Charles City Challenge makes waves on the Cedar River

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

It was a wild weekend on the river as people came out to enjoy the 12th Annual Charles City Challenge Whitewater Festival.

“It was fun,” said tourism director Ginger Williams. “We had a lot of people on the water.”

Kicking off on Friday, the festivities began with a day of practice as Rob Pittman led a series of surfing clinics for up-and-coming surfers.

“We had a lot of first time surfers in our community be able to try this year,” said Pittman. “It’s so neat to see the kids excited about it.”

With 28 kids and adults interested in learning to surf, Pittman said he expanded the clinics up to three sessions for the first time this year.

As interest grows, he hopes to find additional sponsors to support the program, as it is currently limited by the number of community boards they have available for newcomers to use.

“We rely on people outside of the community to bring in the equipment that we need,” said Pittman.

Friday also featured a “reading the water” clinic with Carl Neubauer and a competitive clean-up where volunteers tidied up the riverfront in search for the “best piece of trash.”

Getting into full swing, Saturday storms threatened to dampen the festivities, however the rain more-or-less stayed away during the day’s events.

“We had some really nice weather in between showers,” said Williams. “We just got finished when the raindrops started.”

The rainy weather has been a mixed blessing this year. While the threat of thunderstorms has been a problem for outdoor activities, the rain has been much needed to raise the water level of the Cedar River.

“It was nice seeing the water at these levels again and seeing people enjoying it,” said Williams.

Saturday’s competitive events began with a kayak rodeo as the whitewater riders rode the waves, doing their best spins and tricks. DeWayne Manon took first place in the Surf Machines portion of the contest, followed by Sam Podzimek and Justin Stout in second and third. For the Vertical Monkeys portion of the contest, David Gustafson took first, followed by Klayten Perreault and Kris Perreault.

After that it was the surfers’ turn to shine, competing in both prone and stand-up positions.

In the prone contest, Marty Colbert took first in the male category, followed by Klayten Perreault and Kris Perreault. Klayten Perrault placed first in the stand-up paddleboard contest, followed by David Gustafson.

For the women, Hannah Ray J and Emily Perreault took first and second place, respectively, in both categories, along with the Downriver Dual Slalom SUP Cross. Willow Neubauer also earned a first place medal in the youth group.

After a relaxing float down the river in inflatables, the River Runner Quad Slalom Cross began, with Carl Neubauer earning first place, followed by Marty Colbert and Jerod Nowicki.

Finally, the competition ended with the Balls to the Wall race as teams of paddlers fought to push inflatable balls down the river and then race them back up the shoreline.

With 17 entrants, the competitive field wasn’t as large as in previous years, but the event still drew in enough for a good day on the river.

“It wasn’t the biggest number we’ve seen, but we definitely had some fun,” said Williams.

Out of the water, the day also featured fun activities for the spectators at Riverfront Park to enjoy, with games, music and even a scavenger hunt to occupy kids while the adults play in the water.

“That’s always a good addition,” said Williams, thanking the volunteers and sponsors that make the event happen.

Coming up in two weeks, the river will be busy once more as Charles City gears up to once again host the whitewater contest for the Iowa Summer Games on June 15.