Drum (not Eskimo) roll, please…The road to Paris for U.S. Canoe and Kayak Slalom athletes is going through Alabama and Oklahoma.
Stop number one for the Team Trials: Montgomery, Alabama. The new, multimillion dollar Montgomery Whitewater Park will be the first chance for athletes aiming to punch their tickets to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Park officials confirmed the world-class outdoor adventure park, which opened in July, will host the 2024 Canoe Slalom and Kayak Cross Olympic Team Trials.
The trials are set to take place on April 13 and 14 and will be open to the public with the exact schedule to be published at montgomerywhitewater.com.
The park is a 120-acre state-of-the-art recirculating whitewater park and outdoor adventure center located off I-65 in Montgomery. Team Trials organizing body the ACA will have access to advanced Olympic caliber pumped whitewater course in America capable of hosting the highest-level international events as well as offering recreational kayaking, canoeing, rafting and instruction. There are only three such facilities in the U.S.
This marks the first time Canoe Slalom and Kayak Cross will hold its Olympic Team Trials in Alabama, and the first of two selection events to be held before the 2024 Paris Olympics, park officials stated. The other event will take place in Oklahoma.
The final event to select the U.S. Canoe Slalom and Kayak Cross athletes for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games will take place at RIVERSPORT in Oklahoma City, where athletes will head to the pumped artificial competition channel of RIVERSPORT April 26-28 to see if they can punch their ticket to the Paris Olympics, with Slalom racing Friday and Saturday, and Kayak Cross on Sunday (subject to change).
Canoe slalom is contested by two types of boat, canoe (C) and kayak (K). In canoe, a single- blade paddle is used by an athlete who is kneeling in their boat, with kayakers sitting and using a double-bladed paddle. Canoe & Kayak events are timed events where competitors navigate a whitewater course by passing through a combination of upstream and downstream gates. The type of gate is designated by color, red for upstream and green for downstream. Time penalties can be incurred for touching a gate (two seconds) and missing a gate (50 seconds).
Kayak Cross is the latest addition to the Olympic Program and will debut in Paris. This new Olympic event puts four kayakers in a head-to-head format, racing down a section of whitewater while negotiating several inflatable gates. The race starts with four kayaks on a ramp above the river. After launching 10 feet into the river, the athletes paddle around a series of red and green inflatable “gates” and complete a full kayak roll under a “roll zone” marker; the first boat to cross the finish line wins.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with RIVERSPORT to select our Team USA athletes for Paris. The Olympic Trials are always a great opportunity to showcase our amazing sport and athletes, many of whom are among the best in the world. And this year we have the added bonus of being able to introduce Kayak Cross as well,” says Beth Spilman, Executive Director for the American Canoe Association (ACA).
The venue is excited for the chance to show off its features as well. “We’re honored to be hosting US Olympic Team Trials for Canoe Slalom and also qualifying athletes for the new Kayak Cross discipline making it’s debut in Paris,” adds Mike Knopp, Executive Director of RIVERSPORT. “
The Olympic Team Trials at RIVERSPORT will be the second and final event for the United States’ Olympic Team Selection.
In previous Olympics, the USA Canoe Slalom team has earned 1 Gold Medal (MC2), 2 Silver Medals (WK1), and 2 Bronze Medals (MC1 & WK1). In the previous Tokyo Olympics, the top U.S. slalom results included Michal Smolen (MK1 – 5th), Zachary Lokken (MC1 – 7th), and Evy Leibfarth (WK1 – 12th, WC1 – 18th).