Thursday, May 21, 2009

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!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

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!

Friday, May 1, 2009

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/