With hype building since the inaugural year of the North Fork Championships in 2012, the banks of the river were busy with athletes and spectators June 6 to 8 for the second installment of this already classic race. With fifteen miles of continuous class V whitewater, this section of the North Fork of the Payette in southwestern Idaho is one of the most challenging sets in the U.S.
“The North Fork Championship II really went off this year,” according to competitor Ben Marr. “Maybe due to the sunshine; there was way more energy and a higher level of paddling.”
The North Fork Championships (NFC) is known as one of the burliest downriver races and attracts the some of the best of the sport. With a large prize purse and a slew of big name sponsors including NRS, Sweet Protection, Teva, Smith Optics, The North Face and the local business Payette Brewing, the NFC is one of the more decorated kayak races in North America.
The NFC organizers emphasize a high level of competition but are equally focused on the level of camaraderie between competitors and safety. Swiftwater Rescue Certified Safety personnel line the race course and racers wait in the bottom eddy acting as a continual safety.
The women’s class made its debut this year and saw top female paddlers battling it out on the Lower Three section of the North Fork. Canadian Katrina Van Wijk took the win, followed by American Nicole Mansfield and Kiwi Lu Urwin.
A qualifying run on Thursday saw almost 50 competitors. Twenty elite kayakers were invited to the race and competitors fought for five wild card spots in the qualifiers. The top 35 finishers also qualified for the boatercross race, a mass start downriver race, a new event at the North Fork Championships.
“The North Fork is a complete full-on race from top to bottom,” says Marcos Gallegos who took one of the wild card spots. “(It’s a) super fast, continuous class V rapids with endless amount of holes.”
Saturday, June 8 saw a stacked roster of paddlers take to the starting ramp. At the end of the day, Louis Geltman took the title of North Fork Champion, (1:57.81) and took home the $4,500 prize. Gerd Serrasolse, (1:59.81) and Rush Sturges, (01:59.84) rounded out the podium and Evan Garcia (2:00.88) and Andrew Holcombe (2:01.16) took fourth and fifth respectively.
With less than five seconds between first and fifth place, this race is a testament to the level of competition present in the kayak racing scene and on a river like this, clearly displays the talent of top kayakers today.
“The winning times were also quite a bit faster this year,” Marr commented. “All in all, as far as the event goes, I think number III will be a huge success, rain or shine.”
www.northforkchampionships.com
