Friday, July 11, 2014

2014 Donation

Another fun event is in the books! The water level was around 4200 CFS for the weekends event, which made for a great downriver race and a sporty slalom. We had great weather and a great group of racers. All in all the donation was down a little from years past but I still consider it a success. The Missoula Food Bank received 50lbs of food and $1150 in total, which will go along way to helping those that need assistance. Thanks to those that make this event happen every year... The competitors, volunteers and especially the sponsors- The Trail Head, Ameriprise Financial- Chet Morris, and Black Dog Construction- John Gallagher. Big Sky Brewing threw in some goodies for raffle prizes too. Results to be posted soon!!

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Event Descriptions

Downriver Race- June 21 10:30AM Johnsrud Park to Weigh Station access, 11 mile class I+-II-. Most of the course is just moving water, however there are a few minor rapids to negotiate. The rapids are not technical, just a few waves and rocks to dodge, if you want to keep your boat dry. This is a really great stretch of river for a downriver race as it is suitable for any type of paddle powered craft, canoe-kayak-sup, and begginer to advanced paddlers will enjoy the course. The fastest boats may complete the race in around an hour with the slower boats often times around an hour and twenty minutes, maybe a little longer if you are a more relaxed 'racer'. Registration will be held prior to the start of the event, usually around 9:30am, until about 10:30am which is when the racer meeting is held with the race starting at 11am, hopefully. The race starts in 3 heats, with the Recreational class(es) going first, the standard class second, and the Race class starting last. This usually works out so that most of the boats get to the finish line around a similar time, making the finish exciting to watch. Your boat class is determined by your boat type/length (we will help with this at the race site). Sprint Race- June 21 4pm Roundup Rapid mile mark 26.7 Hwy 200 (Slalom course site). Class II-II+ Rapid. This race is always different every year. Some years its boater cross style other years it has been head to head or one at a time or even giant slalom style. I always leave it open to the racers to vote on and help decide what they would enjoy more. Generally it is a race from the top of the slalom course to the bottom, fastest time or boater wins, usually done in multiple heats. This is open to canoes, kayaks and sup, each as a different class or we could do it all together, again this event is ever changing. Registration for this event can be done in the morning at the downriver start or at Roundup before the event, usually starting at 3pm or so( I have to cleanup after downriver and get to Roundup). Slalom Race- June 22 10am Roundup Rapid mile mark 26.7 Hwy 200. Class II-II+ Rapid 15-20 gate course. Negotiate upstream and downstream gates from start of the course to the finish line. Making your way through gates that are either going downstream or in an eddy going back upstream. Touching a gate adds 5 seconds to your time and missing a gate adds 50 seconds to your time. Classes are seperated by canoe (solo, tandem, decked(c1)), kayak (playboat, creekboat, race) and SUP (stand up paddleboard), and sometimes a swimmer class ;). 2 runs per class, best time is kept, fastest time wins. Usually this race takes all day, or a large part of the day. You may race in more than one class (solo canoe, creekboat etc...). We always need folks to judge gates so if you have freinds or family, or maybe when you are not racing you might watch a gate station. Because this race is time consuming we will have the racers meeting at 10 and start races at 10:30. After the races are all complete you get your scores and we find out the winners. This year because there is another event the very next weekend we don't have to desconstruct the course, yay! Slalom Course construction- June 19(Thursday) 10:30am. We will be constructing the course the Thurs. of the event. This is a big undertaking and we always need more hands on deck. If you have helped in the past we could use your know how, if you have never helped in the past we can guide you and would appreciate the person power. This usually takes 6-8 hours to complete. Often times we have folks show up right away and others show up later in the day. This works well as the second wave brings some more energy to help finish it out. If you are interested in helping with this please email me for more details blackfootriverchallenge@gmail.com. Food Drive/ Fundraiser for Missoula Food Bank- this whole event is a food drive/fundraiser for the Missoula Food Bank. All of the proceeds from entry fees and sponsor donations are donated directly to the Missoula Food Bank. We also do a non-perishable food drive durnig the event. Please bring any amount of non-perishable food items to donate. We will have bins on site that will be taken to the Food Bank with the proceeds. Entry Fees- Unfortunately we do have to charge for the event. The fees do go to a good cause though (see above). 1 event is $20. 2 or more events is $25. (downriver + slalom = $25, slalom only = $20, downriver + sprint + slalom = $25). Fee includes event t-shirt, fun, a good feeling and we usually have some swag/prizes to give away (no guarantees on this though). Registration can be done on site, however if you want to register early please email me and I can send you a registration form that you could mail back to me.

Not Long Now :)

Well June is almost here and the water is high right now. I do expect the water to be a little higher this year than in years past, but don't fret, more water = More fun! That means for the downriver race the rocks will be that much more covered. And for the Slalom, we will get to set the course a little different than years past. We never set the slalom course too hard, so if you are not sure if you can paddle a slalom course this is a great event to try out, and if you miss a gate it really doesn't matter. The downriver is suitable for all skill levels, and we always have the rule on the water that if any boat tips over, if you are near you are required to help. We very much encourage safety at this event! If you have any questions at all please email me blackfootriverchallenge@gmail.com

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

2014 Event Dates

Hello in 2014, This years event will be held Saturday and Sunday June 21-22. More info will be posted soon. Previous info, other than dates would be the same as previous years (for the most part). As always feel free to email with questions. Something else you may want to put on the calendar would be the following weekend June 27-29 we will be hosting the Open Canoe Slalom National and North American Championships, also on the Blackfoot River!! http://2014opencanoenationals.com/ STAY TUNED