Roaring Fork raft guides to represent U.S.
A quartet of Roaring Fork Valley-based rafters will now represent the U.S. in the International Rafting Federation World Championships next year after taking home the national championship this past weekend in Cañon City.
Competing together for the first time, a newly assembled whitewater rafting team going by the name “Riff Raft,” will now have months of training and competing ahead of them in preparation for next year’s world championships.
Consisting of Blazing Adventures guides Conrad Niven, Tyler Aikens and Trevor Fredrickson along with Elk Mountain Expeditions guide Curtis Berklund, the team competed in the men’s open division in the slalom, sprint, head to head and down river events. Ending the weekend in the No. 1 overall position after beating their opponent, Old School, the team will now be the sole representatives of the U.S. in next year’s mens open division world race.
“It’s a huge honor to be able to represent your country in a sport like this and I think we are all really looking forward to it,” said Aikens.
The newest addition to the Riff Raft team, Aikens said the team’s chemistry is what makes them so special.
“Competing for the first time together last weekend, there was a point where it clicked and we realized that we could be something special and compete internationally together,” Aikens said.
That “click” saw Riff Raft beat Vail-based team 9-Ball Watermen to the finish line in last weekend’s tournament in a race that saw teams from different divisions set off simultaneously.
A team familiar with representing the U.S. in the men’s open division, the watermen moved to the U.S. Rafting Association’s men’s 40 and up master’s division, taking first place at last weekend’s tournament and earning a chance to represent their country in new form.
Besting the watermen in the all-team downriver race, Riff Raft captain Conrad Niven said the unofficial race to the finish line was a thrilling one.
“Those have been the guys to beat for a long time so to be able to reach that line in a downriver race and beat them showed us where we stand,” he said.
Members of team Riff Raft, from left to right, Trevor Fredrickson, Conrad Niven, Curtis Berklund and Tyler Aikens.
While earning their spot in next year’s world games is one reason to be excited, Niven said he is also excited to have the chance to raise awareness and involvement in the sport.
Earning a spot on the USRA’s directory board by claiming this year’s national championship, the opportunity to grow the sport is in the palm of Riff Raft’s hands.
“When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the sport took a massive blow and we have slowly seen the rafting community regroup,” Niven said. “It is something that we’re really excited about to have the opportunity to raise awareness and get the community more involved. That is kind of our big picture right now.”
With the growth of the sport seen as the big picture for the four guides, they will continue to compete throughout the year to keep themselves loose.
“We still have some miscues that we need to tighten up and we are going to have a lot of opportunities to do so,” Aikens said.
Riff Raft will next compete in Slaughter Fest on July 2 in Aspen before competing in the Royal Gorge White Water Festival on July 22 in Cañon City. Niven said the team expects to compete in five events before next year’s world championships, which is slated to begin in June at a location that has yet to be announced.
The team is set to host events throughout the summer to help raise funds for travel expenses to next year’s world championships.
Taylor Cramer, tcramer@postindependent.com
