Oetz Trophy

The "Wellerbrücke" river section is one of the most difficult white water routes in the world - it is not for nothing that it is also called the Eiger north face of kayaking sports. Until the mid-1970s, the section of Ötztaler Ache known as "Wellerbrücke Rapids" was considered impassable. Only in December 1976 the section was opened up and kayaked for the very first time.

The course that the participants have to complete is around 300 meters long - the route has an average gradient of 10 percent. The level of difficulty varies between level 5 (extremely difficult) and level 6 (only passable under ideal conditions) according to the international whitewater difficulty scale. The key passages have sonorous but also intimidating names like "Minus One", "TNT Rapid" or "The Champions Killer".

This year, a total of 180 athletes will face the task of finding the smoothest and fastest "line" on this demanding race track. Athletes from a wide variety of kayaking disciplines such as extreme paddlers, freestyle and slalom world champions and expedition kayakers will meet here.

The race consists of two qualifying runs on the slalom course on Friday, 22 September 2023, and three final runs on the Wellerbrücke course on Saturday, 23 September 2023. The prize-giving ceremony and party will take place on Saturday evening right after the race.

Thanks to the easy hiking trail towards Wellerbrücke, which runs along the river bank, you can watch the athletes fighting their way down the mountain river with their kayaks - the trail at the edge of the forest offers myriad fabulous viewpoints of the race course.

On Wellerbrücke bridge itself, you can feel and experience the rampant power of the water close up while fine water spray blows in your face and the rushing of the Ache river roars in your ears.