The HOA Extreme Whitewater Challenge 2011, held over the weekend of the 4th and 5th June was a huge success. Paddlers from all over Hokkaido converged on Hidaka, and this year it was great to see a range of levels, from beginners to sponsored pros all paddling together. This event is held to showcase different styles of paddling and all levels of paddlers are encouraged to compete.

The Slalom on Saturday was challenging for all, but with plenty of lines to choose from, paddlers came off the course with big grins and lots of confidence. Guest judge and Red Bull paddler Ben Brown showed everyone how it was done, putting up a time that no one could match.

The Downriver race, a 7km paddle with fast moving rapids, long slow flat sections and heaps of options on lines had all the paddlers going for broke right from the start, but no one could keep up with Ben Brown who by the finish was over 700m ahead of the pack.

Saturday evening HOA hosted a (aside from the pouring rain) fantastic party and Ben Brown premiered two new movies, Halo Effect and Frontier to everyones appreiciation.

Sunday mornings Raft Race had 60 competitors and this year each boat only had two paddles to get to an eddy on the other side of the river to retrieve the rest. Teams ranged from all pro raft guides to familys out to have fun and this part of the event is proving to be more and more popular, so get a team of 6 together and join us next event.

After a lot of hard work from Mori-san and Takai-san, we had a hole but unfortunatley on the day the water level didnt co-operate and we had to move the freestyle to a natural feature upstream. Paddlers had two options with this feature, paddle in from an eddy on the right and do their best in a small not too retentive hole, or start upstream and take on a massive wave/hole that likes to keep a hold onto kayaks and rafts alike. Option two offered an extra 50 points for taking it on, and after a few brave souls showed that it could be done, most paddlers had a crack.

Thanks goes out to the team from HOA for organizing the event from start to finish, and the Hidaka town for helping promote a great event on a great river. Ben Brown for making his way from NZ on a brief stint at home before heading to Cali for the filming season, Ben gave us his expertise and time, and a big thanks for the movie premiers!

The event sponsors, HOA, Pyranha, Robson, Stohlquist and Red Bull came up with some great prizes, and Congratulations to Jun Manabe, who won a Pyranha Molan kayak.
Next Year the HOA Extreme Whitewater Challenge will be on again so keep checking the HOA website for updates and until then....see you on the water.

Results 2011

Kayak Combined
1	Kazuto Mamiya
2	Koki Yonemura
3	Nozomu Kaku

Kayak Freestyle
1	Kazuhiko Ishizuka
2	Koki Yonemura
3	Yudai Baba

Raft Race
1	Team MIN
2	Team Captain Megane
3	Team Ito Kogyo