous class III-IV rapids with a gradient of 60-80 feet per mile. Releases provided by TransCanada from a hydro-generating facility, put 900-1100 cfs through this section. The Dryway has been the site of two past wildwater national championships.
There will be water releases on the Dryway on Friday for training and Saturday and Sunday for the race with flows for four to five hours per day. Typical late-August weather in our area brings air temperatures in the mid-70s and water temperatures around 60 degrees.
If traveling by plane, it's best to fly into Hartford/Springfield Bradley International Airport in Connecticut or the Albany, NY airport. Both are about 1 ½ hours from Charlemont. Boston is also an option, but is 3 hours from the site.
There are several B & Bs, Hotels and Inns within a 30-minute drive of the river. Greenfield, a city of 20,000, is 20 miles east of Charlemont; North Adams, with a population of 25,000, is 20 miles west. Zoar Outdoor has on-site camping and a guest lodge that sleeps up to 14 people. For other area lodging see http://www.hawkmountainlodge.com/localandlinks.htm. Reservations for lodging at Zoar Outdoor can be made by calling 800-532-7483.
For more information on dining and what to do in the local area visit www.shelburnefalls.comor www.berkshires.org.
Click here for a registration form. - registrations should be mailed to :
Zoar Outdoor
P.O. Box 245
Charlemont, MA 01339
Att: Karen Blom, Race Director
