photos

heres a link to an album of photos taken by Dolan McDonald--Thanks Dolan

http://picasaweb.google.com/Dolanmcd/BlackfootChallenge09#

Another link to some more photos taken by Mark Butler--Thanks Mark

http://resources.kopavimedia.com/lrgallery/wwRodeo2009/index.html

2009 Results

Here we go, the results are in!

First of all the results for the Missoula Food Bank- 90# of food and $750 donated! Thanks everyone that participated, volunteered and donated! Without you this would not be possible.

June 20 Downriver Long Course:
Class Place Name(s) Time
OC1 1 Rob Morgan 1:13:45
OC1 2 Errol Johnson 1:20:27
OC1 3 John Todd 1:22:23
Rec Canoe 1 Jarrett Fraser & Travis James 1:17:05
Rec Canoe 2 Tom & Terry Carlson 1:17:08
Rec Canoe 3 Kenneth Martin & Scott Mickelson 1:45:50
Rec Kayak 1 Lynda Dale 1:27:18
Rec Kayak 2 John Gardner 1:27:44
Rec Kayak 3 Aidan Amtmann 1:31:45
Rec Kayak 4 Hannah Amtmann 1:32:07
Rec Kayak 5 John & Devon Amtmann (K2) 1:45:30
Std Canoe 1 Randy Moss & Rochelle Glasgow 1:08:30 fastest canoe (tie)
Std Canoe 2 Dick Barrett & John Gallagher 1:15:07
Std Canoe 3 Judy Visscher & Peter Benson 1:16:59
Std Canoe 4 Andrew Henderson & David Rice 1:40:25
Tour Yak 1 Russ Mills 1:27:35
Race Canoe 1 Lynn Carey & Mark LaParco 1:08:30 fastest canoe (tie)
Race Canoe 2 Chet & Mimi Morris 1:10:28
Race Yak 1 Ben Schmidt 1:04:08 fastest overall
Race Yak 2 Will Schmautz 1:07:01
Race Yak 3 Nicholas Bowling 1:13:33

June 20 Downriver Short Course:
OC1 1 Dolan McDonald 48:58
Rec Yak 1 Will Day 40:31 fastest overall
Rec Yak 2 Dan Yochim 45:10
Rec Canoe 1 Clayton Ashcroft & Matt Gallaher 42:14
Rec Canoe 2 Violet Holly & Nick Deyo 42:22
Std Canoe 1 Lucas Smith & Brian Asney 42:13 fastest canoe

June 20 Sprint Race
Class Place Name(s) Run 1 Run 2 Fastest Time
Creekboat 1 Will Day 1:24.53 ---- 1:24:53
Creekboat 2 John Amtmann 1:27.28 ---- 1:27.28
Playboat 1 Joe Casey 1:33.57 ---- 1:33.57
Playboat 2 Charlie McCurey 1:36.75 ---- 1:36.75
Playboat 3 Aidan Amtmann 1:37.34 ---- 1:37.34
Playboat 4 Hannah Amtmann 1:44.03 ---- 1:44.03
K2 1 John & Aidan Amtmann 1:25.22 ---- 1:25.22
OC1 1 Ben Schmidt 1:21.28 DNF 1:21.28 Top Time
OC1 2 Brandon Salayi 1:25.68 1:25.75 1:25.68
OC1 3 Alan Burgmuller 1:30.84 1:28.16 1:28.16
OC1 4 Alan Burgmuller 1:28.72 ---- 1:28.72
OC1 5 John Gallagher 1:33.10 1:34.59 1:33.10
OC1 6 John Todd 1:33.81 1:34.50 1:33.81
OC1 7 Beau Larkin 1:48.18 1:44.93 1:44.93

June 21 Slalom
Class Place Name(s) Run 1 Penalties Run Penalties Fastest
K1 Cr 1 Mike Eisman 3:01.82 -- 3:02.16 10 3:01.82
K1 Cr 2 Will Day 3:32.28 15 3:09.79 10 3:09.79
K1 Cr 3 John Amtman 3:18.90 -- 3:29.87 5 3:18.90

K1 Rc 1 Cody Harris 2:06.78 -- DNS 2:06.78 Fastest Overall
K1 Rc 2 Ben Schmidt 4:00.37 55 2:39.59 -- 2:39.59
K1 Rc 3 Nicholas Bowling 3:02.75 5 DNS 3:02.75

C1 1 Cody Harris 2:41.22 -- DNS 2:41.22
C1 2 Brandon Salayi 3:56.30 60 DNS 3:56.30

K1 Play 1 Kyle Sillars 2:48.29 5 2:42.34 -- 2:42.34
K1 Play 2 Brittany Harris 5:20.46 105 3:33.78 -- 3:33.78
K1 Play 3 Aidan Amtmann 4:30.31 55 4:43.06 55 4:30.31
K1 Play 4 Hannah Amtmann 7:25.06 210 7:01.03 200 7:01.03
K1 Play = Lynda Dale 7:41.78 310 7:16.67 250 7:16.67 Short Course

K2 1 John & Aidan Amtmann 4:12.9 10 3:51.03 10 4:01.03
K2 2 Ben Schmidt/Kyle Sillars 5:05.53 110 4:11.29 55 4:11.29
K2 3 Cody & Brittany Harris 4:16.68 65 DNS 416.68

OC1 1 Cody Harris 2:37.85 5 2:54.19 5 2:37.85 Fastest Canoe
OC1 2 Alan Burgmuller 3:06.53 10 2:49.40 5 2:49.40
OC1 3 Brandon Salayi 2:51.66 5 2:58.59 10 2:51.66
OC1 4 Ben Schmidt 3:19.84 10 3:07.34 20 3:07.34
OC1 5 Will Day 3:13.35 -- 4:01.03 20 3:13.35 Only Clean Canoe Run
OC1 6 Chet Morris 3:26.21 10 3:16.93 5 3:16.93
OC1 7 Sean McNee 3:26.41 15 3:52.46 20 3:26.41
OC1 8 John Gallagher 3:37.31 15 3:40.50 15 3:37.15
OC1 9 Alan Sillars 3:42.91 15 3:49.41 10 3:42.91
OC1 10 John Todd 6:42.32 165 DNF 6:42.32

OC2 1 Sean McNee/Alan Burgmuller 3:19.16 15 3:23.90 15 3:19.16
OC2 2 Ben Schmidt/ Brandon Salayi 319.41 20 3:21.87 25 3:19.41
OC2 3 Kyle & Alan Sillars 3:53.25 15 DNF 3:53.25
OC2 4 Cody Harris/ Alan Burgmuller 3:54.34 50 DNS 3:54.34
OC2 5 Cody & Brittany Harris 4:01.25 15 DNS 4:01.25
OC2 6 Chet Morris/ John Gallagher DNF 4:14.00 110 4:14.00
OC2 7 Violet Holly/ Nick Deyo 8:29.09 215 5:54.745 120
OC2 = Violet Holly/ Nick Deyo 3:54.28 55 3:10.47 10 Short Course

Slalom times have the penalties already included, subtract the penalty seconds to find raw time

Sorry if these are a little hard to read, I will work on getting something more clear, but just wanted to get the scores posted asap.

Thanks again to everyone for coming!

Directions to race sites

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=116508584281675089422.00046c6fac32fa608e5b8&ll=46.915565,-113.649445&spn=0.388357,0.878906&t=p&z=10
Map to race site and camping-- click and paste the link for a map

Raffle Prizes

Would like to thank those that have donated to the raffle:

H2O paddles
KAVU
Doug Ammons- Water Nymph Press
Valvoline Oil Change
El Diablo Burrito & Taco
WRSI Safety Gear
Ben Schmidt
NRS
AIRE
Big Sky Brewing
MooseCense
Bagels On Broadway

Downloadable Registration Form

If you are interested in registering early, which would be great, here is a link to the downloadable/printable registration form, please click http://trailheadmontana.net/ you should see the link 'Download A Registration Form' near the top of the page. Address for sending payment and registration form is on the registration form.

Thank You to our Sponsors

I want to send a big thank you out to those businesses that donated some cash to help us pull this event off, without them it would be a bit of a struggle to keep this event going. And even better with their donations we will be able to give even more to the Missoula Food Bank! This years sponsors are:
Trailhead
Big Sky Brewing
GoFetch!
Scotty's Table
Rockin Rudy's
Prudential Missoula Real Estate
MooseCense
Montana River Guides
Five Valleys Urology
Jo VanDemark
Bear Creek Maps
Bella Sauvage
Partners Creative
John Amtman
Schmidt Lab

Events, Fees and Times

Well things are starting to really come together!
This years events will be:
Downriver & Slalom Clinic- Friday June 19, 6-8 pm. We will be holding a down river clinic going from Marco Flat to the Weigh Station starting at 6pm Friday June 19. Price will be $5 per person with a food donation. This is a clinic for all skill levels, though focused on the beginnner and intermediate paddlers that want to hone their skills and learn a few tips and tricks about running rivers. Canoes and kayaks are welcome to attend, pre registration is highly encouraged as it will allow us to plan for the number of people.
We will also be hosting a slalom clinic at Roundup rapid (the slalom course site) also at 6pm on Friday June 19. Price will be $5 per person with a food donation. This clinic will be held by a canoeist however if you are a kayaker it is A OK to attend as well. This clinic will focus on negotiating a slalom course, which involves eddy turns, peel outs, ferrying and speed/efficiency. The slalom clinic will be geared toward the beginner/intermediate to intermediate paddlers that have some river running skills but want to take it to the next level. Slalom paddling is a great way to learn some new skills and look at rivers in a little different manner. Again pre registration is highly encouraged. You will be responsible for bringing your own boat and gear to the clinic as we will not have boats or gear available. There are a few stores in town that offer rentals.
Downriver Race- Satuday June 20, 10:30am racer meeting, 11:00am launch, stagered start, 2 options this year- 10 mile race from Johnsrud to the Weigh Station (just above Bonner) and a 5 mile race from Johnsrud to Angevine (just upstream from the bridge). The short course offers a less wavey option for those that don't feel like paddling a full 10 miles or dealing with any whitewaer as most of the whitewater is below the Angevine bridge to Marco Flat. There will be different classes for the types of boats so don't worry if you don't have the fastest boat you will be grouped by like boats, and remeber its for fun!
Sprintcross race- Saturday Jun 20 4:00pm to be held at Roundup Rapid- Racers will start at the top of the slalom course and race to the bottom, flat out speed is the name of the game here. We are still talking about the exact format so stay tune for updates. This is a super fun event!
Slalom race- Sunday June 21 9:30 am racer meeting, 10:00 am start, Roundup Rapid 30 miles upstream from Bonner- Canoes and Kayaks, we'll have about 15 gates with an easier course to start at the top for folks that aren't wanting to try to negotiate the bigger drop in the rapid(at the bottom) with the end of that course above the big drop, and for the racers that want the challenge they will continue through the rest of the gates to the finish just above the highway bridge. We are very excited to be using Roundup as the site for the slalom as it offers a better rapid for both beginner and advanced paddlers compared to the slalom site from years past.
Fees: This year the Blackfoot River Challenge is benefit for the Missoula Food Bank, which we are very excited about!, so your entry fee is not only helping to keep this event going but more importantly is helping those in need! Entry fees will be as follows and is per person- 1 event $20, 2 events $23, and 3 events $25. You may wonder why its more when you do extra events, its because there are fees that are charged to us by event (which is actually more than we charge you), so to offset this we add a small extra fee. With your entry fee this year we will be giving out nice canvas tote bags as well as the proceeds going to the Missoula Food Bank. You will also get one raffle ticket to go in the hat, so may may just win something nice! We will also be selling raffle tickets to try and donate even more money for the Missoula Food Bank!
Food Drive-we will have bins set up so that we can collect food for the Food Bank. We are toying with the notion of having time deducted from your total based on the amount of food that you donate. Remeber this is for a good cause so even if you are just coming to watch bring some food to donate
Registration- we are working on getting a downloadable/printable registration form up so you can pre register. We will also have registration on site until the 10:30 racer meeting on Saturday at Johnsrud. If you are coming for the sprintcross or slalom only we will have registration at Roundup Saturday afternoon/eve and Sunday morning until the 9:30 racer meeting.
Raffle- We are working on securing some fun raffle prize to give away, you will recieve one raffle ticket with your entry fee and we will also be selling raffle tickets, s you can increase your chances of winning all while donating more money to the Missoula Food Bank!
Camping-Camping is available throughout the Blackfoot River Corridor at designated sites. We have available to use Lubrecht Forest (just a few miles from Roundup, off Hwy 200) for camping. The price is $8 per person per night. There are bathrooms, a pavilion and even grills. Please join us as we bring in the summer for a night of stories, music and relaxing.

I hope to see some new faces this year as we are excited about offering some less intimidating race options. Please email me Brandon at beephunky@gmail.com with any questions Thanks!

Volunteering

Yes the Blackfoot River Challenge could use some volunteers. You could help with timing, setting the slalom gates, judging the gates during the race or even collecting cans for the food drive. There is plenty of room for volunteering. If you are interested please email me Brandon at beephunky@gmail.com. Or if you have any questions about the racefeel free to email as well. As we near the dates of the event we would like to hve a volunteer meeting as well. Hopefully we will see you out there. Thanks!

Benefit For Missoula Food Bank

We are very excited to announce that the Blackfoot River Challenge will be a benefit for the Missoula Food Bank! We will be having food drive at the event as well as the proceeds being donated to the Missoula Food Bank. http://missoulafoodbank.org/

Blackfoot River Challenge Meeting

We will be holding our first formal meeting on Wednesday 4/29 at about 6:30. We may head up to the Ledge on the Blackfoot for some surfing and will chat in the eddy. please let me know if you are interested in attending.