Vail Whitewater Race Series begins May 11
Special to the Daily
The Vail Whitewater Race Series returns to Gore Creek with five events May 11 to June 8. Registration is available for the whole series or individual races.
Held at the Vail Whitewater Park on Tuesday evenings at 5:30 p.m., the first four races of the series start at the Covered Bridge in Vail Village and end at the International Bridge. The final race starts at the Amphitheater Bridge in Ford Park.
The Vail Whitewater Race Series, presented the by the Vail Recreation District, is for paddlers ages 16 and older with intermediate to expert abilities. The skills to run class III whitewater is required.
Overall series prizes will be awarded following the final race on June 8.
The races will be divided between three categories including kayak (under 9-foot, 6-inches), two-person raft (R2) and stand-up paddleboard with different course challenges every week. The two-round format will consist of an individual time trial with results determining the seeding for the second round, a head-to-head race.
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The Vail Rec District is unable to provide rafts for use, so R2 participants will need to bring their own rafts.
An after-party will also be hosted in Vail Village each week with prizes awarded to the winners of all three categories.
Registration is available at http://www.vailrec.com/register. Series registration for kayak and SUP participants is $60 and series registration for R2 participants is $80 per team.
Individual race registration for kayak and SUP participants is $15 preregistered or $20 day-of, and $20 preregistered or $30 day-of for R2 teams. Preregistration is highly encouraged and ends at 5 p.m. the day before each race. If space is still available, on-site, day-of registration will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the Vail Whitewater Park and all participants should be present at the safety talk at 5:15 p.m.
Every registered participant at each race will be entered to win a $1,000 gift certificate from Hala Gear that can be used toward a board and paddle package of their choice.
The Vail Recreation District will be following all state and county COVID-19 guidelines for this upcoming race season.
For more information, visit vailrec.com, call the VRD Sports Department at 970-479-2280 or email sports@vailrec.com.
