Kern Tripletazo

News

Download/View KVRC’s KERN RIVER NEWS Newsletter. (March 2012 - PDF)

KVRC Awarded Grant for Riverside Park Renovation.

March 2011. The Kern Valley River Council (KVRC) was recently awarded a $25,000 grant from the USFS, Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. The Kernville Riverside Park Renovation Project's goal is to enhance the ecological, aesthetic, and recreational value of the 1/4 mile stretch of the Kern River starting just above the Kernville Bridge, through Riverside Park in Kernville.

Archives

Miracle Slalom Race August 22-23, 2009.

August 2009. To avoid a conflict with the Cherry Creek race and perhaps have a little more water for the race, the Miracle Slalom Race has been move up one week to August 22-23, 2009. Slalom course setup and maintenance is Friday, August 21. The race format will be the same as last year -- best two runs out of three!

Nick Wilkening Qualifies for National Junior Team.

April 2009. Congratulations to Kern paddler Nick Wilkening who qualified for the 2009 U.S. Whitewater Slalom Junior National Team this past weekend at the Junior Trials at Nantahala Outdoor Center in western North Carolina. Nick paddled well on the Nantahala Falls course, qualifying second in K1. Nick's coach is Pam Hoyer, whose son Stein Beals qualified for the Junior Team in 2008. See the race web site for more info.

Miracle Slalom Race August 23-24, 2008.

August 2008. The Miracle Slalom Race is August 23-24, 2008. Slalom course setup and maintenance is Friday, August 22. The race format will be the same as last year -- best two runs out of three!

Jessica Subido and Stein Beals Qualify for National Junior Team.

June 2008. Congratulations to Stein Beals and Jessica Subido who qualified for the USACK Whitewater Slalom National Junior Team recently in Golden, Colorado. A high five also goes to Nick Wilkening, paddling well in his first team trials, and placing 7th out of more than 25 boaters in the Men's K1 class. See the race web site for more info, including a video of the opening ceremonies. Jessica and Stein will be competing in the ICF Junior Slalom World Championship in Roudnice, CZE, July 26-27, as part of the U.S. Junior Team.

Miracle Race September 16-17. Junior/Cadet Slalom Development Clinic at Miracle September 29-October 1.

August 2006. After sorting out water issues and coordinating race dates, the Miracle Slalom has been scheduled for the weekend of September 16-17. The Eddy Hop Slalom is the previous weekend, September 9-10; and the Mokelumne Slalom is the following weekend, September 23-24.

September 29-October 1, a three day Junior/Cadet Slalom Development Clinic is being conducted at the Miracle Hot Springs slalom course. Coaches include Eric and Rebecca Giddens, Corby Leith, and John Brennan. For details see Kern River September Slalom Events (PDF). The clinic was made possible through a matching grant from U.S.A. Canoe/Kayak. It is offered by the Kern Valley River Council, a nondiscriminatory organization, under a special use permit granted by the U.S. Forest Service, Sequoia National Forest.

Great Whitewater and Weather for the 42nd Kern River Kayak & Raft Festival!

April 2006. Friday rain turned to weekend sun, and the combination resulted in great whitewater and weather for the 42nd Kern River Kayak & Raft Festival! Many thanks to the paddlers, spectators, sponsors and all the volunteers that help put on the event; and an extra special "Thank You!" to paddler Terry Valle who spearheads the organization of the Festival year after year. Results are now available and Festival photos will be posted next week.

Brush Creek was pumping on Saturday, and in the first official running of the Brush Creek race, Eric Jackson won the Men's K-1 class with an overall time of 2:26.03. Second in the Men's K-1 went to Dave Garringer, with Jay Kincaid third. 2004 Olympic Silver medallist Rebecca Giddens won the Women's K-1 with a time of 2:42.09 -- the sixth fastest time overall. Emily Jackson and Jessie Rice followed in second and third. Galen Licht won the Junior Boys K-1 in a time of 2:59.56, just ahead of Dane Jackson, and brother Jared Licht.

