Ten Years of Maine Whitewater Championship

This summer the Maine Whitewater Championship (MWWC) celebrated its tenth year of racing the waters of the Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers. Over the past ten years, these races have become a staple of the whitewater season for paddlers in New England, and have continued to grow and evolve in the last decade.

Group shot from Kennebec Race

The first race took place on the Kennebec River in The Forks, Maine. This small rafting town is a great place to visit and play on the class III/IV big wave fun that the Kennebec Gorge offers. This section of river is easily accessed from town and can be lapped for hours of fun. The hydro-electric dam at the start of the gorge releases water every day during the summer from 10a-1p. For anyone just starting whitewater kayak racing, this is a great race to check out. The whitewater is fun and forgiving, and the race course is about three miles long, making it a good introductory distance.

Mass start race Kennebec Race photo credit: Kevin Ross

This year, twenty four racers took to the course, with Jackson paddler Beckham Bayreuther laying down the fastest time in the time trial with a time of 11:11.6. Second in the men’s division was Drew Bates with a time of 11:38.2, and third went to Eli Ross with a time of 11:39.8. A solid field of women paddlers came out this year with Jackson paddler Alex Horne taking first with a time of 11:59.3, second was Madeline Lee with a time of 12:50.4 and third went to Rachel Nieckarz with a time of 12:50.8. Three junior paddlers also came out to compete this year, for a full junior division for the first time in MWWC history. In first was Peter Murray (12:05.5), second was Sawyer Battles (12:11.8) and third was Avery Dicentes (12:21.9). Following time trials racers re-conviene for a group paddle and mass start race through the lower section of the gorge. This is always a highlight of the day. Beckham again came out on top, with second going to Eddy Mead and third to Zach Perrault.

A month after the Kennebec race, paddlers conviened at the base of Katahdin Mountain on the West Branch of the Penobscot for the second race in the Maine Whitewater Championship series. Record numbers of racers came out this year to race a time trial and giant slalom race on the iconic Penobscot River. The Penobscot River provides class IV/V whitewater 24/7 during the summer months and has several fun sections to paddle. The race starts at Rippegenous Gorge and continues through the Gorge section of the river. The first feature paddlers face is Exterminator, a large ledge hole that has a reputation for stopping, and sometimes backsurfing paddlers as they power through it. The second half of the course requires paddlers to speed through the tight moves of the Crib Works Rapid as spectators watch from the sidelines.
Beckham again came out on top in the time trial, with a time of 8:49. Emmett de Maynadier came in second (08:57), and Zach Perrault took third. Alex Horne was the first woman paddler to finish with a time of 9:37 and the first Junior was Avery Dicentes (9:49). The action continued into the afternoon where paddlers faced off in a slalom course through the challenging Cribworks rapid, where Emmett came in first (1:32), Beckham came in second (1:34) and Eddy Mead in third (1:38).

Women’s division Kennebec Race

The weekend came to an end with an award ceremony followed by live music and dancing under the stars. If you haven’t made it to Maine to paddle, come check it out, it’s worth the trip!

Image 1: Alex Horne paddling through Penobscot Gorge photo credit: Jessica Bayreuther
Image 2: Group shot from Kennebec Race
Image 3: Mass start race Kennebec Race photo credit: Kevin Ross
Image 4: Women’s division Kennebec Race