IRF NEWSLETTER - JAN 2005

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Contents:
1) NEW YEAR
2) RAFT RACES: a) WRC 2005; b) Copas Amazonas; c) India; d) USA; e) Norway; f) South Africa; g) Australia; h) Austria
3) EURO CUP: i) 2004 Results; ii) Programme for 2005
4) GUIDE TRAINING & EDUCATION WORKSHOPS
5) RAFT RACE RULES

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1) NEW YEAR
We hope you all have welcomed in the New Year with enthusiasm albeit with great sadness for the plight of those in Asia and for all those that have lost loved ones in the Tsunami.
The year is a big one for us all as the World Champs will be held this year in October in Ecuador. The rafting news has poured in over the last few weeks so this has become a long and newsy letter!

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2) RAFT RACES

a) WORLD CHAMPS 2005 If you are wanting to race a team in the WRC 2005 then the following are the criteria that you need to satisfy:
i) Your country's rafting organisation must be a fully paid up member of the IRF;
ii) your country must have held or will be holding fair and credible national selections to choose the best men's and women's teams to represent your country.
If you have any queries on this please get back to us.

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b) COPA AMAZONAS, Ecuador (same venue as the 2005 World Champs) 
The Copa Amazonas 2004, prelude to the 2005 WRC, was successfully held by Club Rafting ECUADOR on the Quijos river in Ecuador from October 27-31. Eighteen teams from the Czech Republic (2 women, 5 men), Russia (3 men), Slovakia (1 women, 1 men), Japan (1 men), Brazil (1 men), USA (1 men), Venezuela (1 men) and Ecuador (2 men) competed at the same sites where the next WRC will be held from October 12-16, 2005. The event was especially important for the delegations from Czech Republic (women and men) and Russia (men) as they used it to select which of their top two teams from their national championships will represent their respective countries at the 2005 WRC.
The winners of the Copa Amazonas 2004 were: Women - Czech Women 2 / Troja/Stan Prague (Jezinky) and Men - Altai-Raft (Russia). The complete results can be found at www.raftingecuador.org

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c) INDIA
i) INDIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS were held recently. There were 10 mens teams and 1 womens teams and the standard of rafting has seen a marked improvement since the India Cup in March this year. The event went well and it is a good sign that rafting in India is going from strength to strength. Results can be seen at: www.intraftfed.com/sport & Comp/

ii) INDIA CUP 2005
After the great success of the India Cup earlier last year they are planning the second one for this year.
Dates: 12 to 20 March 2005
Venue: River Satluj in Himachal Pradesh, India
Teams invited: Open to all IRF members (Men's and Women's teams)
Entry fee: $ 150 per team. (6 +1)
What's provided: All accommodation, meals and transportation will be taken care of in India except train fare from New Delhi to Shimla and back which is $ 100 per person. Teams have to take care of their international airfare, Visa fees, Insurance and personal rafting gear.
Contact Shaukat Pal Singh Sikand (Secretary, The Indian Rafting Foundation) for more information: Cel: +91 9810857600. Email: indianraftingfederation@yahoo.co.in

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d) USA - up and coming races for next year
i) Gore Canyon Race: August 19-21, 2005
This race consists of the Whitewater Cup (U.S. National Rafting Championships) and the traditional downriver race. Gore Canyon is one of the top class V runs in Colorado. The Gore Canyon Festival is all about the paddler, not only is the race solid but there is also music, movies, videos of the days paddling and is a great atmosphere to camp, race hard and enjoy. The Gore Canyon Race is held the 3rd week in August every year so you can always plan ahead.

ii) The Clear Creek Downriver Race. June 3, 2005
This event will be from Lawson to Idaho Springs, CO. Clear Creek, is one of Colorado's hidden gems for river running. The Lawson to Idaho Springs section is a continuous class 4 run with many drops and no flat water. In early June the water is cold but high. A perfect race section. It will take top teams just under 45 minutes to complete the section. The race is open to rafts, kayaks, shredders, sledgers, and so on. This years raft race is a qualifier for Gore Canyon 205 and entry into the Whitewater Cup (US National Rafting Championships). In addition, the Citizen's Challenge, crew of novice or amateur paddlers with an experienced guide, now in its third year, will be a major focus. To find out how to get your company involved, please contact mark@rapidpulse.com. For more information on the race goto www.rapidpulse.com

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e) NORWAY will be holding their Extremesport week again this year from Tuesday the 21st to Thursday the 23rd June 2005. A rafting event consisting of sprint, slalom and downriver is included and this event will be a part of the Euro Cup series. This should be particularly appealing to those countries close to Norway as they at last have an event on their own doorstep. You can see more information and photos on http://www.ekstremsportveko.com/

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f) SOUTH AFRICA held their National Champs on the Tugela River at Ukutula Bush Camp near Winterton in Kwazulu Natal on the 18th and 19th December 2004. The winning teams (mens - Aardvarks, womens - Mary's Angels) are now eligible to represent SA in Ecuador later this year at the World Rafting Champs. Results can be seen at: www.intraftfed.com/sport & Comp

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g) AUSTRALIAN Rafting Federation is hosting its Nationals Championships at Cataract Gorge Launceston Tasmania on the weekend of the 15th and 16th of January in conjunction with the Teva Cataract Extreme event. Water supplied by Hydro Tasmania. The A.R.F Nationals consist of a seeding/qualifying race, followed by the final consisting of a head-to-head elimination race, a slalom race and a down river race. Cataract Gorge is one of only a few areas in the world which combines challenging white-water up to class 4, a spectacular gorge with excellent public access, in a city. Importantly, the flow of the river is controlled by Trevallyn Dam located some 10km upstream allowing a measured flow ( 900ccs ) that is predictable in terms of difficulty and hazard management.

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h) AUSTRIA - For the Rafting season 2005, Sportklub Wildalpen are organising the official International Austrian Rafting Championship 2005 (R4) on the river Salza in Styria and invites all Rafting friends to this event in Wildalpen Styria. The date for this competition is the Weekend from 29th April - 1st May 2005. More information will follow or you find at www.raftingsport.com

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3) EURO CUP
i) The Euro Cup 2004 came to its conclusion in Sept last year with the Czechs dominating the mens, taking 1st and 2nd place, and Germany taking 3rd. The women's section saw Slovakia taking 1st place followed by the Czechs in 2nd and 3rd places. Results on www.e-rafting.info

ii) The 2005 programme is being finalised. Please keep an eye on www.e-rafting.info for up to date information and if you are wanting your event included contact Stan as soon as possible.

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4) GUIDE TRAINING & EDUCATION WORKSHOPS
Workshops have succesfully been run in the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Ecuador recently. There is one planned for after the India Cup and a few others in early stage planning. If you have enough people around you that are needing a GT&E workshop please contact us. These workshops are to certify people ideally as IRF Instructors and Assessors.

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5) RAFT RACE RULES
The IRF Race Rules are maintained on the IRF website. At regular intervals discussions are had and the rules are updated, so please always work from the rules on the website or keep an eye on the date at the end of the rules which states when the latest updates were made to ensure you are working wth the latest version.

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