Kayakers prepare for the annual Potomac Whitewater Festival
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He takes sand from the river he is about to tackle and rubs it between his hands and on his paddle, not only to get a better grip but to give him the mental charge that he needs to guide himself down the treacherous rapids.
This month before the Potomac Whitewater Festival he will do the same.
The festival, an annual celebration of the Potomac River, is centered around the Great Falls Race where kayakers will descend 60 feet through rushing water and jagged rocks. This year the festival will be held July 13-15.
The Great Falls Race is spectacular, said festival chairwoman Risa Shimoda. To see people plopping over that thing, it s exciting.
The event also raises funds for American Whitewater, an organization that works to protect the country s whitewater rivers. It includes beginner whitewater clinics, freestyle competitions and squirt boat competitions, where paddlers submerge part or all of themselves and their boat in the water.
For Beakes, 34, who has been kayaking for 25 years and has participated in the festival nearly every year since it began in 1990, it is just another chance for him to fulfill his passion.
It s really more of a lifestyle than a sport, he said. I think the passion and obsessiveness that a lot of kayakers experience is like surfers. It becomes a real part of the people s lives that are into it.
Beakes, of Kensington, is a former member of the United States Slalom team and has competed all around the United States and in 14 countries, including Brazil, Sweden, Japan and Canada. Slalom is a type of competitive kayaking where racers make their way from one end of the course to another as quickly as possible while navigating around a series of poles.
He plans on participating in all of the festival s events.
In order to avoid injuries, all participants in the Great Falls Race must have a proven track record of taking on dangerous rapids. River rapids are graded according to difficulty like ski runs, with I being the lowest and VI being the most severe. Niagara Falls is a VI. Great Falls is a V, according to the festival s Web site.
You get a lot of bragging rights from winning the Great Falls Race, Beakes said, It s one of the most challenging rapids you can find that s easily accessible and it s one of the most challenging that s raced upon.
Festival organizers expect approximately 250 competitors to participate in the three-day event that attracts kayakers of all skill levels and between 1,000 and 1,500 spectators.
Depending on the water level of the river and how dangerous it is, between 30 and 70 people will participate in the Great Falls Race, Beakes said.
Maggie Snowel, 28, of Rockville took up whitewater kayaking just four years ago and hopes to participate in her first Great Falls Race this summer, as long as the water level isn t too dangerous for her skill level.
According to Snowel, who may be the only woman in the Great Falls Race, very few women participate in races this difficult because they are not strong enough or they get scared. Men and women compete separately.
Unfortunately a lot of women don t get past that fear factor and don t get past that skill level that is required to run class V, she said. It can be pretty scary at times. It s a dangerous run; people do get hurt.
To avoid series injuries, kayakers such as Beakes and Snowel spend as much time as possible training.
I ve had a lot of scrapes and bruises. I ve definitely hit things but I haven t had any serious injuries so far, Snowel said. Sometimes you can run a rapid that s really pushing your ability and that s really dangerous and you wonder what happens if this doesn t go well. It can be very scary.
Beakes, who won the Great Falls Race the last two years and four times total, spends part of every day running, lifting weights or out on the river rapids.
His hard work along with a little luck has kept him from suffering any serious injuries like many of his friends who have broken their backs or even drowned while kayaking.
I ve gotten worse injuries in the parties after the competition than the competition itself, Beakes said.
The challenge, the beauty of nature and the thrill of the falls is what compels whitewater kayakers to overlook the danger and keeps them interested in the sport for years. It is also what compels them to take part in races like the Great Falls, according to Beakes.
You can go out on the Beltway and sit in traffic for hours then you can go on the river and be surrounded by more nature than you d find in West Virginia, he said. [But] I d get bored if I didn t scare myself every now and then.
Learn More
For more information or to register for the Potomac Whitewater Festival, visit www.potomacfest.com.
Related: Kayakers prepare for the annual Potomac Whitewater Festival
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