The Ocoee River held the 1995 global spotlight when it hosted the Freestyle World Kayaking Championships and again in 1996 with the whitewater portion of the Atlanta Olympics. Now the Nantahala Gorge — just across the state line in Wesser, N.C. — will gain similar attention.
The World Freestyle Championships will be held on the Nantahala River in 2013.
The ’95 Ocoee competition was the first time the freestyle world event was held in the United States. The Nantahala gathering will be the second. It is tentatively scheduled for mid-September of ’13 with nearly 500 athletes representing 40-50 countries expected.
Freestyle, rodeo-like on the water, involves a paddler performing technical maneuvers and tricks on waves and turbulent holes. Spins, cartwheels, turns and flips add crowd appeal.
A lot of planning must take place before the championships, acknowledged Cathy Kennedy, rafting manager at Nantahala Outdoor Center in Wesser, N.C.