2012 Sponsor: TBA
Brought to FIBArk in the fifties, slalom racing requires paddlers to negotiate a course of gates, poles hung three feet apart and suspended above the river, through the Whitewater Park in downtown Salida. The accessibility of the river corridor in Salida makes this event very spectator friendly. Slalom places a premium on technical skill as paddlers are timed and penalized for missing, or even touching, a gate as they pass through. An Olympic sport, the FIBArk slalom regularly attracts top-flight competitors paddling alongside "weekend warriors" and aspiring racers.
