Program

The preparations for the OETZ TROPHY 2024 are in full swing! Together with our partners and sponsors, we – the SOURCE TO SEA event team – are in the process of developing this event further in order to offer you a first-class race weekend in the Oetztal every year.

At the third edition of the OETZ TROPHY – Extreme Kayak Championships, a total of 180 athletes will compete for the title. The race consists of two qualifying runs on the slalom course (WW III-IV) on Friday, 20 September 2024, and three final runs on the Wellerbrücke course (WW V) on Saturday, 21 September 2024. The race will be followed by the award ceremony and party on Saturday evening.

We are a partner of the Association for Whitewater Professionals (AWP), which means that the results of the OETZ TROPHY will be included in their official world ranking.

Qualification

Sprint on the slalom course

The start of the qualification section is in the eddy below the viewing platform (at the end of the TNT rapid). From there the course leads over the “Championskiller” to the slalom section of the Ötztaler Ache. The finish of the qualification section will be marked by a banner, which will be placed approximately in the middle of the slalom course.

The 180 athletes will race in two qualifying runs. All starters will do two runs, with the faster time counting. The fastest 80 men and 12 women will qualify for the main event on Saturday. The women will advance directly to the semi-finals.

Light barriers at the start and finish will be used to record lap times.

Finals

The 80 men who have qualified will first compete in a time sprint through the cataracts of the Wellerbrücke section.

The start will be from a small platform directly below the wooden bridge. After a spectacular alpine start via the start ramp, the finals’ course leads through steep whitewater, down the TNT rapid, over the infamous “Championskiller” and finally through the archway with a light barrier at the finish. The 30 fastest men advance to the semi-finals.

The semi-finals will be held as a “head-to-head” format, based on the results of the quarter-finals. This means that in a knock-out system, the first-place finisher will compete against the 30th place finisher, the second-place finisher against the 29th place finisher, and so on. In the men’s category, 3 lucky losers will be selected, the 3 fastest athletes who did not win their heat.

The respective winners of the “head-to-head” heats, resulting in a total of 6 women and 18 men, will qualify for the finals.

The finals will again be a timed race. The start number will be based on the respective running times of the semi finals. This means that the first-placed woman and the first-placed man will start last in the finals.

Prize money and trophy

Besides a substantial prize money, the winners will receive a trophy, which they can claim as their own for one year. The trophy is passed on as a challenge cup the following year. The amount of prize money is the same for men and women and is divided as follows: