Cedar River Slalom Race in the Antix 2.0 and Dynamic Duo

I recently moved to Issaquah, Washington in the Greater Seattle Area and fortunately found myself a 15-minute drive from the Cedar River slalom course. This well cared for whitewater slalom course is maintained by members of the League of Northwest Whitewater Racers, an entirely volunteer group of paddlers in the Pacific Northwest. When you look into the engineering that went into hanging the gates and being able to move them, it’s easy to see all the time and effort poured into this community of paddlers. They also organize races and training clinics in whitewater slalom.

On the weekend of March 26-27, 2022, I attended the Spring Cedar Slalom Race. On Saturday, March 26, the League of Northwest Whitewater Racers offered clinics to teach the art of slalom racing as well as had the gates set up for practice runs. It is a breath of fresh air to see a paddling event focused on recreation, competition, and education. There was a wonderful mix of first-timers, novice racers, and experienced slalom athletes. There were even some slalom athletes and coaches preparing for the U.S. Olympic Trials.

On Sunday, March 27 the race was hosted on a class II+ section of the Cedar River. This would be my first time ever competing in a slalom race and I definitely felt nervous. After a few moments around all the other paddlers, I received tons of support and encouragement, melting away all that nervousness. Like most Pacific Northwest whitewater the water is COLD and clear, but luckily we got both nice weather (60 degrees) and sunny skies. It was a magnificent day for racing. The course design was setup for 22 gates, a mix of downstream and upstream gates. During the practice laps, gate 13 and gate 16 were often being talked about as the tricky ones. Gate 13 was in an eddy that would normally have an upstream gate but instead was a downstream gate requiring a tight line behind a rock pile. Gate 16 was an upstream gate after a ferry from gate 15 and had just enough current downstream of the gate to make a paddler work hard to attain through it.

After knocking out as many practice laps as I could before the race, it was showtime! I did my first lap in the Men’s Senior Recreational division in my Jackson Kayak Antix 2.0. I focused on being smooth and clean before trying to be fast. I finished my 1st run passing through 22 of 22 gates with a 2-second penalty for making contact with one of the gates. For the 2nd run, I again passed through 22 of 22 gates with 2x 2-second penalties for making contact with gates. I was really proud of myself for making it through all of the gates. I even won my Men’s Senior Recreational division!

A few weeks prior, I had been contemplating trying to see how my whitewater hand paddling skills transferred to whitewater slalom. I practiced on a much easier course and was able to pass through all of the gates. On race day, I decided to bust out my hand paddles and give this tougher course a go. Again, my aim was to pass through as many gates as possible knowing quite well that a few of the moves would be hard for me to make, specifically gate 5, gate 13, and gate 16. In practice, I had never made it through gate 16. Gate 5 involved an aggressive turn from moving downstream through gate 4 to ferrying across the river. I gave it everything I had and successfully passed through gate 5. A few moments later, I was staring at gate 13 and turned on every muscle group I could to build up enough speed to pass downstream through the gate. With a strong lean forward I was able to make it through gate 13. A few moments later, I made my first attempt for gate 16. I completed the ferry from gate 15 but ended up being pushed downstream by the current just downstream of gate 16. I ferried back to river right to try again. I took a more aggressive approach with my ferry and ended up just barely downstream of gate 16. With the crowd cheering me on, I turned on every muscle group I could to attain the current until I was just inches from gate 16. I pushed and pushed until my body couldn’t give any more effort. I was not able to get gate 16, but I finished the race by passing through 21 of 22 gates with ZERO penalties for making contact with the gates.

This was such a huge achievement for me! First of all, I couldn’t believe how close I was able to get to gate 16. Second of all, I was the first person ever to compete with hand paddles at the Cedar Slalom Race. I’ve been working very hard with my friend Mary on ACA curriculum for River Kayak Hand-Paddling and this just really made me feel like I showed the PNW a whole new take on slalom kayaking.

Lastly, I decided to join my good friend Ayla in the tandem kayak division. I love my Jackson Kayak Dynamic Duo! What better way to provide someone’s first experience in a duo than to enter in a slalom race? I had previous raced plenty of times on a duo, most often at the Ocoee River Race in Tennessee. Both of us had competed in solo kayaks during the day so we were pretty used to the routine. After a little basic introduction on how to tandem kayak, we were off to the start line. This course was really tricky for tandem canoes and kayaks, especially gate 13. With a tandem kayak, it’s tricky to pass through gates with any angle unless the bow paddler leans back and the stern paddlers leans forward. Shockingly, we came to gate 13 having made it through all 12 previous gates. We followed other tandem boat’s strategies and caught a setup eddy for gate 13 on river left. We charged hard toward the rock pile and squeezed our bodies through gate 13. Success! We road that stoke all the way to the finish line a bit too relaxed and missed gate 22, an underrated tricky move for tandem boats. Successfully navigating 21 of 22 gates was a mighty achievement, especially for a pair of folks who had never paddled a tandem kayak together.

To wrap this whole thing up, I have found excitement for slalom kayaking and an appreciation for the League of Northwest Whitewater Racers. I had been riding the stoke from watching all the slalom athletes at the Tokyo Olympics. Slalom kayaking provides an opportunity to refine paddling technique and work on vertical strokes, edge control, pivot turns, and so much more. I am appreciative of an opportunity to compete in whitewater kayaking, especially one with delicious homemade cookies given to division winners. I look forward to many future days making the 15-minute drive to the Cedar River to enjoy a day on the water or a race with my friends. …especially in the evenings after work on those long summer days!