(Kayak) Rodeo & Juliet: Locals imbue love of water sports into Golden’s annual competition

In fair Golden where we lay our scene, where the cowpokes of old once rode bulls for the thrill, so now do today’s playboaters do the same with the racing river.

Kayakers from near and far displayed their dedication to their sport during the annual Kayak Rodeo June 26 at the Clear Creek Whitewater Park. The Colorado Whitewater Association and Golden River Sports cohosted the 24th annual event, which had 17 competitors across the juniors, beginner, intermediate and advanced divisions.

During the event, the competitors took turns moving in and out of what’s called a playhole, which is a water feature on Clear Creek, to perform technical maneuvers and other tricks.

Some moves have obvious names: side-surfing, spinning, and a front loop, which is a front flip with the kayak. Others sound very unusual: Space Godzilla, Phonics Monkey, roundhouse, splitwheel and McNasty.

Co-organizers Tessa Prince and Dave Holzman said the event is geared toward amateurs, to give them a chance to compete in a fun, low-stress environment.

CWA is also hosting a downriver race at 5:30 p.m. July 10 at the whitewater park. The course will include various obstacles, and kayakers of all experience levels are welcome to enter, Prince and Holzman said.

Downriver kayaking is one thing, but playboating — which is what the Kayak Rodeo falls into — is a different animal, the competitors described.

“It’s like a water park but with no rules,” Paul Kubala said of playboating.

The Morrison native, who now lives in California, has participated in the Kayak Rodeo since 2011. This year, he competed in the advanced division alongside four others.

He’s enjoyed kayaking in both Colorado and California, saying it’s a “fun and freeing” sport with a phenomenal community.

Kubala and Lakewood’s Hunter Cottrell, who was in the intermediate division, said playboating helps make one a better kayaker. It helps one work through the progressional of skills, like paddling and how to be comfortable with going upside down.

Cottrell said he got into kayaking in 2020, when he moved to Denver and found it “hotter than expected.” So, he figured he’d take up a water sport.

Unlike snowboarding, where one learns to lean away from obstacles, Cottrell said kayaking is the opposite. He learned to lean into things, which he said felt unnatural to him at first and made for “a big learning curve.”

Cottrell had fun at his second Kayak Rodeo and said he was considering signing up for the July 10 downriver race as well.

Like Kubala, he said he loves the playboating community and “speaking time in the eddies together.” He added that kayaking is also a great way to get outside and see other parts of the state.

Littleton’s Emery Slothower, 17, first got into water sports with rafting and has been kayaking for three seasons now. The second-year competitor was one of four teens who competed in the Kayak Rodeo’s juniors division.

In addition to being more progression-based than downriver kayaking, Slothower said playboating events like the Kayak Rodeo are unique. The kayakers must remain stationary relative to the water, and the water’s speed and volume means every run is a little different.

“Everything’s always fluid,” Slothower continued, adding that playboating is like surfing in that respect. “ … It’s a blast.”

Click through additional photos from the June 26 event: