Kayakers hit the waves for national championship in Columbus this weekend
Kayaker Stephen Wright is looking forward to defending his national championship this weekend in Columbus.
The 39-year-old, five-time title winner will be among more than 40 of the world’s best kayakers competing in the 2017 USA Freestyle Kayak National Championships.
The kayakers are competing for prizes in different classes in the competition, which begins Friday on the Chattahoochee River at Whitewater’s Good Wave in front of RiverWalk Island.
It will start again Saturday at 1 p.m. and go until 5 p.m.
It is free to the public and a commentary will be delivered over a loud speaker.
But the kayak competition is just part of the fun.
Uptown Columbus is also hosting Paddle South on Saturday.
The event, which will be held at the Eagle & Phenix Water Tower at the corner of 12th Street and Bay Avenue, will feature numerous barbecue vendors and a Golden’s Foundry Cast Iron Cooker Cook-Off. There will be plenty of cold craft beer in the Omaha Brewery Company Biergarten. There will also be live music provided by artists such as Neil Lucas, Jantavious Willis, Blackberry Possum, as well as Caleb Gambel & Big Saxxy.
Admission for Paddle South is $5.
Wright is from Rock Island, Tenn. He began kayaking about 20 years ago and has been competing for about 15.
He won his latest national championship in 2016 in Reno, Nev.
“Kayaking has taken me to Europe and other places I didn’t think I would ever see,” said Wright, who has twice won a bronze medal in the world championships.
He travels six months of the year in an RV and runs a kayaking school for high school students on the Ottawa River in Canada in the summer.
Wright called kayaking the “infinite challenge.”
“There is always something to learn,” he said.
He said the area where he will be competing this weekend is “world class.”
“I could see a lot of kayakers coming to live in Columbus because of the wave,” Wright said.
He knows it will not be easy to claim another title, saying that the competitors are friends but the competition is intense.
“It is going to be a great show you won’t want to miss,” Wright said.
Larry Gierer: 706-571-8581, @lagierer
If you go
What: 2017 USA Freestyle Kayak National Championships
When: Friday 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Saturday 1 p.m.–5 p.m.
Where: Chattahoochee River Whitewater’s Good Wave in front of RiverWalk Island
Cost: Free
What: Paddle South featuring barbecue, live music and beer
When: Saturday 4 p.m.–10 p.m.
Where: Eagle & Phenix Water Tower, 12th Street and Bay Avenue
Cost: $5
This story was originally published April 11, 2017 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Kayakers hit the waves for national championship in Columbus this weekend."