The World (Cup) Comes to Columbus

The swirling rapids of the Chattahoochee have wound their way through our home for hundreds of years, but only recently have they become a worldwide phenomenon. These waters are a magnet, attracting some of the best rafters and kayakers from around the globe. It’s taken a lot of work, from the engineers and dreamers who made the rapids happen to the businesses and local leaders who realized the potential of the river and worked to support the athletes and enthusiasts who discovered its potential. Now the rapids of Columbus and Phenix City are truly on the world stage.

This month, our stretch of the Chattahoochee will host the International Canoe Federation (ICF) World Cup from October 3 – 9, 2022. More than 100 competitors from 16 countries will face the rapids in a bid to qualify for the World Championships, which will also be in Columbus and Phenix City for the first time ever in 2023. The World Championship next October looks to bring more than 300 athletes from 30 countries. The total economic impact of the two combined events, as estimated by Visit Columbus GA, is $9.2 million.

“We are especially excited to be able to announce Columbus will host our 2023 world titles. The USA is a very strong freestyle paddling community, and the enthusiasm and vision of our hosts in Georgia are certain to make this an event to remember,” said ICF freestyle committee chairman Lluis Rabaneda.

This year’s event will be a weekend full of competition, live music, an EPIC Kids Zone, food & beverage vendors, an exclusive PTAP car show, an exclusive Heritage Art Center Indie Art and Vendor Village, and more, the visitor’s bureau announced in August.

The competition won’t just feature international talent, however. There’s plenty of local expertise as well, including 19-year-old Mason Hargrove, a former International Canoe Federation (ICF) Junior World Champion in freestyle kayaking and resident of Phenix City who calls “Good Wave,” the massive swale of churning water at the foot of Waveshaper Island, his “home wave.”

He’s just one of many kayakers and outdoor enthusiasts featured in the new documentary film The Wintering Grounds, which focuses on the ad hoc community of kayakers and rafters which “winters” in Phenix City to brave the water just that much longer. The film, directed by the famed Jeff Springer, debuted at the local Nature Now Film Festival in August.

“Good Wave is one of the most unique waves in the world,” Mason said during a phone interview last month..“It runs 365 days a year. In Colorado, the rivers freeze over. In Europe, they run out of water. Our wave is super special.”

That wave, along with others like the equally world-class “Ambush” below North Highland Damn, is one of a few reasons the Switzerland-based ICF decided to host the competitions on the Chattahoochee, said Whitewater Express owner Dan Gilbert, who stresses the longstanding team effort that helped make it happen.

“Having major kayaking competitions on the Chattahoochee was in our original vision years ago when the rapids were created and the dams were blown. We all wanted to bring the sport of kayaking and competition to our region. That starts with teaching kayaking locally as a new sport,” he said. “It also begins with small competitions. Uptown was integral in creating the first kayak competition called Paddle South. This event and the entire venue was strongly supported by the business community, in particular the W.C. Bradley Co., Synovus, and TSYS. Many other business partners in Uptown have been involved from the beginning. Paddle South was so well presented and liked by paddlers that we landed in the U.S. National Competition.”

Gilbert specifically points to the warm welcome the community has given to the paddlers, as well as the unique atmosphere that comes with an urban whitewater course, where restaurants, shops, services and non-water-based fun is all within walking distance. “Most of these (other) venues are out in the middle of nowhere,” he said.

Prior host cities include San Juan in Argentina and Nottingham, England. The next World Championship will be in Germany. If all goes well, Gilbert said, Columbus will likely be chosen again and put into a regular rotation of ICF host cities.

“What is so unique here is that both Columbus and Phenix City have welcomed these paddlers into our community in every way possible. Other cities frequently reject such groups because they may not understand them or the sport. Most of these paddlers have large followings on social media and they have done a lot to promote this venue,” he continued.

When the bids opened for the World Championships, Gilbert and Yalla PR founder Katie Bishop enlisted some help and completed the bid within a week, a “bold move” that has paid off in droves.

“We are now on the global map for the sport,” said Ed Wolverton, CEO of Uptown, Inc., the non-profit organization at the center of providing logistics for the events and the athletes participating in it. “The award of the competitions to Columbus and Phenix City represents the culmination of our river restoration work to remove two dams and reopen this portion of the Chattahoochee River for recreational and environmental uses.”

This may be the culmination in some ways, but it’s also just the start of a long, amazing future for whitewater on the Chattahoochee.

“Columbus and Phenix City have both been all in to put our best foot forward,” Gilbert said. “I believe the competitors and the ICF will find our location one of the best in competition history.”

By Frank Etheridge