The return of the Charity Raft Race was announced at the ninth annual Reno River Festival on Friday, June 15 at 3 p.m. The race is a fundraiser for the Truckee River Foundation. The race hits the rapids at the Truckee River Whitewater park for the first time since 2007. The foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to affecting the Truckee River by providing educational, access, environmental, athlete and safety development programs. Per team, the cost is $1000 and it includes up to six people. Space is available on a first come and first served basis.

The Charity Raft Race is one the region’s largest and most successful outdoor festivals and it is the kick off for the annual Reno River Festival. with spots for six paddlers (minimum of four required), all Charity Raft Race teams receive one boat. On Friday, all race participants must check in at West Street Plaza at Wingfield Park by 2:15 p.m. and it will be shuttled to Crissie Caughlin Park for the start of the race. Based on time, prizes are awarded to the top three teams.

To host the Truckee River Foundation’s annual “Stay Afloat Safety Fair,” the funds raised at the Charity Raft Race are used. It provides Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) and free river safety classes including helmets to local youth in the community each summer. More than 1,000 children have received instruction and PFDs to help create a safer environment on the Truckee River and surrounding waterways since its inception in 2006. On Saturday, July 14, this year’s event takes place.

The Truckee River Whitewater Park at Wingfield will hold the Reno River Festival, located in the heart of downtown Reno’s Old Southwest. Hosting top whitewater athletes from around the world June 15-17, 2012, the city’s $1.5-million Whitewater Park is within steps of the downtown Reno gaming and entertainment corridor including museums, hiking, entertainment venues, theatres, biking trails and a selection of renowned hotel and casino offering fully customizable weekend getaway packages. Reno River Festival LLC presents the 8th annual Reno River Festival.

Take out some time to do a little white water rafting when you decide on spending your next vacation or holiday outdoors. For people who enjoy being outside or in the water, this activity is great for groups. Here are some white water rafting tips for beginners. During your first white water rafting trip, you will feel more at ease.

• You should train yourself on the sport, if you have never gone rafting.

• Before your trip, try taking some swimming lessons. To attain some resistance on longer rafting trips, exercising your upper body is important.

• You should be aware of the classification of the rivers, as per the white water rafting guidelines. The rivers are classified into six classes – from Class I (easy) to Class VI (for experts). According to your physical limitations, choose your Class.

• It is essential to have the awareness of the river on which you have planned to raft, because rivers have different behaviors, at different time of the year.

• Weather conditions should be taken into consideration and before planning a rafting trip and keep patch kit, dry bags, cargo nets, pump, a throw rope and necessary medications, if any. These things may b required during rafting or in emergency. Also, include lifejackets, rafts, paddles and wetsuits.

• Rafting is an exciting sport and should always be experienced in a group. Rafting should never be done solo.

• Rafting in the dark is complete no-no. It should always be done when there is plenty of sunlight. Always plan your trip in a way that the rafting gets over before darkness falls.

Always make sure that when you fall in the water while rafting, then if possible, try to jump back into the raft, else ensure that you float with your feet forward.

The mayor of Cascade, Idaho has advised Port Jervis, which is exploring development of a similar facility on the Delaware River to go ahead with their plans. Some two years ago, on the Payette River, the mayor of Cascade, Idaho had developed its own whitewater rafting park.

This weekend, Mayor Richard Carter is in Port Jervis to brief officials about how they should go about putting the effort together.

In an exclusive interview to MidHudsonNews.com, he told for the entire Western Orange County, Northeastern Pennsylvania, North New Jersey area, the Whitewater Park would be a foremost shot in the arm.

He said that something is needed to be done in the North New Jersey area. He added that he has seen few things that can be invigorated and bring Port Jervis up to speed. In Idaho, they are facing a similar economic problem.

Carter said that in a variety of ways, his community raised $200,000 and then a married couple with homes in Idaho and Florida, Kristina and Mark Pickard, stepped forward and offered another roughly $500,000 to develop the project. In return, the only thing they wanted was to name it after Kristina’s late sister, Kelly Brennan. The facility is known as Kelly’s Whitewater Park.

Carter said that since the park was created, it has brought an influx of participants and tourists to the area and a major kayaking and canoeing competitions have been held on the Payette.

Kathy Hendrickson, Port Jervis Economic Development Agency Director said the city would search for private partners, seek grants and donors. For $15 each, some audience members were even selling “Port Jervis Whitewater Park” T-shirts Saturday.

A Colorado river outfitter, River Runners presents two-for-one full-day Colorado whitewater rafting discounts on advanced bookings with locations in Buena Vista and Canon City planned Sunday through Friday from May 1 – June 15, 2011.

General Manager at River Runners, Eileen Peterson said that to get people on the river to see what Colorado whitewater rafting is all about, is the primary intention of the endorsement.

