From The Denver Post (Scott Willoughby):
Nine years later, the Teva Mountain Games taking place Friday through Sunday are very much on the map as the nation’s premier celebration of adventure sports and lifestyle. Yet, in many ways, they’re still Vail’s river games — and they’re still brand new. “We always want to be cutting edge from the perspective of trying new things, but we’re also one of the biggest events of its kind. So we sort of have a reputation to uphold as being on the forefront of the adventure sports lifestyle,” said Paul Abling of the Vail Valley Foundation, which took ownership of the former grassroots event late in 2008. “If we’re going to do something new at the Teva Mountain Games, we’re going to go big with it.” The latest addition to the crowded TMG program offers an evolutionary twist to the down-river racing of yore, as whitewater stand-up paddle surfing (SUP) makes its competitive debut on snowmelt-swollen Gore Creek on Saturday and Sunday. Two events dubbed “SUP Surf Sprint” and “SUP Surf Cross” will have paddlers racing downriver on surfboards designed to run rapids, even battling head-to-head in the “cross” format. “It’s going to steal the show, for sure,” said local competitor Ken Hoeve of Gypsum.
More whitewater coverage here.