"It is hard work to set up the course and the traffic management but it is exciting to have a race up there because it gives all the paddlers something they have never raced on before," she said.
"It is not an opportunity that they get very often. It is definitely challenging and it is quite unexpected from what they are used to really.
"People like Mike Dawson cut their teeth on the Wairoa because that was all we had. We didn't even have Kawarau so that was where they all learnt their craft. They would start at Waimarino on the flat and then end up on the release days going up there."
Tomorrow's race has been renamed the Bill Ross Memorial in honour of the founder of the Kaimai Canoe Club. He was actively involved in the development of the Wairoa slalom site and in obtaining access to the river through the purchase of land by the Western Bay of Plenty Council.
Barry Anderson, who set up the Waimarino Adventure Park in the mid-1970s with his wife Barbara, said "the unforgettable spirit of Bill Ross lives on in the memorial slalom".
"Bill Ross was a stalwart in every way and worked hard to give people the opportunity to share in the sport of kayaking that he had come to love," Barry said.
"Naming the annual club slalom is a fitting tribute to Bill's memory. He was elected on to the inaugural committee of the Kaimai Canoe Club in 1975 and over the years served for extended periods on every position of responsibility.
"Before his death, he became a life member of the club in recognition of his continuing commitment. He loved the adventure of discovering new rivers and accompanied Rob Worledge on the Mangorangi and with Roy Tallon and others on tributaries of the Motu.
"He considered slalom as a vital skill test that could only benefit participants. Accordingly, he lent vital support to [me] when Tauranga Joint Generation Committee were confronted and a successful objection lodged to their Ruahihi Scheme, that, had it failed, would have meant you could write off the Wairoa for anything other than a flooded river run."
