White water racing and clubs

White-Water Racing

ALTHOUGH it has not received the publicity given to some other sports, white-water racing has a faithful following and is a popular spectator sport in some areas. The International Whitewater Races held at Salida, Colorado, draw contestants from all over the world and often as many as 10,000 spectators. Generally considered the toughest white-water endurance race in the world, it has been held annually since 1948, with the contestants facing a rugged course of over 23 miles in a downriver race. White-water slalom races are somewhat similar to ski-slalom, with the racers swinging their craft between “gates” over a set course in a race against time.

Other regular races are held on the Delaware River, the Merced and Feather Rivers on the West Coast, and on the Colorado River. In 1961 the World Slalom and Downriver Championships were held in East Germany for both men and women, and an American group competed.

Generally both kayaks and canoes compete. Competitors often enter both the downriver and slalom races, and a prize is usually offered for the lowest combined downriver-slalom scores.

White-Water Clubs

As in so many water sports, one of the attractions of white-water boating is finding other people with the same interest and joining them in social or competitive river running. The American White Water Affiliation, 2019 Addison Street, Chicago 19, Illinois, is the recognized club in the United States, and membership is open to all who are interested in river sport for dues of $2.50 yearly. This includes a subscription to the quarterly magazine, American White Water.

The AWA is composed of member clubs throughout the country and several in Canada whose members participate in river running and social activities and also work for legislation to promote the sport and to preserve the rivers for sports use. The AWA affiliates are:

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