Toes squished into crevices of the bench in front of them, water spraying, arms paddling, boats flipping. White water rafting. A summer trip for many, but an opportunity to represent your country for others.
Two Arcata High freshmen, Nova Garwood and Johana Olsen, along with three other students from the surrounding area, will take part in the Junior World Rafting Championships in Pau, France, from April 20th to 26th, representing the stars and stripes, Team USA.
Being able to compete on one of the biggest stages of them all is a dream most athletes have, but it usually doesn’t come true in just two years.
“I was 12,” Garwood said. “[My friends] joined, so we all kind of started as a recreational thing where we learned about rivers and how to be good recreational rafters, and then we learned about all the opportunities in racing.”
Compared to their opponents, they’re a lot younger, ranging from four to six years younger, but what sets them apart is their determination. Humboldt County is notorious for its cold, muggy weather, especially its rainfall. In the month of December, the county averages about nine inches per month.
Rafting is typically a summer sport, cruising the river in the sun, worrying more about a sunburn than hypothermia. The Redwood Rafters are seen out on the local rivers – or even the bay – every single week of the year. No matter the rainfall or the temperature, a boat will be afloat.
“They find joy in diversity and difficulty, and that’s a rare quality,” Head Coach Abby Guthrie said. “We lost people that couldn’t hang with the hardship.It’s not all summer rafting, it’s not all bikinis and sunscreen.”
Despite the extra practice, the rafters may still be at a disadvantage. At the USA Nationals back in December, hosted on the Trinity River, the Redwood rafters U19 team took home second in the women’s overall, coming second to the California Poppies, based out in Truckee. It was set for the Poppies to go to Worlds to represent Team USA, and the Redwood Rafter’s would stay back.
“Since the rules are getting changed, the WRF and CIF, they’re mixing the rules together,” Olsen said. “We didn’t know who was originally going to France, but then we got invited.”
The team was ecstatic. They had just clinched their spot in Worlds, and it was official, they would be off to France. Then, it was time for the logistics, and when they went to sign up for practice spots in Pau, they could only claim one spot.
“We’re going to go over there, and we’re going to practice our natural reps, and hope for the best,” Guthrie said. “But that makes it so exciting.”
The single practice time will be their most crucial practice of them all. The world’s hosting venue is at the Parc Aquasports White Water Stadium, in central Pau. The course for the championship is not an actual river– it’s artificial.
“So they run the course, and then they finish in a grandstand, like the Redwood bowl,” Guthrie said. “People are cheering you, then you paddle around, and then it gets on the conveyor belt, and it takes you, kinda like Disneyland.”
One river which the team practices on is the Trinity, which catches speeds from 500-1500 feet, with drops of four to 10 feet. The White Water Stadium, on the other hand, has a speed of 12 cubic meters, with a drop of five meters.
“We’re out here searching for a rapid that would be that steep, and then they could practice catching the eddies left and right,” Guthrie said. “And we couldn’t find it, because everything that these girls are doing is much more difficult than what they’re doing.”
During Nationals, the girls’ team wasn’t the only team from Redwood Rafters to have a chance for Worlds. The U19 boys team, also consisting of high schoolers, took home second in the U19 men’s overall division and were face-to-face with worlds, but they did what most teams wouldn’t.
“They knew that it was a really big financial stress for the team to send them to France, and the boys sacrificed their chance to go to Worlds so that the girls could go,” Guthrie said.
The boys had decided to focus on helping the girls’ team make the trip to Worlds, but the community had to rally behind them, too. For the first time in 10 years, the Redwood Rafters hosted River Night on March 27th at the Arcata Veterans Hall. The 10,000 square feet building was filled to the brim with people, roughly 300.
The night consisted of guest speakers, Hupa Tribal member Danielle Frank and local river guide Billie Prosser. Frank, the Board member of Rios to Rivers, an organization to protect rivers worldwide and keep indigenous youth connected with the rivers, spoke about how much rivers matter to the youth.
“Building a relationship with the river is the best thing you can do for yourself,” Frank said.
Prosser shared the stories of her rafting experiences while she was in high school, where she then became a guide for ATVA rivertrips, a non-profit river company based in the western U.S.
“We solicited sponsors, but then there were a bunch of people we didn’t even solicit just came in here and was like ‘we really support you,’ and I just think it’s so amazing,” Guthrie said.
In one week, the girls will be off, 6,000 miles away, competing for the country, but also competing for our community. To keep up with the girls on their journey, you can follow them on their Instagram @redwoodrafters_u19racing.
