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Press Release 10 June 2011 29.09.-02.10.2011 International whitewater elite to meet for 5th adidas Sickline Kayak World Champs For the fifth time in a row, the adidas Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championship takes place at the legendary “Wellerbrücke” river section in Austria’s Oetztal Valley. Between the 29th of September and the 2nd of October, 150 of the best whitewater kayakers on the globe will battle it out on the Oetztaler Ache River in Tyrol’s longest alpine valley to determine the Extreme Kayak World Champion 2011. With an incredible time of 58.85 seconds, 23-year-old Sam Sutton from New Zealand not only claimed the gold medal last year, he also set a new course record. Sutton was the only one in the super final of the TOP 15 to break the oneminute-barrier. In contrast to 2009, when only hundreds of a second separated first from second place, Sutton secured his title with a comfortable gap of 2.14 seconds to Michele Ramazza from Italy who claimed silver (1:00.99), and 2.28 seconds to Lukas Kalkbrenner from Germany who won bronze (1:01.13). This year, too, the so-called »Wellerbrücke« section of the glacier-fed Ötztaler Ache River – that has the reputation of being the Eiger Northwall of whitewater kayaking – will be the centre of the race action. In total, only 150 competitors will be admitted to the World Championship. Last year’s Top 25 will be automatically seeded, the remaining 125 entries will be allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis to kayakers who master whitewater class 5. So far 90 extreme paddlers from 20 different countries have entered the race, including athletes from all over Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, USA, Canada and Russia. “We are pleased that also in 2011 the adidas Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championship draws kayakers from all over the world into the Oetztal Valley”, says tourism director Oliver Schwarz. “Among insiders the Oetztal has been adidas Sickline - The Extreme Kayak World Championship 1/4 known for many years as one of Europe’s most beautiful kayak grounds. With its glacier rivers the Oetztal offers whitewater in all facets between May and October and here, depending on the water level of the Rofener-, Venter- and Oetztaler Ache River, kayakers of all classes can find their personal challenge. Each year more and more kayakers arrive one or two weeks and advance to train in our alpine valley.“ „With the adidas Sickline Worlds we wanted to create an event for the kayaking community and I am pleased that it has been embraced by both, the world elite in kayak sports as well as the international media“, says Axel Burkhardt, head of Olympic Sports, Cycling & Outdoor at adidas Global Sports Marketing. „Last year our event was broadcast live in 11 different countries.“ Only the best advance to the next round The legendary 280m long racecourse on the glacier-fed Ötztaler Ache River is solid class 5 whitewater, both technically difficult and dangerous, so there are consequences to mistakes. Therefore the field of 150 international whitewater kayakers is filtered in two qualification rounds to determine the 45 best paddlers who compete in the world championship race. The top 3 of the previous year are automatically qualified for the finals. The 48 finalists who race at Wellerbrücke first compete in a ‚head-to-head’ format, i.e. the fastest of the qualification battles the 48th, the second fastest competes against the 47th and so on. The faster kayaker of each heat advances to next round, together with two ‘lucky losers’ (the two fastest of the eliminated top 48 athletes). Then the top 26 compete once again in a knockout system. The 13 remaining athletes and two more ‘lucky losers’ then advance to the super final where they compete for world championship honours. The top class field of the final 15 usually includes everything from creeking, slalom and freestyle world champions to winners of prestigious extreme races. Each of the top 15 has one try to secure a place on the podium. The kayaker with the slowest race time of the previous run is the first to start. He climbs into the ‘hot seat’ whirlpool, the throne of the fastest athlete until his race time has been beaten. To claim the prestigious champion’s belt the finalists need a very clean, technically accurate and perfect run. adidas Sickline - The Extreme Kayak World Championship 2/4 First class safety operation For safety reasons, public authorities have officially closed the Wellerbrücke. The section is only open for the adidas Sickline World Championship. To secure athletes’ highest possible safety, the organisers run an extensive safety operation. Water rescue services, mountain rescue services, and the Austrian Red Cross work hand in hand with the event-own hf Safety Crew that consists of ten kayaking experts, many of which are legends within the sport. The riverbanks are virtually littered with extremely qualified safety staff that use innovative life saving tools, like ropeways, and turn the Wellerbrücke rapids – at least for one weekend – into the safest rapid in the world. All-around-service for athletes The adidas Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championship is not only about racing. The organisers host a variety of side events and offer plenty of athlete services. Throughout the race weekend participants can enjoy free physiotherapy at the adidas Reload Centre in the Expo Area. During the hf Safety practice competitors and fellow kayak enthusiasts have the opportunity to refresh their know-how about rescuing and resuscitating an injured kayaker. Film producer Olaf Obsommer and other kayak celebrities present their latest movies at the BigO Movie Night. Daredevils can compete in a Zipfelbob Big Air on a huge freestyle water ramp. And for all those who just can’t get enough live bands and DJs are rocking the crowds at the legendary Sickline Champions Party in the AREA 47. Since March 1st exreme paddlers from all over the world can register online for the adidas Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championship on the event homepage www.adidas-sickline.com. The start fee is 129.00 Euros and includes the start fee, an adidas Sickline event t-shirt, access to the adidas Reload Centre, three dinners (Thursday/ Friday/ Saturday) and two lunches (Friday/ Saturday) as well as an accident insurance for the weekend. Participants have to be at least 18 years old and master whitewater level 5. -END- adidas Sickline - The Extreme Kayak World Championship 3/4 Background information for the editor: A “sick line” is the perfect, smoothest and fastest line downriver. In search for sick lines extreme kayakers travel around the world. Extreme kayaking is the art of going down steep rivers, high waterfalls and mastering extreme whitewater difficulties. Paddlers call that steep creeking. On their expeditions around the globe extreme paddlers are often far from any civilisation and self-sustaining for days. Their kayak is turned into a backpack in which they stow their food and gear for the wilderness. Often they walk a marathon just to get to the rivers they want to paddle. There are no official federations and organisations within extreme kayaking. Many expedition kayakers don’t typically race, but they are very athletic and very skilled, which is why there has been a strong desire amongst extreme kayakers to have a World Championship. The adidas Sickline tests the kayakers’ ability to not only get down one of the world’s most challenging rapids in one piece, but to do it fast as well. At the same time the Extreme Kayak World Championship attracts many of the best slalom and freestyle paddlers, because they can combine their fitness with adrenaline. For high res images and further information please contact: Sonja Güldner-Hamel PLANET TALK GmbH eMail: [email protected] Tel.: +49-8061-35059-12 Fax: +49-8061-35059-10 www.adidas-sickline.com adidas Sickline - The Extreme Kayak World Championship 4/4