WORLD WHITEWATERNEWS
NEWS AND HAPPENINGS
DURANCE FESTIVAL 2021 IS BACK! JULY 30TH - AUG 1ST
This year, the 2021 edition of the Durance Festival Whitewater Sessions will take place July 30th-August 1st. Bigger and better than ever, this year the menu features the now-classic WRSI Guil Gorge Chrono Creek Race on the Chateau Queyras Gorge, heaps of clinics (Waterfall Freeride, River Sup, Girl Power, Safety, Open Canoe), an exhibitor's village with tons of gear to test, a Sup Race, an open-air cinema in the evening, and a giant stoke float on Sunday called La Grande Descente. Not to mention a second-hand market and an intermediate event, the Freefall Paddles Lower Guil Rally! There is something for everyone, so bring the friends, the family, and enjoy. For more info, visit durancefestival.com.
LEVEL SIX KING OF THE ALPS,TIROL, ITALY, JUNE 4TH-5TH, 2021
The Level Six King of the Alps is back on the calendar! This year things will be slightly different, mainly the legendary after-party, but the race will still be a fight to the bitter end, with only the fastest lines and fittest of paddlers picking up the top prizes and AWP European Champion title! A highly anticipated crowd of some of the world's best kayakers are expected yet again to storm the Passirio valley of South Tirol, Italy.The event will start on Friday, June 4th, with the marathon and sprint final taking place on Saturday, June 5th. Due to high floodwaters last year, there have been many changes to the river, and it is strongly recommended that athletes arrive early to familiarise themselves with the new lines! As always, the race categories are K1and C1 paddlers masters, seniors, and juniors, as well as the increasingly more popular OC1, and new this year, R1 pack-raft.The team event will also return, where paddlers from the same nation double up and use their combined times to pick up some hefty special edition KOTA swords to hang on their walls.All paddlers wishing to enter will receive an email with a "confirmation of entry" document, which, together with a negative covid test (no more than 72 hours), will allow you to travel to and enter Italy. Registration opens May 1st. Please see the NEW website for more information regarding registration, covid regulations, and race requirements. king-alps.com
NORTH FORK CHAMPIONSHIP IX, BANKS, IDAHO, USA, JUNE 17TH-19TH, 2021
After a cancellation for 2020,The North Fork Championship is coming back to Banks, Idaho! On June 17-19th, "The whitewater state" is excited to welcome back the NFC and showcase some of the highest levels of competitive paddling in the world. For the 9th edition, 30 invited men and 5 women will race down Jacob's Ladder, the hardest rapid on the North Fork of the Payette. The extreme slalom format will also feature the famous and extremely challenging gates. Other events over the weekend will include The Kokatat Qualifier, NFC Film Fest,The North Face Boise BoaterX, and the NFC Whitewater Festival in Crouch, Idaho! NFC has been labeled as the "Red Bull Rampage of Kayaking," and 2021 will continue to build off that for years to come! The North Fork Championship looks forward to seeing everybody back in Idaho this summer! Registration closes on May 10th, so be sure to sign up at register.northforkchampionship.com and follow North Fork Championship on Facebook and Instagram for more updates!
Photography: John Webster
PADDLE SPORTS SHOW 2021, OCTOBER 2021, LYON (FRANCE)
We are pleased to announce the launch of a new trade show called The Paddlesports Show, which will take place in Lyon, France, in the first week of October 2021. Organized by the Kayak Session Publishing crew, the show will be more than just a trade show; the vision is to create an ecosystem of events and happenings, giving even more reasons to come and exhibit or visit for distributors, paddle enthusiasts, dealers, athletes, and manufacturers alike. The show will be held on the bank of the river Rhône, the perfect location to host an on-water demo day. A film festival, a trade show, a symposium, with talks and