Peterson said that in the industry, these Colorado whitewater rafting discounts are the most competitive and they are being offered during some of the most thrilling water levels of the season. He added that their guests would have a breathtaking time.

On the Arkansas River, River Runners operates out of two Colorado whitewater rafting locations. One being the River Runners Riverside Rafting Resort, six miles south of Buena Vista, which is scheduled to open April 30 and the pother being the River Runners Royal Gorge Rafting Center, eight miles west of Canon City, which is scheduled to open for the season May 1.

On the Arkansas River, River Runners full-day Colorado whitewater rafting trips are approximately six hours round trip and include a catered riverside lunch.

River Runners is a licensed outfitter. It has been certified by the State of Colorado and it offers advanced rafting trips and completely guided beginner trips on the Arkansas River within the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation area, a Colorado State Park, daily May – September.

Among the 14,000 peaks of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, the Arkansas River has more than 100 miles of prime whitewater rafting.

The Grand Canyon Whitewater pronounced an April Hiker’s Special to their 2012 Grand Canyon rafting trip line-up. At 2011 rates, the 2012 Grand Canyon Whitewater trips are now open for bookings for a restricted time, along with the Hiker’s Special.

April is a magnificent time for hiking and rafting in the Grand Canyon. The weather is perfect with average nighttime lows in the mid-50s and daytime highs in the mid-80s. The unbelievable spring wildflower season only takes place in the Grand Canyon, which is just in line with the Hiker’s Special trip, from March to early May.

In the Hiker’s Special, several diverse types of hiking opportunities in Grand Canyon will be included. Complimenting the tranquil ecology, hike along crystal-clear creeks, hike to the source of grand waterfalls where the water pumps right out of rocks or hike up narrow slot canyons of beautiful sandstone.

There are three options available within the Hiker’s Special. The 11-day Full Canyon option can be choosed for the grand daddy of experiences. Guests can choose the 5-day Upper Canyon trip with hike out if time is of the quintessence or select to do the 7-day Lower Canyon trip.

The Full Canyon 11-day trip commences from historic Lees Ferry at Mile 0 and travels 225 miles to finish at Diamond Creek. The 5-day Upper Canyon trip rafts 87 miles with a hike out of the Canyon via the Bright Angel Trail from Lees Ferry to Phantom Ranch. The 7-day Lower Canyon trip starts to meet the guides, comrades and boats at Phantom Ranch, with a hike in to the Canyon on the Bright Angel Trail.

The Lee Valley White Water Centre in Hertfordshire has put in a bid to host the 2015 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships and it will be the London 2012 Olympic canoe slalom course.

The white water canoe centre was uncovered by the Princess Royal last December, it was the first spanking new London 2012 venue to be completed, and it will open to privileged athletes, as well as the general public, for rafting and canoeing next month.

To sketch out the details of the bid to stage the 2015 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships, Andy Goodsell, the BCU competition manager, has already met with members of Waltham Abbey Town Partnership. The British Canoe Union (BCU) now would like the venue to host further elite contest.

From staging the event, the bids from the BCU suggest that the region could collect economic profits of around £1.5 million ($2.4 million) and Tony O’Connor, chairman of the WATP tourism group, said he fully supports the bid. O’Connor said that the proposal exhibits that the new Lee Valley White Water Centre brings the long-term advantages to the local area. He added that events like this will augment the town’s exposure and Waltham Abbey has an incredible concentration of tourist attractions for a wide range of visitors and it will permit potentially thousands of people to notice this hidden treasure.

The new Lee Valley White Water Centre faces stiff contest from the commune of Bourg-Saint-Maurice to host the event. The latter is located in the South East of France. On April 15, in front of the ICF Board of Directors in Paris, the two candidates will be requested to present their bid before a final decision is made on where the event will be held.

On March 15, Hualapai River Runners, owned and operated by the Hualapai Tribe in Northwest Arizona will have its 2011 season and it will run until October 31. It is the only one-day whitewater rafting expedition through the Grand Canyon and this season marks the 38th anniversary of Hualapai River Runners.

In preparation for the season opening, the Hualapai River Runner Guides have been training for weeks. They study the history of the area and the Hualapai Tribe providing informative narrations during the trip and receive rigorous safety education during the training. All 27 certified guides are Native American and majority is Hualapai tribal members. During the season, the Hualapai River Runners will provide work for more than 50 Hualapai.

At Grand Canyon West, Hualapai River Runners also operates the pontoon boat experience. To transport visitors from Grand Canyon West, Hualapai River Runners has acquired several new boats as well as two new 50-passenger Coach Buses. The adventure embarks on at the Hualapai Lodge on Historic Route 66 and the rafting adventure finishes at the Grand Canyon West.

