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Reno River Festival 2008: Your guide to all the action May 9-11 |
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Written by Tahoe World staff
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Saturday, 10 May 2008 |
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Now in its fifth year on the Truckee River, the annual Reno River Festival takes place each May at downtown Reno, Nevada’s Truckee River Whitewater Park at Wingfield, just steps away from hotels, dining, shopping, cultural attractions and 24-hour gaming and nightlife venues.
The 2008 Festival is scheduled for May 9 – 11, 2008 and the three-day event includes professional and open freestyle and slalom boatercross kayaking competitions, product exhibitions, “Street Rapids” mountain bike speed trials, food and beer gardens, the “Run Amuck” fun run, live music and plenty of after-hours entertainment at area clubs and nightspots.
Coverage of the festival:
• Day 1: photos + videos from the action
• Getting started whitewater kayaking with Different Strokes Kayaking
Check out all of our preview stories below:
• Kayaking Lake Tahoe: There's more than whitewater in the area
• Whitewater on the Truckee River: Getting out of the whitewater park has its rewards
• From Lake Tahoe to Downtown Reno in a day, by kayak (Multimedia)
• The Eric Jackson interview
• The Ruth Gordon interview (video)
• The Jim Litchfield interview (video)
• River Festival Schedule of Events
• Who's who in the competitions: Notable competitors
• Get down and dirty in the Run Amuck fun run
• Street Rapids mountain bike speed trials new this year
• Competitions for pros and amateurs alike
• Learn from the best with free clinics
• World's best compete at 2008 festival
• Win a kayak tour package on Lake Tahoe
And be sure to check Tahoe-World.com throughout the event for slideshows, videos, and competition results as they happen.
 HISTORY
The inaugural Reno River Festival was held May 14 – 16, 2004 as a grand opening event to celebrate the construction of the Truckee River Whitewater Park at Wingfield. The first ever event drew 14,000 people to the banks of the Truckee while the second and third years saw 16,539 and 21,265, respectively. Last year’s Reno River Festival attracted 32,800 people to the heart of downtown Reno’s Riverwalk district and the 5th annual Reno River Festival is expected to draw nearly 40,000 fans and spectators May 9 – 11, 2008.
After a successful fourth year of competition and entertainment at the Truckee River Whitewater Park, the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority (RSCVA), the area’s local tourism organization and owners of the Reno River Festival, decided to put the event on the market. Two key players in the event’s organization and production, Fluid Concepts and Seismic Events, formed Reno River Festival LLC, submitted its vision for the Festival along with a joint summary of qualifications and, and two months later became owners of the Reno River Festival. Formerly, Fluid Concepts organized and produced athletic competitions for the Reno River Festival and Seismic Events sold event sponsorships and coordinated vendors.
CHAMPIONS
The Reno River Festival consistently has drawn the world’s top whitewater competitors to downtown Reno for three days of fierce and fun freestyle and slalom competition.
 Men’s Division
Current World Freestyle Kayak Champion Eric Jackson returns to the Reno River Festival to compete for the Men’s Freestyle Championship — a title he held in 2005 and 2006. Jackson is up against current Reno River Festival Champion and regional favorite Jay Kincaid. Kincaid’s training at the Truckee River Whitewater Park has helped him go on to win pro events around the world. Challenging Jackson and Kincaid is another freestyle winner and current U.S. National Champion Stephen Wright of Washington D.C., as well as Bryan Kirk of Charlottesville, Va. and Ben Guska of Glenwood Springs, Colo.
Women’s Division
The action heats up even more in the women’s division. Current World Freestyle Champion, Ruth Gordon, said she is looking forward to the 2008 event. She is challenged by 2005, 2006 and 2007 Women’s Freestyle Champion, Tanya Faux of Australia, New Zealand native Nikki Kelley and current Junior Freestyle Champion and 2nd place Reno River Festival women’s finisher, 18-year-old Emily Jackson. (See our video interview with Ruth Gordon now.)
Juniors
In the Junior’s Freestyle division, local 13-year-old boater and 2006 World Freestyle Junior Men’s Champion Jason Craig led with Junior Men’s 2007 World Freestyle Kayak bronze medalist Dane Jackson of Jackson Kayaks in second and 14-year-old Jonathan Shales in third. Junior Boatercross champions lined up behind leader Craig, with Shales in second and Jackson in third.
 Boatercross
Slalom Boatercross champions for 2007 include 45-year-old kayaking phenom Jud Keiser in first, Team Dagger paddler and 2006 North American champion Andrew Holcombe in second and Oregon native Josh Bechtel in third.
Emily Jackson took first in the Women’s Boatercross followed by Faux in second and World Surf Kayak Champion and two-time National Freestyle Kayak Champion Devon Barker in third.
TRUCKEE RIVER WHITEWATER PARK
The $1.5-million Truckee River Whitewater Park at Wingfield was constructed in 2003. It has two channels, a north, freestyle kayaking channel and a south, slalom boatercross channel. It is both Nevada’s and the region’s first whitewater park and kayak slalom racing course making it arguably the most sophisticated whitewater park in an urban environment in the United States.
The park is designed for kayaks, canoes, rafts or inner tubes and is accessible for all levels of water enthusiasts including those with disabilities or special needs. The Truckee River Whitewater Park is free to the public and is open year-round with a constant flow of clean, fresh water and a favorable climate. It is also proven to accommodate low water flows and extreme environmental changes ensuring usability during dry spells and high spring runoff. The Truckee River Whitewater Park has consistently produced some of the highest-scoring freestyle scores in professional kayaking competition.
For more information, visit www.renoriverfestival.com.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 09 May 2008 )
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