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To all who surfed or squirted, boofed hard or looped high, paddled shoulder to shoulder or against the clock, or perhaps just provided land-based support for all of the above: Thank you for participating in a weekend full of fun, education, and excitement in support of American Whitewater's mission "to conserve and restore America's whitewater resources and to enhance opportunities to enjoy them safely".

The first Potomac Whitewater Festival Wave Surfing contest was popular with contestants and spectators. Observation Deck Rapids provided a spectacular setting for the event, with Great Falls looming nearby and a giant eddy for the contestants.

Thank you to all who made this years Potomac Fest Great Falls Race such a fun and widely attended event. We would like to thank this year's Potomac Fest Steering Committee who provided framework and infrastructure to the event as well as new life and energy to the Potomac Fest and its revamped events and focus. Thanks to Eric Jackson and Jackson Kayaks for providing the title sponsorship to the event and the cash purse, additionally for MCing the awards.

The Attainment Race was the early riser's choice, with the competitors meeting at 7:30 AM at Anglers Inn. Coming after the Festival party the previous night, the early hour proved a challenge for some entrants, amateurs and pros alike. The water level was a low but manageable 3.3 feet.

As the final event of the 2006 Potomac Whitewater Festival, the BCE Slalom Race was highly anticipated by the many participants and onlookers at the Virginia Observation Decks. For the first time in many years, a whitewater slalom race was held between Great Falls and S-Turn rapid! With many former Slalom U.S. National Team Members in attendance, the competition for the BCE Slalom Race Title was hotly contested.

The freestyle competition was the biggest event at the Potomac Whitewater Festival in terms of attendance with a total of 63 competitors. All three classes, beginner, expert, and pro, showed their playboating skills at the Maryland Chute on Sunday. The format was 2 rides, 45 seconds each, with each ride counting toward the total score in a variety only scoring system. The event stretched from 10:30 AM until 4 PM with a few occasional breaks to take a dip in the river and cool off in the hot weather. Thankfully MD Chute was at a great surfing level and the event went smoothly, despite running two hours over the scheduled time.

All results.

Here are the winners of the 2006 competition, and full coverage of the race and all other events.

...will be added over the next few days as they come in. If you have photos to share, please let us know. And thanks to all volunteers and participants for making this the best attended Potomac Whitewater Festival ever! More to come soon, stay tuned to this website ;-)

Spread the word -- Register online before it's too late!Day-of registration will not be allowed. Registration for the 2006 Potomac Whitewater Fest CLOSES Friday, July 14th at NOON.