If Paddlefest 2006 was any indication, the future looks blazingly bright for the Yukon Canoe and Kayak Club (YCKC).

YCKC members pulled out all the tricks and provided non-stop entertainment at the annual paddling show, held Sunday on the Yukon River in Whitehorse.

This year's Paddlefest was a full day event, with freestyl'n rodeo, slalom, the corporate raft challenge, a rolling clinic and a swift water rescue demonstration among the many events happening in and around the Spin Wave and Intake.

While all the participants were impressive, it was the young paddlers sometimes daring and sometimes downright crazy� who stole the show, particularly in the freestyle event.

Three junior-aged competitors qualified to compete in the senior freestyle finals and Lawrence Brennan, Olivier Roy-Jauvin and Brendan Zrum certainly proved they belonged.

The senior group performed full front loops, back loops and linked many cartwheels together. They put on an incredible show, demonstrating that getting big air while on the wave is the way to win.

In the end, it was Zrum, who finally completed a back loop in competition after many tries, who took home first prize.

'I've been trying to get a clean (back loop) for a while,' said Zrum. 'I pulled off two just after qualifying.

'That one was just icing on the cake.'

Zrum, who has been kayaking for about six years, said he, Roy-Jauvin and Brennan decided to compete in the senior category because they wanted to give the younger junior competitors a chance to win some prizes.

He said the senior division was as tough as he expected, pointing out he had to adjust to a new points system.

'With juniors, the point scheme is different than ours. In the senior category, you have to do a minimum of five tricks in order to get full points. It makes it so you have to do something more than just one trick. You have to show a variety of skills.'

The final placings for the senior freestyle category were as follows:

1st Brendan Zrum, 90 points

2nd Derrick Law, 83.5 points

3rd Sam Penner, 83 points

4th Olivier Roy-Jauvin, 80 points

5th Lawrence Brennan, 79.5 points

Also competing in the senior freestyle event were Violet Van Hees and Erin Oliver-Beebe in the tandem duckie category, pulling off several spins and big surfs in the wave.

In the junior freestyle category, the competitors entertained the spectators with many loops, cartwheels, spins and of course the kayak roll. Zrum's younger brother Jason was a favourite among the fans as he finished first in the category.

Brendan said his brother did very well, especially considering he had only been paddling his new boat for less than a week.

Here are the full results:

1st Jason Zrum, 194 points

2nd Quinn Dennehy, 129 points

3rd Joel Brennan, 98 points

4th Carson Close, 60 points

In the canoe category for the freestyle event, the top finishers included:

1st Steve Hahn, 68 points

2nd Mike Terlesky, 55 points

3rd Violet Van Hees, 53 points

4th Connor Oliver-Beebe and Joel Brennan, 51 points

The slalom course once again proved to be very challenging for the racers. The racers had to kayak from the Fish Ladder to the finish line near the Millennium Bridge.

There were a series of seven gates that each person had to go through without missing or hitting a gate, which resulted in a time penalty. The course was pushy with big water and forced the kayakers to use their skills and technique to the best of their ability. There was a lot of fan support for this race.

Senior competitor Thomas de Jager showed everyone how it's really done. He finished the course in a blazing speed of one minute, 27 seconds with no penalties, compared to the rest of the crew who took approximately 2:08 to finish.

Here are the full results:

Junior Slalom Course

1st Connor Oliver-Beebe

2nd Quinn Dennehy

3rd Jason Zrum

Senior Slalom Course

1st Thomas de Jager

2nd Brendan Zrum

3rd Olivier Roy-Jauvin

Also in the slalom event, several new kayakers attempted the course in a duckie, an inflatable kayak that holds two people. Honorable mention goes to Team # 1 with Erin Oliver-Beebe and Carson Close and Team # 2, Geo Bourcier and Thomas Fulop.

Finally, the day finished up with the Corporate Raft Challenge and the River Raider raft flip. During these races, competitors entered their rafts at the Fish Ladder and raced down the Yukon River to the Intake.

Those in the corporate race had to successfully enter into two different eddies, pull their boat out and run to the finish on shore. Those in the raft flip event had to flip their raft and get all their teammates back in before the Intake.

Here are the full results of the Corporate Raft Challenge:

1st Icycle Sports

2nd Up North Adventures

3rd Tatshenshini Expediting

4th EMS

All the corporate racers said that they would join in on the fun again next year and are already planning their strategy, from team shirts (EMS) to team helmets (bike helmets on the Icycle Sports team).

Brendan, who has been involved in Paddlefest for the past four years, said the event is great for not just the local river enthusiasts, but also those from out of town.

'It encourages people to come up here and see what we've got to offer for paddling. The butthole (what the local paddlers call the intake) is a real easy feature to paddle. You can do tricks from either the left or right side.'

There was one visitor from Prince George, B.C. who pulled off a few tricks in the senior freestyle event at Paddlefest.