Some of the best paddlers in the nation will participate Sunday in the 24th Annual Pool Kayak slalom race, sponsored by the Canoe Division of the Penn State Outing Club.

The race, open to novice, intermediate and expert paddlers, begins at 10 a.m. in McCoy Natatorium with the finals from 1-4 Sunday afternoon. The race is free to the public.

Two club members, Dave Kurtz and John Sweet, are ranked nationally in their age group, said Outing Club President Kevin Todd. Kurtz is ranked in the Masters division, which consists of racers age 40 and over.

"The race is set up to get new beginners involved and to bring about an end to the winter season," said Kurtz, who has only missed one race in the past 24 years.

Kurtz also was instrumental in designing one of the first molds for kayaks in 1961.

"We did a lot of work in the white-water fiberglass kayaks then," Kurtz said.

Two other members, Brad Nelson and Rich Weiss, could be candidates for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.

Weiss is currently the top paddler in the United States and is training for the World Championships, which will be held in Western Maryland on the Savage River. Brad Nelson is an A-ranked paddler and one of the top 12 paddlers in the United States. He finished sixth in the world at the Junior World Championships.

A kayak slalom race consists of four to five gates which a paddler must pass through going both forward and backward. Then, in a rollover, a paddler must perform a 360 degree turn in the water at various times as he approaches or passes a gate. Kurtz said that a rollover outside, unlike indoors, must be performed or the paddler falls out of his boat and is disqualified.

The paddler with the best overall time after two runs wins. But if a paddler hits a gate poll, five seconds are added to his time. If he misses a roll, 20 seconds are added and if he misses a gate 50 seconds are added.