Sunday, with the flow at Riverside Park at over 2000 cfs., Eric Jackson and Eric Giddens swapped out their creek boats for slalom boats and went at it again, in the Western Regional Team Trial Qualifier Slalom. Both paddlers had touches on the first run and their times differed by less than a second. Giddens put the pedal down on his second run with a clean and fast run to win the K-1 Men's class. Rebecca Giddens won the K-1 Women's class.

In the Tom Johnson Slalom, the hot class was the K-1 Junior Boys, where the top four places were separated by less than six seconds. Rogan Brown's cleaner runs put him on top, with Luke Palko-Shcraa, Stein Beals, and Niko Peha following in second, third, and fourth. Sara Perales topped the K-1 Junior Girls, besting Emily Jackson and Jennifer Scarbrough. Dane Jackson edged Cully Brown in the K-1 Cadet Boys class. Miklos and Krisztina Peterfly won their respective Expert classes, and Ashley Mullen moves up to the Expert class after narrowly defeating Gilbert Siegel and Wally Hatfield in the K-1 Men's Intermediate class.

Downriver racers enjoyed the higher than normal flow. In his article in the USAWildwater News E-Zine, C-1 paddler, Ed Gordon described the level as perfect for the race.

Pan American Slalom Championships and USACK Slalom Nationals at Miracle this August!

March 2005. Exciting times for the Kern River as the 2005 U. S. Slalom Nationals along with the Pan American Slalom Championships are being held at Miracle Hot Springs on August 26, 27 & 28th. The Pan Am Championships encompasses teams from all of the Americas -- from Canada down through South America. The schedule for these events is: Friday, August 26th, qualifier for Pan Ams; Saturday, Pam Am semi-finals and finals; Sunday, U.S. Nationals, which will have additional classes for international paddlers, juniors, etc.

The Pan Ams are only for the National teams, but we are tentatively planning to have another race coincident with the Pan Ams that, like the Nationals, will be open to all boaters with slalom boats and PFDs that meet ICF rules. Since this level of race does not happen too often on the west coast, we are encouraging boaters to take part in the Nationals. Several clinics are being held prior to the Nationals, including one that is being offered by former National Coach Bob Campbell and Olympic medalist Joe Jacobi. This clinic will be held on the same site as the Nationals the weekend prior to the event. Then, during the Nationals, they will be your coach through your runs and then critique your race afterwards.

Giddens Slalom Clinics at Kernville and Miracle Hot Springs.

March 2005. Eric and Rebecca Giddens along with Kern Valley River Council are offering four slalom clinics for 2005. The first is to take place two days prior to the start of the Kern River Festival on April 14-15 at Riverside Park.  The other three will be weekend sessions held at the Miracle Hot Springs Slalom site located on the Lower Kern River, July 30-31, August 6-7 and August 13-14. These slalom clinics are for intermediate and advanced boaters. Rebecca Giddens, silver-medalist at the 2004 Olympics, is currently one of the top ranked women in the world, the 2002 World Champion, a member of the 2000 Olympic team, and a four-time National Champion. Eric Giddens was a member of the 1996 Olympic Team, 2000 and 2004 Olympic Coach and an internationally ranked member of the U.S. National Slalom Team for many years Additional information and an application form can be downloaded here. (Adobe PDF). This clinic is offered by Kern Valley River Council, a nondiscriminatory organization, under a special use permit granted by the U.S. Forest Service, Sequoia National Forest.

Kishiyama Runs Away with Sierra Cup!

September 2004. Keith Kishiyama’s final run in the final race of the Sierra Cup Series at the Mokelumne River was clean and the fastest of the event, punctuating his Sierra Cup win with a big exclamation point. Keith placed first in the Men’s Masters in six of seven Sierra Cup races, finishing well ahead of second place finisher Gary Valle, also in the Men’s Masters class. Bill Triffet’s win in the Men's K-1 Novice at the Mokelumne pushed him to third place in the Series, just ahead of Charlie Albright. For all the results, see Sierra Cup Final Standings (Adobe PDF).

Giddens Slalom Clinic at Miracle Hot Springs.

