Somewhere in time a group of bored paddlers looking for a challenge decided to hang some poles over a section of moving water and race through them. To make it more difficult they placed the poles close together, called them gates and gave a penalty for touching them. In 1975 three neophyte kayakers from a group known as Harrisburg Area Whitewater Kayaks – HAWK – hung some gates on Swatara Creek at a bend called Fiddlers Elbow near Hummelstown, PA. Two years later HAWK joined their race with several other club slaloms producing the first Pennsylvania Cup series. There being no other such series in the state, it came to represent the state championships of Pennsylvania. HAWK disbanded and in 1978 the Canoe Club of Greater Harrisburg inherited all assets of the Fiddlers Elbow Slalom and has been producing the race every fall since.

The Penn Cup is a fall series currently consisting of four races designed to introduce paddlers to the sport of slalom racing. Races are held on Sundays, with Saturdays reserved for course construction, practice, and clinics. Clinics are taught by experienced racers -- including some of the top-ranked paddlers in the state and in the US -- and serve to introduce beginners to the sport, and to help more experienced racers advance from the basics of running the gates to discovering and paddling the most efficient lines.

Awards are presented at each race, and overall series awards (earned on a point system) are presented after the final race. Overall series awards are given in the following classes: K-1, K-1W, C-1, C-1W, C-2, C-2W, C-2M, OC-1, and OC-2. Additionally, competitors representing regional paddling clubs contend to earn the coveted club trophy.

There are many classes available at each race for open and decked boats, solo and tandem boats, juniors, cadets, masters, and well, just about everyone. The emphasis is on fun and learning, and so the races in this series make an excellent introduction to the sport.

Our race is #3 in the Penn Cup Series. The series is sanctioned by the American Canoe Association (ACA) and our local race is sponsored by WILDWARE Backcountry, Inc. It is aimed at novices and class C-D racers who are trying to move up in the rankings. We have racers from 6 to 86 years old. The real stars are the children and teens who are learning the basic skills that someday may take them on to national and world class competition. The ACA Middle Atlantic Region, of which we are a part, produces a disproportionate number of racers for the United States due very much in part to races like ours.

Remember that the key word is “novice”. Anyone is welcome to race and everyone is encouraged to give it a try. You can’t believe how much fun it is and you are guaranteed to learn something that improves your paddling skills. We have special “cruiser” classes for those who don’t have race boats, so bring out that old klunker and let’s go racing! And while you are there sign up for the free slalom clinic and learn the best line through the course.