BANKS, Idaho — The North Fork Championship is an extreme kayaking race down the biggest rapid on the North Fork of the Payette River. The race got canceled in 2023, but it has been announced that the NFC will return in 2026.
Aaron Pruzan, owner of Rendezvous River Sports and Jackson Hole Kayaking School, has been paddling the North Fork for more than 30 years, and he has been working with kayaker Driscoll Larrow.
For Aaron, part of the motivation is to give the next generation a chance to compete.
WATCH: See contestants navigate this extreme whitewater event
"There is so much stoke and energy in the young kayaking community, and they really want this event back," said Pruzan. "Just the whole intermountain region has been producing a ton of paddlers right now, and it is going to be fun seeing those guys compete against the best in the world."
You could feel the buzz up at Banks and along the North Fork of the Payette River after the championship was announced Thursday.
The North Fork features fifteen miles of class five whitewater for experts only. It is also one of the only rivers in the region that still has water this late in the summer. It didn't take long to find someone who traveled a long way for this river.
"We drove from Massachusetts to Idaho just for this event; it was 50 hours nonstop, and that was a good memory," said Finnegan Gormley of eastern Massachusetts. "I look forward to trying to compete every year until the day I die. This river is home."
I know local paddlers like Mateo Kowalcyzk and Connor Voorhees, who never got the chance to compete, are excited for this opportunity. Hayden Voorhees won the men's race in 2022, with Jennifer Chrimes crowned top of the women's.
The North Fork Championship was cancelled after the 2022 race for a variety of reasons, with insurance playing a big factor. Additionally, as the race got more and more popular, it caused congestion issues on Highway 55.
The event also outgrew the awards ceremony in Crouch and the venue at Jacob's Ladder.
Next year, the race will take place in the middle of the week, going from Tuesday to Thursday, with plans to host the entire event in Valley County. Organizers believe this will alleviate some of those problems, like the congestion at Banks.
"We still need to dot some I's and cross some T's on things, but we formed a new non-profit called North Fork Championships Inc.," said Pruzan. "It's an Idaho non-profit, and we have been working closely with Idaho Rivers United."
The board of this non-profit includes the founders of the North Fork Championship, James and Reagan Byrd, Idaho paddling legend Rob Lesser, and many others.
Any profits this non-profit makes will go into preparing for the next year's event and river conservation in the Payette River system, with the help of Idaho Rivers United.
"We are really excited to be here today when we made the announcement," said Pruzan, who I caught up with after he, his son, and a few others completed a top-to-bottom lap on the North Fork.
"The electricity and the level of excitement has been infectious, and it has been really special for me."
Pruzan also wanted to thank the Grossman family, who have been on board. Jim Grossman was another legend of the North Fork, but Jim passed away kayaking on the South Fork of the Salmon.
With this exciting announcement, the North Fork Championship is set to take place June 9-11 in 2026.
