Area Qualifier / Championship Format
The Junior Olympic Program is unique among youth slalom racing events in the United States – it utilizes
a format of several geographically dispersed Qualifier races culminating in a final Championship race.
Upon qualification, and acceptance, at a Junior Olympic Qualifier race, the athletes and their parents
commit to participation in the Junior Olympic Championship.

Top-Level Championship for Juniors and Cadets
The Junior Olympic Championship race is intended and conducted as a top-level competition in its own
right, both at the Junior and Cadet levels. Medals are awarded to the top 3 finishers in each class (see
age and boat classes, below).
In addition, Cadets who perform particularly well in the Championship race are eligible for selection as
2004 USA Whitewater Slalom National Development Athletes (NDAs). (See this topic below.) A “Cadet
National Team” is no longer partly selected at Junior Olympics (or at any other race).

Race Format
The JO Qualifiers and the JO Championship each consist of combined scores, time plus penalties, of two
runs over the same course on the same day. Training runs are not allowed on the course once it has
been set for the JO Championship. For development purposes, race organizers of JO Qualifiers are
encouraged not to permit training or training runs on the course once it has been set.

Rules
Current USA Whitewater Slalom rules, supplemented by the specific provisions of the 2004 Junior
Olympic Program, will apply to all races within the 2004 Junior Olympic Program.

Venue Difficulty
The JO Qualifiers and the JO Championship race are typically held on whitewater with a difficulty of
class II to class III.

Age Classes
There are 2 age classes in the JO Qualifiers and the JO Championship:
Juniors – age 15 through age 18 (i.e., for 2004, born in 1989, 1988, 1987, or 1986)
Cadets – age 14 or younger (i.e., for 2004, born in 1990 or later)
(Age is not determined by age at the time of a race, but by the age an athlete turns, or will turn, in the
calendar year of the JO Championship.) In both the JO Qualifiers and the JO Championship, a C2, C2W
or C2 Mixed boat in which one athlete is a Junior and the other a Cadet will be classed as a Junior boat.

Boat Classes
There are 7 boat classes in the JO Qualifiers and JO Championship: K1, K1W, C1, C1W, C2, C2W and
C2 Mixed.

Combining Classes
Race organizers for JO Qualifiers may combine boat classes and age classes if the three boat minimum
requirement is not met for a given class. Boat classes and age classes will be combined in the JO
Championship to the extent necessary to satisfy the three boat minimum requirement. In combining
classes, the requirement of combining an insufficient class with a comparable class of higher difficulty
rating will be followed. (See Article VI.F of the USA Whitewater Slalom rules.)

Boats / Equipment
Athletes (both Juniors and Cadets) may participate in JO Qualifiers and in the JO Championship in boats
which are either composite or plastic. Boats are not required to meet the minimum weight, length or width
requirements under USA Whitewater Slalom rules. However, the safety requirements of those rules –
regarding, for example, minimum boat end radii, grab loops, helmets, and personal floatation devices
(PFDs) – must be observed during training, practice and competition.

Pre-Qualification / Qualification
To compete in the Championship, a boat either must qualify through pre-qualified or must qualify at one
of the designated JO Qualifiers.

-Pre-Qualification.

For 2004, a boat is pre-qualified if: (1) the athlete (or, in the case of a C2, both
athletes) was a member of the 2003 Junior National Team or a member of the 2003 “Cadet National
Team”, or (2) the athlete (or, in the case of a C2, both athletes) is a 2004 Junior, Junior 15-16 or
Cadet A National Development Athlete (NDA). These athletes are pre-qualified, however, only in the
boat class for which they were designated a Team member or NDA and, for a C2, only with the
partner with whom they attained Team member or NDA status.

-Qualification at a JO Qualifier.

Up to the following number of boats/athletes will be selected from
each JO Qualifier, in order of finish in each class (but see “Combining Classes” above):

K1 ------------------- 4 Juniors; 4 Cadets
K1W ---------------- 3 Juniors; 3 Cadets
C1 ------------------ 3 Juniors; 3 Cadets

C1W ----------------- 2 Juniors; 2 Cadets
C2 ------------------ 2 Junior boats; 2 Cadet boats
C2W ------------------ 2 Junior boats; 2 Cadet boats
C2Mixed -------------- 2 Junior boats; 2 Cadet boats

Athletes/boats may compete in as many JO Qualifiers as their schedule permits, without regard to
geographic location. However, only boats which finish (i.e., complete both runs), which are not
already pre-qualified and which have not already qualified at another JO Qualifier are considered
when determining boats which qualify at a JO Qualifier. Athletes may qualify in up to two classes,
overall, but may not qualify again in a class in which already qualified (e.g., C2). An athlete may not
compete in a JO Qualifier in a class (or combined class) against himself or herself (e.g., compete in
C2 with two different partners).

