A 72-strong field of male whitewater paddlers, complimented by 14 women, filled up the field at the TEVA 2004 Wairoa Whitewater Extreme Race. Pro paddlers Ben Brown, Allan Ellard and
Steve Fisher (whom many consider the world's best all round paddler) as well as members of the German National Whitewater Slalom Team, all showed up. Excitement had been building for
weeks to experience the fast growing phenomena that can safely be nominated for the premier of the world's best extreme races. Center stage is the unpredictable nature of the Rollercoaster
Rapid, which creates dozens of "hero to zero" moments, allowing the crowd to celebrate the underdog!
The growing popularity of this event was noticeably evident by my asking to skip Saturday's time trial in order to work. Andi Uhl, the race organizer, explained in certainty, "No, you
can't just enter Sunday for the head to head; you have to qualify by time trial on Saturday!" The time trial cut the field from the new entry high of 72 male competitors to 64, which
sets up an even draw for the main event.
Saturday's time trail started with a seal launch off the 5-meter tall starting rock (which is definitely extreme) while your latte still sat high in your stomach. Many a racer face
planted or flipped from quirky entry angles before orienting themselves downstream to the task at hand, a five to six minute sprint through five rapids and some punishing flats.
Johann Roozenburg had denounced over coffee earlier in the week Donald Johnstone's (DJ's) stranglehold on the time trial title: "Who says he's going to win?" Fair enough Johann,
and congratulations to DJ (2nd for the first time in five events) and Bernd Sommer who came 3rd.
Mandy Planert, the German machine, took out the women's time trial and showed up the boys with a clinical performance all weekend.
The crowd slithered down to the water on Sunday morning and made their way to the crux of the matter, the showcase of New Zealand whitewater paddling, the head-to-head TEVA Wairoa
Extreme Race 2004. This short river trip down to the start line was a welcome wake-up call for some of the competitors, who were still trying to recover from the Red Bull
Party the night before.
"Many a racer face
planted or flipped from quirky entry angles before orienting themselves downstream to the task at hand..."
Let me assure you that the men's now 64 strong field was quite possibly the strongest ever assembled anywhere. Perhaps the Gorge Games, posting a US$10,000 prize, has
had similar strength. Donald Johnstone has long been the pillar of NZ professionalism with top five World Cup slalom postings. With the last two Extreme Race titles under
his belt, his resume goes on. Kenny Mutton has finished 3rd and 6th at Freestyle World Championship competitions. Bernd Sommer is now the NZ national outrigger champ. Nick
Wimset is the new NZ freestyle ace and Steve Fisher has handfuls of podium finishes in both rodeo and extreme races, most notably dominating the US extreme scene. Allan Ellard
quietly joins the world's toughest expeditions and extreme races. Ben Brown assured me his professional liaisons with Riot etc. qualify him, somewhere, perhaps along side the
German Olympic slalom team. Filling out the top seeds were local world class paddlers: Johann Roozenburg, Mike Dawson, Jarred Meehan and Toby Robertson, all of them bringing
along international backgrounds in slalom and freestyle.
To understand this race a bit better let's quickly bomb down from the start line to the finish. The race starts almost like the America's Cup. Two racers line up behind the
line in the moving current, free to move at will. Andi counts down. You have to time your paddle stroke with the rope being lifted. A mad sprint begins often with serious
tactical jostling, with only boat contact allowed. The madness temporarily ends as you enter into the chute. This five-meter long chute hosts a nasty hydraulic that is river
wide - racers can punch through either far right or left. Once past that you have 10-meters to gain control before attempting to jump your boat off the Waterfall. The Waterfall
is a two and a half-meter vertical drop. A clean boof stoke off the lip is essential to success and a fast track away from the recycle of the falls. Next is a 20-meter sprint to
the Rollercoaster.
The Rollercoaster has two entries. The first is the "Chicken Chute" on the right, which is slower but eludes having to negotiate the second option: the left entry and the hole
affectionately known as the "Cauldron." Both options join up. You then have to make a split second decision on which of the three bottom drops is best for you given your
preference and position in the race. The right slot is appropriately called "The Right Line." It may be the fastest line, but it is hard to make effective strokes because
of the wall and rocks all around you. The river left and center drops are two-meters tall and often submerge both paddlers and their craft. Those two are optional until the
quarterfinals when the Right Line and Chicken Chute are no longer an option.
Many a race has been lost directly after the bottom drops of the Rollercoaster. Fast water that hosts tricky holes and waves guard the entry to the river left eddy. This is
where all racers are focused at, since well timed and executed entries to this eddy make all the difference. Winners must touch the Red Bull finish banner deep on the eddy
wall first in order to advance to the next round. That's the course.
Back to the Start. Finishing mid-field in the time trial paired me with Brett from Turangi. We have met once before, and like being set up with a new dance partner we agreed
to get on the water and go. 5-4-3-2-1-0! "Shit," we blew under the starting banner before it was pulled up. First time nerves and naivety, and we have to restart. A touch of
jostling saw me down the right, ahead over the Waterfall, with an energy-sapping sprint into the Rollercoaster. I could feel Brett was not far behind. I paddled through the
Caldron, bouncing down the right side, out the bottom drop, and with a clean line into the eddy, I touched the Red Bull banner with Brett close behind.
Back on top I was keen to go quickly into the second round so I could take photos if I lost. Losing would be no problem since my neighbour, Bernd Sommer, signaled it was him
and me paired next.
