Tuck Fest Celebrates Outdoor Lifestyle With Three-Day Festival

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina - The U.S. National Whitewater Center (USNWC) will host the second annual Tuck Fest, a three-day festival that celebrates the active, outdoor lifestyle through competitions, exhibitions, demos and live music April 25 – 27, 2014. With more than 30 competitions and demos in and around the river as well as 17 live bands on two stages, the festival invites outdoor enthusiasts, spectators and musicians to celebrate the active lifestyle. Through the name, the celebration also recognizes the Tuckaseegee Ford and Tuckaseegee Trail, a historical landmark located at the USNWC. Entry into the festival is free and open to the public. 

Tuck Fest will feature 3 stand-up paddleboarding competitions during the 3 day event; whitewater, flatwater, and a moving water sprint race.  The flatwater race will have classes for men’s and women’s in both 2 mile and 4 mile distances on the Catawba River adjacent to the USNWC on Saturday morning.  The SUP sprint race will be held in the bottom pond of the USNWC whitewater channel system.  This will be a heat based race with competitors on the same boards battling it out amongst the buoys, small river currents, and other paddlers to see who is crowned champion in this battle royal style race.  This race is perfect for those who want to get a small taste of paddling SUP in moving river currents and is great for the novice and intermediate paddler alike.  

The stand-up paddleboard main event, the whitewater SUP race, will be held Saturday afternoon.  This whitewater race will feature top whitewater SUP athletes from around the country battling it out with local and regional paddlers on one of, if not the, most difficult and demanding whitewater SUP courses.  The racers will have one timed run down the channel, without any gates or turns, to set up the seeding for the head-to-head SUP cross brackets.  Once the timed runs are complete, the challenge gets more difficult; buoys and gates are added to the course to create a slalom-esque environment.  Racers will battle class II-III rapids while navigating turns into and out of eddies with both upstream and downstream maneuvers around buoys and gates.  To top it off there is no flatwater in between the rapids, this race is all whitewater!  

The festival will feature a variety of outdoor competitions, races and demos including; trail running, kayaking, biking, deep water solo rock climbing, photography, stand-up paddleboarding, wake boarding, dog jumping, fly fishing, and adventure racing events. Over $13,000 worth of cash, product, swag and prizes will be given out to top competitors and event winners throughout the festival. Registration for Tuck Fest competitions is a one-time flat fee of $35, which allows for participation in one or all races/ competitions.

In addition to the competitions and races, Tuck Fest will also feature live music on two stages from 17 bands throughout the weekend. This year’s line-up includes; G. Love & Special Sauce, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, Yarn, The Lone Bellow, Dangermuffin, Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, Humming House, Bob Margolin, Jonathan Boogie Long & The Blues Revolution, Roadkill Ghost Choir, Mandolin Orange, Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, The Hillbenders, Blue Dogs, Packway Handle Band and The Fritz.

For more information about Tuck Fest, please visit tuckfest.org.

The U.S. National Whitewater Center (USNWC) is a non-profit outdoor recreation and adventure sports facility situated on 400 acres of woodlands along the scenic Catawba River. Alongside mountain biking and running trails, a climbing center, zip-lines, flatwater kayaking, high rope courses, and a canopy tour, the facility’s most unique feature is a multiple-channel, customized whitewater river for rafting and paddling enthusiasts of all abilities. The USNWC is proud to be a U.S. Olympic Training Site that provides outdoor recreation for families, outdoor enthusiasts of all ages, casual observers and Olympic-caliber athletes. 

The USNWC offers stand-up paddleboard instruction in flatwater and whitewater, with both group and private instruction they cater to any aspiring paddler’s instructional needs.  In addition to instruction, lessons, and clinics for paddlers; the USNWC also offers ACA SUP instructor certification for flatwater and whitewater.  The USNWC is a leader in all types of SUP instruction, but because of the unique whitewater channel system there is no better place to learn how to SUP in whitewater.  As a leader the USNWC is host to the first Level 4: Advanced Whitewater SUP Instructor Certification, and is currently the only place you can attain this high level ACA instructor certification.  Click here to learn more about USNWC SUP instruction visit. 

For those who are just looking for a great and unique place to stand-up paddleboard the U.S. National Whitewater Center is a one stop shop for all your paddling needs.  Guests can rent stand-up paddleboards for a paddle on the Catawba River/Lake Wylie, bring their own board and use the flatwater river access or try their skills on the whitewater channels (previous experience required). To learn more about USNWC SUP programs visit usnwc.org/play/.