September 2004. Eric and Rebecca Giddens along with Kern Valley River Council are offering a slalom clinic to be held at the Miracle Hot Springs Slalom site located on the Lower Kern River on Saturday-Sunday, September 25-26, 2004. This slalom clinic is for intermediate and advanced boaters. Rebecca Giddens, silver-medalist at the 2004 Olympics, is currently one of the top ranked women in the world, the 2002 World Champion, a member of the 2000 Olympic team, and a four-time National Champion. Eric Giddens was a member of the 1996 Olympic Team, 2000 and 2004 Olympic Coach and an internationally-ranked member of the U.S. National Slalom Team for many years Additional information and an application form can be downloaded here. (Adobe PDF). This clinic is offered by Kern Valley River Council, a nondiscriminatory organization, under a special use permit granted by the U.S. Forest Service, Sequoia National Forest.

Young Paddlers Excel at Miracle Slalom!

August 2004. Inspired by Rebecca Gidden’s paddling in the Athen’s Olympics, young paddlers excelled at the first slalom on the new Miracle Slalom Course on the Lower Kern River. Jessica Subido placed first & Emily Campbell placed third in the Women's Expert class; and Alex Blum placed third in Men's Expert. Nick Wilkening made all the gates on both runs, finishing ahead of Grant Brady & William Schrodt in the Boy's Cadet class. Sara Perales edged Sophia Blum & Jennifer Scarborough to win the Girl's Cadet class. All the results and some photos are now available on the Miracle Slalom page.

Rebecca Giddens Wins Silver in Athen’s Olympics!

August 2004. Paddling well on a steep and pushy saltwater slalom course at the Helliniko Olympic Complex, Rebecca won the Silver Medal in the Women’s K-1 class. Additional news stories & info, links to a slide show with commentary, and a video of her Silver Medal run can be found on Sierra South’s Rebecca Giddens gallery page. Rebecca is not only a superb athlete, but one of the most honest, humble and positive people you are likely to meet. She is special. Way to go Rebecca!

Twins Pavol and Peter Hochschorner of Slovakia continued their domination of C2, winning the Gold. In a tough Semifinal run where only six C2's would advance to the Final, Americans Joe Jacobi and Matt Taylor placed 8th. In Men's K1 Benoit Peschier and Fabien Lefevre of France won the Gold and Bronze, with Great Britain's Campbell Walsh taking the Silver. USA`s Scott Parsons paddled well, and placed 6th in K1.

Miracle Slalom August 21-22

The Miracle Slalom, the fifth slalom in the Sierra Cup Slalom Series, will be held August 21-22, 2004 at Miracle Hot Springs - Hobo Campground. The course will be open for practice all day Saturday, and the slalom competition will be held on Sunday. Click on the following link to download the Registration Form (Adobe PDF). Miracle Hot Springs is located approximately 45 minutes east of Bakersfield on Highway 178. Going east on 178, turn right on Borel Rd., then right again at the stop sign at Old Kern Canyon Rd. Follow Old Kern Canyon Road past Sandy Flat Campground to Miracle Hot Springs and Hobo Campground.

Rubado Wins West Coast Freestyle Championship Series; Kishiyama Leads in Sierra Cup

May 2004. Men’s Expert Freestyle boater Dan Rubado was awarded first place in the 2004 West Coast Freestyle Championship series that concluded with the Bob’s Hole rodeo at the Oregon Cup. His first place rankings at the American River Festival and Oregon Cup, and top 3 placements at the Trinity and Kern River Festivals secured the win. Men’s Pro boater Eric Jackson was second, and Women’s Pro paddler Erin Griffith just edged Men’s Pro Jay Kincaid to take third. Trophies were awarded through tenth place. For the full results see the West Coast Freestyle Championship Final Standings. (Adobe PDF)

With four events completed, Keith Kishiyama leads the Sierra Cup Slalom Series. A complete listing of the current standings is posted on the Sierra Cup Slalom Series page. This will be updated as races are completed and the results are compiled.

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info@kvrc.org