The rafters reach the bottom of Grand Canyon West after a few rapids later, where via helicopter the rafters take an exciting flight 4,000 feet up to the top of the canyon. Guests are driven back to the Hualapai Lodge, after the flight. There at the lodge, the guests enjoy the Diamond Creek Restaurant, saltwater pool and Native American culture, by staying there at night.

For noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park, the National Park Service is now accepting applications.

Within calendar year 2012, the permits are for specific launch dates. For 12 to 25 day river trips a total of 436 permits will be awarded. At the weighted lottery website at http://www.nps.gov, eligible individuals may apply online. Individuals must be 18 years or older to apply for a river trip permit. To access the web site, start from the park’s main web page at www.nps.gov/grca and select “River Trips/Permits” then “Weighted Lottery”. On February 23, 2011, Applications will be accepted online through noon.

A main lottery is held to assign launch dates for river trips occurring the next year, each year in February. Public notifications regarding main lotteries are made by both e-mail and press release. In addition to the annual main lottery, follow-up lotteries are held as needed throughout the remainder of the year to reassign canceled and/or left-over river trips.

Individuals who are interested in a future river permit are strongly encouraged to create an account. Lottery applications are accepted through the weighted lottery web site only when lotteries are open. Noncommercial river trips must be self guided, and technical whitewater experience is mandatory on each trip. Individuals may participate on a maximum of one river trip per year.

Individuals interested in professionally guided river trips should not apply through the lottery, but instead request space on a commercial trip. A list of commercial companies offering guided trips can be found by visiting www.nps.gov/grca, selecting “River Trips/Permits”, then “3 to 18 Day Commercial Trips”.

Cardiff’s new water sports centre, in its first eight months has exceeded all expectations, new figures show. Almost 20,000 thrill-seekers have paid £49 to ride the rapids at Cardiff International White Water, since it opened in March. In Cardiff Bay’s International Sports Village, a further 45,428 people have visited the attraction. Olympic teams from Australia, China, Slovakia and Russia are all considering using the centre as training base for London 2012.

It is being considered for a Slalom World Cup event in 2012, after having successfully hosted a British Canoe Slalom competition earlier in the year. It is the UK’s first on-demand white water centre, with the help of an £8.7m Assembly grant, built at a cost of £13.3m by Cardiff council. The 258m course has facilities for hydro speed, hot-dogging and the centre of attraction is the canoeing and white water rafting.

Between April and November, the local authority-owned facility took in £724,344, figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show. Over the eight-month period, on operating costs, just under £650,000 was spent, leaving a surplus of about £75,000.

Cardiff council says that during the centre’s first year of trading, its financial target was to break even, before the opening. A spokeswoman said that the centre has been tremendously successful, within its first year of opening and has already been named Best Visitor Experience in Wales at the National Tourism Awards.

She added that in the UK, it was the first of its type and the market was somewhat unknown. Determining projections of income and users in the first year, they had to take a cautious approach. Before the centre opened, the estimated number of users was 25,000 and other visitors 50,000 for the first year of operation. She said that the numbers have delighted and now they believe that the centre is likely to surpass the original targets.

In the International Sports Village, plans for an indoor ski slope, to rise up alongside the centre have finally taken a step forward. In building the real-snow centre at the waterfront site, the council is due to invite developers to register their interest.

London 2012 has opened its first brand new venue, Lee Valley White Water Centre for the 2012 Games. HRH The Princess Royal will open the venue officially. It will host the canoe slalom events in 2012. Campbell Walsh, Olympic silver medalist in canoe slalom said that it is hugely exciting to test the rapids at the new Lee Valley White Water Centre for the first time and the course looks great. He is sure that it will make a spectacle of a race for the Olympic Games.

In the heart of the 10,000-acre Lee Valley Regional Park, the new venue is located, on a site covering the equivalent of 25 full-size football pitches. World-class white water conditions, a 160m intermediate/training course, an Olympic standard 300m competition course, with a boat conveyor to transport participants to the course start in their rafts or canoes, a facility building and pumping house containing a café, a 160m intermediate/training course, changing rooms and spectator viewing facilities are included as facilities.

The £31m project was finished on schedule and it incorporates the 2012 Olympic slalom canoe course. From April 2011, it will be open to the public. Until that time, Britain’s top canoeists have exclusive use of the facilities.

GB’s Richard Hounslow said that he has been waiting for this course for long time and it is absolutely brilliant. He was happy with the arrangements and facilities and said that now he and his teammates have the best white water stadium in the world. Offering what could prove a crucial home advantage; the entire Great Britain’s squad will now move from Nottingham to Hertfordshire and base themselves at Lee Valley ahead of London 2012.