US Nationals Training at Salida Pix and Footy

June 11, 2006

By Stephen Wright. Learn more about Stephen.

FiBARK is always a good time, but this year it’s also the site of the 2006 US Freestyle Kayak Nationals. Tons of kayakers are showing-up already to train for the upcoming event: which will give bragging rights for national rank. The good news is that the hole is SICK! Right now the water is high, so it’s a wave-hole. I’ve had a blast working some wave moves as well as launching loops and godzillas. Most fun for me is working the Blunt-Mcnasty combo–the bluntnasty. It’s also possible to do WAY FUN plastic boat mystery moves on the way into the hole–that makes my day. I’m planning on jumping into Jason’s Fun 1.5 when the level drops a bit top see how low I can go.

It’s also been great to paddle here with JK paddlers Jason Craig, Clay Wright, Lawrence Simpson, Greg Parker, Devon Barker, Ruth Gordon, and Big Jason. Enjoy the photos of them, and the video of me. Jason put together a pretty sweet video of him paddling in Salida, which should be up on this site soon. He’s KILLING IT here–he’s truly a 12-year-old force to be reckoned-with. Clay’s been rocking-out the air-blunts, Back loops, mcnastys, and everything else he can think of. Ruth and Devon are working Loops and McNastys.

I’m still really excited about my 12-24MM fish-eye lens for my camera, so expect to see lots of wide-angle shots. I also got the best deal in the history of the world on a small 3-CCD video camera in Denver–enjoy the first of many videos! (Quicktime, 7.0 MB)
7 days until the big show and counting…
Live from Bongo Billy’s Café,
Stephen Wright