The race organizer of each JO Qualifier will ascertain which boats are already qualified, either
through pre-qualification or through qualification at a previous JO Qualifier, and will mark those boats
accordingly on the start list. Following finalization of results for a JO Qualifier, the race organizer will
post the results, clearly indicating those boats which are eligible for qualification through their results
at that race. The athlete (both athletes in the case of a C2) and their parents (or coach acting for the
parents) have 30 minutes from posting of the results to inform the race organizer of their intent to
participate in the JO Championship, or to decline.

If an athlete who qualifies at a JO Qualifier (or his or her parent) does not timely affirm their intent to
participate in the JO Championship, the qualification slot will be passed down to the next nonqualified
athlete on the results list from the same class, and so on, until all qualification slots for that
class at that JO Qualifier are filled, or there are no more athletes in that class.

Awards / Announcement of Qualifying Boats.
Awards will be presented at each JO Qualifier to the athletes of the top three finishing boats in each
class (or combined class), without regard to whether the boats were previously qualified, or did or did
not qualify, for the JO Championship at that JO Qualifier. Only boats which finish (i.e., complete both
runs) will be considered for awards. Awards will not carry geographical designation (e.g., “Northeast”
Junior Olympic Regional Qualifier Champion), since the JO Qualifiers are not limited to athletes from
any particular geographic region, but may carry organizer or site designation (e.g., “NOC” Junior
Olympic Regional Qualifier Medallist, or “Kish” Junior Olympic Regional Qualifier Silver Medallist).
All boats which qualify for the JO Championship at a JO Qualifier will be announced at the awards
ceremony.

Selection of Cadet B National Development Athletes at the JO Championship

Cadets who perform particularly well in the JO Championship race are eligible for selection as 2004 USA
Whitewater Slalom National Development Athletes (NDAs). There are 5 categories of NDAs: U23,
Junior, Junior 15-16, Cadet A and Cadet B. Together, they are recognized and honored as the United
States’ current top future prospects in slalom and, within the limits of the USA Whitewater Slalom
development budget, are eligible for development assistance. Cadet B NDAs are selected at the U.S.
Junior Olympics Championship. The other categories of NDA were selected earlier at Olympic Trials or
Junior National Team Trials.

For a description of the selection of and assistance for NDAs, see the following USACK web page:
http://www.usack.org/slalom/articles/development_assistance.asp .

Cadet B NDAs are selected at the JO Championship because it is an appropriate level of race, held at an
advantageous time, for such selection. Selection of Cadet B NDAs at the JO Championship in no way
diminishes the race’s significance as a top-level Championship race, in its own right, for United States
Juniors and Cadets.

Combining Classes.

Note that, for purposes of Cadet B NDA selection at the JO Championship (but not for any other purpose),

the C1W Cadet class is combined with the C1 Cadet class, the C2W and C2 Mixed Cadet classes are combined with the C2 Cadet class, and the K1, K1W, C1 and C2 Cadet classes are not otherwise be combined, all without regard to the three boat minimum requirement.

Accountability.

Also note that, to be selected as a Cadet B NDA, a Cadet (and his or her parent or legal guardian, not merely a coach or other person with temporary custody), must commit within one hour following posting of the final results to the accountability standards set forth in the document reachable under the above web page. This commitment and the time deadline cannot be waived.

A form handy for this purpose is included with the registration package for the JO Championship.

Please note that the accountability standards reflect a high level of year-round dedication and
commitment, including financial commitment, to the sport of whitewater slalom, both by the athlete
and, necessarily, by the parents as well. All Cadet athletes and their parents willing to take on this
level of commitment are urged to sign the form and submit it with their registration to avoid any
chance of not being able to sign the form in a timely manner following the race, should the Cadet
become eligible for selection as a Cadet B NDA.

Conversely, Cadets or parents who are not interested in putting this level of commitment into this
sport at this time (also a reasonable conclusion) should not sign and submit the accountability form.
The Cadet can still fully participate in the JO Championship; he or she simply wood not be eligible for
selection as a 2004 Cadet B NDA , regardless of performance.

All above rules have been issued from the United States Whitewater Slalom Board