April 17, 2012 - Excitement is growing in the Nantahala Gorge: engineers, construction crews, and a passel of locals have been in the water the last two days, moving boulders and concrete blocks, hoping to hit upon the magical combination that will turn this work-in-progress into a world-class play feature (photo taken 4/17). When the water came on this afternoon and paddlers replaced the heavy machinery in the river, the crowd, largely local boaters, were all smiles. "We have a couple more things to tweak when they turn the water off again," said Daniel Dutton, a local paddler and freestyle judge. "Two of the rocks moved when the current hit them, but we'll get them in place."
This is the first time that construction crews have been able to get back in the water, following a moratorium established to protect trout during a delicate time in their life-cycle, and the resulting delay has had many on the edge of their seat, wondering if the feature will be ready in time for the summer season. "They all seem positive about the direction that the fine-tuning is taking, and judging from the loops and cartwheels paddlers were throwing in the wave, it looks as though they're well on their way to finding the optimal configuration," said 2013 World Championships event manager Zuzana Vanha.
NOC is hosting an athlete feedback session with McLauglin engineers at 6pm at Slow Joe's Café on Friday, April 20th. The goal of the session is to gather input from locals and national team members alike that will help to guide the final round of fine-tuning. The event will be open to the public.
Curious about how water works, and the way that we can change its flow and characteristics? Find out at a demonstration of "The Science of Water Hydraulics," scheduled for Saturday, April 21 from 2-3 pm in the Nantahala Gorge. The event is part of the North Carolina Science Festival, a multi-day celebration showcasing science and technology through events across the state.
Using the Nantahala 2013 Wave as the example, engineers will discuss the science of water hydraulics and in-stream construction, which allows alteration of the shape of a river-bed in order to create or enhance river features for various uses.
You can also see the product of these engineering efforts in action since the Nantahala 2013 Wave feature will be utilized during this year's Freestyle Shootout Competition, April 20-22. The Shootout will be the first competition to take place at the 2013 Wave. Find out more about the Freestyle Shootout, and about the Nantahala Open, which will take place the same weekend just upstream at the Nantahala Falls!
For more information about the NC Science Festival, please visit: www.ncsciencefestival.org.
In a little more than a year, the world's best freestyle kayakers will converge on the Nantahala Gorge for the 2013 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships. To acquaint area businesses and civic organizations with the potential impact of this event, the Bryson City - Swain County Chamber of Commerce is holding an open house Thursday, March 22 from 6 to 8 pm. Event Director Zuzana Vanha and members of the Nantahala Gorge Organizing Committee will be on hand to answer questions about the event, and provide information about volunteer and sponsorship opportunities.
"Even though the Nantahala Gorge and Bryson City are the official hosts, all seven Western North Carolina counties will benefit greatly from the increased traffic and international exposure," said Karen Wilmot, Executive Director of the Chamber. "It will significantly boost our region's excellent reputation as an outdoor recreation destination."
"Freestyle is an 'extreme' form of kayaking," explained Vanha, "comparable to half-pipe snowboarding in the way it pushes the envelope with extraordinary athletic moves."
The Bryson City - Swain County Chamber of Commerce is located at 210 Main Street, Bryson City,
Fine tuning of the 2013 Wave continues, as athletes and engineers strive to achieve the optimal configuration of the newly installed Wave Shaper. “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” says Nantahala Gorge Organizing Committee Event Director, Zuzana Vanha. “The 2013 Wave is going to strengthen Freestyle Kayaking nationally as well as regionally, and it’s going to put on a great show next year, but it will take a little more work to get it optimized for competition. Right now, we have a good, retentive hole, which is great for some tricks, but will be hard on the junior classes. When we finish, the feature will look much more like a wave, and it will be deep and powerful enough for even the largest moves.
“We’re working with athletes and the engineers to ensure that we take everyone’s needs into account, and I am confident that when we finish, the 2013 Wave is going to be a draw for pro athletes, locals, beginners, and youth paddlers alike for years to come.”
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Despite the rain, a good crowd turned out for the grand opening of the new 2013 Wave Shaper on Friday, December 16. Several professional kayakers were on hand to provide demonstrations. But if the truth be known, they most likely would have been there with or without the audience. Former U.S. Freestyle Kayak Team member Andrew Holcombe described the new wave feature as a "Christmas present" to the region and the kayaking community.
The Nantahala Gorge Organizing Committee ("NGOC") will celebrate the grand opening of the 2013 Wave on Friday, December 16 with a ceremony, reception and paddling exhibition starting at 12pm. The 2013 Wave is the competition site of the 2013 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships on the Nantahala River, an event expected to draw 500 international athletes and thousands of spectators.
During the 30-minute dedication ceremony NGOC representatives will explain how the wave works, how it may evolve over time and the current state of the event planning. Some of the world's best freestyle paddling athletes will be on hand to discuss their impressions of the 2013 Wave, and the ongoing preparations for the games. These same boaters will be available for a photo opportunity following the dedication ceremony as they paddle the new wave.
NGOC representatives will be soliciting paddler feedback so they can make adjustments benefiting the general public as well as advanced freestyle athletes. To facilitate the feedback, there will be an open paddling session after the meeting where boaters can paddle together to discuss their recommendations and impressions. Non-paddlers will be treated to light refreshments and will have the opportunity to watch the athletes surf the new wave.
"We completed the installation within the required time frame, clearing the biggest hurdle we faced in the entire planning process—I'm very relieved and excited," says Lee Leibfarth, board member for the Nantahala Racing Club and member of the organizing committee. "We've still got work to do on the competition site though. The feature needs refinement and adjustments that can only be made through experimentation. As the Nantahala goes through its usual winter release schedule we'll be tweaking the features that produce the wave to make it optimal for most paddlers."
Now that the competition site is constructed, event organizers will move on to new challenges like scheduling, ticketing and other logistics. As that process gets underway minor work will continue on the 2013 Wave preparing it for its first big test: the 2012 World Cup event in September.
The feature installation phase of the wave shaper was completed on November 29, 2011. The second phase of testing and fine-tuning of the feature has begun.
View live webcam of the Nantahala wave shaper
Payson Kennedy, NOC co-founder (second from left), joined organizing committee members (l-r) Sutton Bacon, Juliet Kastorff, Lee Leibfarth, Monica Brown and Karen Wilmot on November 1, 2011, for the groundbreaking as construction began on the new Wave Shaper, the apparatus that will create a world-class kayaking wave with a safe and user-friendly eddy immediately below it. The Wave Shaper is located down river of the existing commercial and private take-outs for rafting. The site will be free and available to all boaters when not in use for scheduled competitions. The first planned event for the new feature is the April 20-22, 2012 NOC Freestyle Shootout.
A $195,000 grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation was awarded to the Swain County Tourism Development Authority to fund construction of the wave feature.
Construction is now taking place with an expected completion date of November 30. In the first phase (see below), workers created a dry working environment by enclosing the site with water-tight, concrete barriers. Duke Power, which controls the water flow on the Nantahala is keeping the levels low during construction. Concrete shapers (left), which form the structure of the wave feature, have been made in a variety of interchangeable sizes to allow for fine-tuning. Construction schematic / details (pdf).
