SOTAR Rafts Take Center Stage at the 2026 US Rafting Nationals

Three days of racing, one river, one goal: this past weekend, the United States Rafting Association wrapped up the 2026 US Rafting Nationals on the South Fork American River in Placerville, CA. It’s the event that ranks US teams for eligibility to compete internationally, and for the second year running, the rafts underneath the crews were built on Erez REZcoat™ TPU.

Ready, Steady, Raft!

The USRA Nationals run three disciplines under the Classic Format: Sprint, a short, fast run through a single rapid; Slalom, a technical time trial through upstream and downstream gates; and RX (Raft Cross), a head-to-head knockout format where two rafts race side by side. Together, the three events test speed, precision, and endurance across a compact whitewater course on the South Fork American, just below Chili Bar Dam.

Two Raft Classes, One Championship

For the national title, USRA turns to one raft builder: SOTAR, official raft supplier of the 2026 Nationals, built on Erez REZcoat™ TPU. When the equipment is this consistent across the field, the story shifts entirely to the athletes.

Racing at Nationals happens in two crew configurations, and the rules around equipment differ between them:

R4 crews are four paddlers, two on each side, steering together with no separate guide. This is the format used for Sprint, Slalom, and RX. Every R4 crew races an identical SOTAR raft supplied by the event. Because the rafts are the same across the field, results in R4 come down entirely to the crew.

R2 crews are two paddlers, a smaller and more technical boat to handle. Unlike R4, a raft isn’t provided as part of entry — R2 athletes can either bring their own or borrow a SOTAR raft on-site. It runs as its own division.

Why SOTAR Builds on Erez

SOTAR has exclusively used Erez REZcoat™ TPU for its rafts, tubes, and inflatable boats for over 20 years. The relationship goes back to SOTAR testing multiple suppliers and settling on Erez for weld consistency and coating strength — the details worth reading in full in our case study on how SOTAR builds with Erez TPU.

When a raft has to survive Sprint, Slalom, and RX on the same weekend, then get raced again next season, that consistency isn’t a marketing point. It’s the reason the equipment holds up.

A Weekend of Racing, Decided

Congratulations to this year’s Open division champions:

🥇 Open Men — Double Trouble (Coloma, CA)
🥇 Open Women — Red Ladies (Colorado)
🥇 Open Mixed — Riff Raft (Colorado)

Proud to Play a Small Part

Raft racing asks a lot of the people who do it: teamwork under pressure, precision on moving water, and a boat that doesn’t fail when it matters most. Watching this sport grow, and knowing the rafts these athletes raced this weekend were built with our TPU, is something we don’t take for granted. Congratulations to every team that raced at Nationals this year, and to SOTAR for building rafts worthy of the water they’re raced on.

If you’re building rafts for competition, expedition, or commercial use, see how the same aliphatic TPU technology used in RIB manufacturing performs where it’s tested hardest.