Slalom Races

Brought to FIBArk in the fifties, the Olympic sport of whitewater slalom racing requires paddlers to negotiate a series of gates suspended over the river through the Whitewater Park in downtown Salida. The accessibility of the river corridor in Salida makes this event very spectator friendly. Whitewater slalom places a premium on technical skill as paddlers are timed and penalized for missing, or even touching, a gate as they pass through.

On Saturday of FIBArk, slalom racers will run down the slalom course. The three fastest competitors will go on to compete in the days final shoot-out for the cash prizes. The finals course will be modified from the qualifiers course, and the finalists will have one run down the finals course to compete for the title of FIBArk Champion!

The FIBArk slalom race regularly attracts national team athletes paddling alongside “weekend warriors” and aspiring racers–watch closely and you’ll likely catch a glimpse of a past or future Olympian!