Gorge Games is back, and you can be part of it by entering any of the Riverboarding events!

Riverboarding at this year's Gorge Games will be one of a handful of featured sports for a national TV audience of over a million people, and we're excited to showcase the sport and the scenic and challenging White Salmon River.

Riverboarding Competitions
This year’s Gorge Games will feature all 4 of the primary riverboarding competition disciplines:

SLALOM - riverboarders race downriver against the clock through gates, fastest time wins
BOARDERCROSS – head-to-head, full-contact downriver sprint race
EXTREME DOWNRIVER – a mass-start, long distance downriver endurance race
FREESTYLE SURFING - bodyboarding tricks in the river, surfing on a powerful river wave

All Riverboarders will compete in one division, unless there is a minimum of 5 competitors to make up a Women’s division or an Under-16 division.

The winners of the Gorge Games Riverboarding events will earn points toward the 2008 Face Level Riverboarding Championships, a year-long competition series whose eventual winner will become a fully sponsored Riverboarder and win a riverboarding trip to Costa Rica!

Dates: July 17-20, 2008

Location
The incredible White Salmon River near the towns of Husum and BZ in Washington, just 15 minutes drive across the bridge from the Hood River Event Site.

Who Can Compete?
Anyone with strong swimming ability and some whitewater experience (it’s ok if you are / were a raft guide, kayaker, swiftwater rescue personnel, etc) can compete in the Riverboarding events!

However, because of the extreme nature of the sport of whitewater riverboarding, competitors will be required to pass a basic skills test before being allowed to compete. Racers will also be required to riverboard the race course prior to the events to familiarize themselves with the river’s features, hazards, and temperature.

Required Gear
Riverboarders will need to have their own gear and riverboards for the competition. It is highly recommended that racers wear the warmest wetsuit they can bring, because the White Salmon is extremely cold, even in July. This is partially due to the beautiful, narrow gorge whose walls rise straight up out of the river – this truly is a fast, rock-walled waterslide.