Park officials at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area have banned kite tubing following four serious accidents. Since April, four kite tubing riders – including a 14-year-old girl – have required helicopter evacuation from Lake Powell following accidents with the inflatable discs that hover above the water while riders are towed behind powerboats. The relatively new water toy – a 10-foot diameter tube – can reach heights of more than 60 feet while being towed behind a boat. In all four Lake Powell accidents, riders were injured when the crafts plummeted from significant heights while being pulled at speeds from 20 to 35 mph.
“Controlling a kite tube is extremely challenging, and the slightest upset in its balance causes the kite tube to violently fall into the water. The fall can be particularly traumatic,” reads the June 14 National Park Service release announcing the kite-tubing prohibition.
The ban also includes parasailing and kite boarding.
SKI JUMPING
Steamboat athlete added
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association has nominated Steamboat Springs ski jumper Clint Jones to the 2007 U.S. Ski Jumping Team. The 21-year-old flew 119.2 yards in this year’s Turin Winter Olympics, propelling the U.S. team to its 14th-place finish. Jones joins Anchorage, Alaska, jumper Alan Alborn in the nomination to the men’s jumping team. The association last month also nominated five Park City, Utah, women jumpers to the 2007 ski jumping squad in response to the International Ski Federation’s recent decision to include female ski jumping in the 2009 World Championships.
MOUNTAIN BIKING
Big finish at Beaver Creek
Beaver Creek will host the grand finale of the 2006 Mountain Bike World Professional Championships. Announced last week by the Jeep King of the Mountain Series, the Eagle County ski hill will host the international competition Sept. 3. Two men and two women from the Vail Valley will be invited to join a dozen other prequalified professional mountain bike racers in the pursuit of the $100,000 record prize purse.
COMPILED BY JASON BLEVINS FROM POST STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
