The Pensive Paddler

Midwest Freestyle Championships
August 15 – 16, 2009
Witness the best whitewater paddlers from the Midwest performing amazing stunts.  Known as freestyle, play boating or rodeo; competitors score points based on the difficulty and precision of moves made in hydraulic features on the river.  Competitors enter drawing to win a new Jackson Kayak Whitewater Kayak!

Class Rules and Information

Each registered boater receives 3 days of water to paddle on the Wausau course Friday though Sunday, free lunches on Saturday and Sunday and other goodies.

The paddler who wins the beginner and intermediate recreation class must move up in class the following year. This includes the 08 winner.

Paddlers who choose to physically compete in a class will receive one free entry into a competitors drawing for a certificate for a new Jackson kayak of their choice! Other prizes will also be drawn for from the competitors drawing giving every competitor a chance to win. Competitors’ Drawing is held at the awards following teardown on Sunday. Must be present to win.

In this 2009 event women can enter the freestyle expert / intermediate / beginner classes.

Please check the box for the class you are entering. You must check at least one class when registering, but you do not have to compete if you just want to come to paddle on the course recreationally for the weekend and enjoy the water, food, and fun. Please fill in registration form completely to assure that you are fully registered. Missing data could cause you to be omitted in the competitor database.

Register for event only

! Please pay when registering for the event, early registrations will be refunded one month before the event if you are not able to attend. Waivers will be posted after ACA finalizes forms in January 2009.
Midwest Freestyle Championships Only Registration (MS Word Doc)
Midwest Freestyle Championships Only (PDF)

Please see your scores from the “08″ event to aid your decision as to what skill level to enter in the “09″ competition. Remember this is not mandatory only a suggestion. If you just had some bad rides in “08″ comp and feel you can improve over the summer then enter a higher class if you want. You will also not be held to the class you choose, if you need to move up or down a class just let one of the event organizers know what class you need to be in by Friday August 14th prior to the event.

If you did not compete in the “08″ event please see the scoresheet to aid you in determining what class to enter.

90+ Expert
30-89 Intermediate
0-29 beginner

The wonderful Outagamie County scenery and the water flowing gracefully down Fox River will make you feel great. The average Wisconsin whitewater rafting or kayaking river tends to be easier to run than those in other states, so if you’re not from around here don’t forget that rivers here are not as hard as elsewhere. The put-in is not too far from Appleton, please print out a copy of the road map further down the page so you won’t get lost. If you’re a camper you can camp at one of the great campgrounds nearby. Getting a good workout and spending some quality time in nature have people coming from far and near. The 1000 Islands stretch of Fox River is 1.5 miles long and has been rated as a class I-III(IV) section by American Whitewater. This is a somewhat short section so you’d better be prepared to walk your kayak back to put-in a few times. The 1000 Islands section is the only paddling section along Fox River. Whether you’re whitewater rafting or kayaking around here you won’t find a large number of other places. No need to look hard for hotels, and if you make reservations in advance you’re all set.

Briefly about the general area:
An average amount of rainfall falls at Fox River; the month of August is the wettest with most of the rain, and the driest month is February. High temperatures at Fox River through the summer are in the 80’s. Once the sun is down it descends down to the 60’s. For the period of the winter highs are mostly in the 20’s while the cold winter nights at Fox River are in the 0’s.