¾Ã¾ÃÈȾ«Æ·ÊÓƵapp

The 2024 Vail Whitewater Race Series returns on May 7, which can only mean one thing: Tuesday nights belong to the river rats once again.

“I do consider myself a river rat,” said Vail Recreation District’s (VRD) new sports coordinator Wyatt Smith, who runs both the summer whitewater and trail run race series.

“Except I do shower every day,” he jokingly continued. “And I take pride in that.”

---

---

The five-week series begins at the Covered Bridge in Vail at 5:30 p.m. on May 7 and runs weekly until June 4. Three competition categories are offered — kayak (under 9-feet 6-inches), stand-up paddleboard (SUP, under 11 feet) and two-person raft (10-feet 6-inches) — and different course challenges are constructed every week. The series is open to all paddlers ages 16 and up from intermediate to expert abilities. The skills to run class III whitewater in your chosen craft are required.

Additionally, a standalone event — the Minturn Downriver Dash — is set for May 31.

---

---

“I really do love that stretch of river,” Smith said regarding the Downriver Dash course, which begins south of Minturn at the Boneyard Open Space and finishes at the Minturn Saloon.

Smith, who moves into Forrest Knapp’s role with the VRD, was born and raised in Eagle and worked as a whitewater guide in Glenwood Springs during his college summers. After graduating with a degree in psychology from the University of Colorado Boulder, he returned to the valley, working the last three winters at the Vail Nordic Center. Nordic Center director Dan Timm quickly connected Smith to the town series, and he began assisting with winter races before assuming the full-time role this February.

“Things worked out where I ended up in this role and now I get to be really excited about planning whitewater and trail running races,” Smith said.

“We’re really excited to have him on board,” added Beth Pappas, the VRD’s sports event and partnership director. “Having him work with us through last summer, he really knows what he’s getting into, he’s really familiar with the events already; this is a really natural progression for him to step into a leadership role and I think he’s going to do a great job.”

Smith is eager to continue building momentum in the whitewater series, which had a record 398 participants last May.

“I’m really excited to just take that and make it a passion project,” he said.

“It has consistently grown since we started it,” Pappas said, adding that the most growth has come in the two-person raft and all women’s categories. “We have seen some younger kids getting more into it,” she continued. “So we did add a junior division a couple years ago.”

The Pre-registered single-race costs are $17 for kayak or SUP and $24 for two-person raft. Those costs increase to $24 and $36, respectively, for day-of registration.

Athletes compete for points and awards at each race as well as overall crowns. Series champions are determined by competitors’ best four finishes. The results list is typically a whitewater “who’s-who,” with several athletes’ resumes — , and Cole Bangert to name a few — including national and international competition experience.

But the good-natured, high-level competition isn’t the only draw.

“I think all of our series — the trail running, mountain bike and whitewater — have a huge community component,” Pappas said. “I think because all of our races include an after party or celebration of some sort, which gives everyone a chance to come together post-race and share their war stories and all that good stuff, it really feeds that.” 

Smith said with a similar snowpack to 2023, river conditions this spring are shaping up to be perfect for next week’s season-opener.

“What usually dictates water levels in May is how warm it gets,” he said. When he checked the Gore Creek a couple days ago, it was running at 87 cubit feet per second (CFS). During the warmer spell a week prior, it was more like 150 CFS. Basically, only a huge cold front would cancel the May 7 race, he said.

“We have — I think only once in my time — canceled a whitewater race due to low river flows,” Pappas said. “It was just under 100 CFS, and it’s just not safe or good experience. So we will cancel if the flows are under 100 but we don’t anticipate having to do that.” 

For more information on all of the Vail Recreation District’s summer race series, visit , call 970-479-2280 or email sports@vailrec.com.