Columbia Gorge Paddle Challenge Gears Up for 2018 Event

HOOD RIVER, Oregon - In just a few weeks the 2018 Naish Gorge Paddle Challenge returns to the Hood River Waterfront Park for an action-packed weekend of course and downwind racing for SUP, foils, and small boats (new this year!). The fun kicks off Friday, Aug 17 with a party at Kickstand Coffee and Kitchen, and continues all weekend with music, food trucks, and a beer garden down at the waterfront. With $18,000 in prize money up for grabs, the event attracts top athletes from around the globe.

The Columbia Gorge Paddle Challenge (CGPC) is a celebratory SUP festival and one of the most dominant downwind events of the race season. The weekend long event features both a course race and a widely popular downwind race, with elite, open, and grom divisions. In the downwind race, coined the Downwind Double Down, elite paddlers have the chance to compete against the world’s top SUP athletes in back-to-back 8-mile downwind legs from Viento State Park to the Waterfront Park where they battle upriver elements, rough water, heavy winds, and large swells. With a large prize purse, beautiful location, and awesome atmosphere, CGPC brings in the world’s top athletes each year and is consistently one of the most exciting events of the race season. In 2017, approximately 318 competitors took to the water. And now for the first time in history, all Elite Women are allowed to race on boards up to 14’ in all CGPC races, including both the Course and Double Downwind races.

The Naish Gorge Paddle Challenge is sure to be a highlight of the summer for athletes and spectators alike! Register now! 

For more news on the Naish Columbia Gorge Paddle Challenge click HERE.