2011 Reno River Festival SUP Downriver Race
Team Starboard’s whitewater SUP duo, Dan Gavere and Nikki Gregg, were top finishers at the 2011 Reno River Festival SUP Downriver Sprint in Reno, NV last weekend. The four mile course down the Truckee River at high water was fast and intense with plenty of carnage. All twenty racers took off during the mass start and battled their way through the rapids.
At the finish was the most challenging and technical rapid through the Reno whitewater course where river skills really came into play to make or break each competitor’s finishing times. Even many highly skilled and experienced paddlers ended up swimming through the finish line, some requiring a throw rope from the safety crew to pull them to shore and out of the fast moving current.
Dan Gavere had a clean run and won the race in just around 15 minutes, beating out 2nd place by one second.
Nikki Gregg also had a solid run, passing two competitors in the final rapid to earn a 1st place women’s finish and even crushing most of the male competitors with a 5th place overall finish.
This is the second year in a row that Dan has won this event and states that “This year’s Reno River Fest was super fun because of the high water levels and the record attendance of over 35, 000 spectators in attendance throughout the weekend. It was the largest exposure to the sport of SUP that I’ve seen to date.”
Photos of the event can be viewed at the following link:
2011 Reno River Festival Pictures
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