|
|
|
|
Prepared by Gary Valle'
In an exciting whitewater double header, the 2000 Texaco Whitewater Slalom National Championships and the 2000 A.C.A. Wildwater National Championships, were held August 18-20, 2000, at Miracle Hot Springs, California. This is a virtual tour of the stretch of the Lower Kern River where the Slalom National Championships were held and the new permanent Miracle Slalom Course was constructed. The course was built and is maintained by the Kern Valley River Council, a California Non-Profit Organization, under permit from Sequoia National Forest.
In whitewater slalom races, participants navigate a series of 18 to 25 gates that have been strategically placed on a short stretch of river. Gates are marked red or green. Red gates are "up" gates and must be paddled through moving in the upstream direction. Green gates are "down" gates and, as you can probably guess, must be navigated in the downstream direction. Competitors are timed from Start to Finish. Should a racer touch a gate, 2 seconds is added to their time. If a competitor misses a gate, 50 seconds is added to their time.
INTRODUCTION - LOCATION & WEATHER - COURSE OVERVIEW
START - ISLAND CHUTE - PLAYSPOT -
PUT-IN - SHOALS &
HOLES
