Bob P wrote:Here in New England there are still several (or more) active Med RAC paddlers, although every race they seem to be delving even further into the Masters class. I don't recall anyone under 40 entering since Kaz went ancient too. On the other hand, those guys show everyone how subtle technique can be beautiful, and sometimes even fast.
This is in reference to Montana putting in a bid for next year. By the way, thanks!
If the Blackfoot River won 't work out for land owner reasons, surely there must be another suitable river somewhere in that big state of yours. Is there another river that may work?
kaz wrote:This is in reference to Montana putting in a bid for next year. By the way, thanks!
If the Blackfoot River won 't work out for land owner reasons, surely there must be another suitable river somewhere in that big state of yours. Is there another river that may work?
JKaz
Are you trying to shirk your responsibility of co-chairing the 2010 Nationals with Ray at the Lower Yough already John?
Well its not because landowners per say, its the Nature Conservancy. And yes I'm sure there are other sites in MT that may work but none close to Missoula (which is where I personally live). Just out of curiosity who has put in the bid? Looks like Craig and Kaz are going to chair the race here in MT next year, should be nice being a local with no responsibility for the race since the out of towners are going to run it Seriously though I would love to have the race here next year. Will have to look into other locals, Maybe the Gallatin by Bozeman
THIS IS NOT ME SAYING WE ARE PUTTING IN A BID!
Kaz, Craig, would you both come here if the race was in MT?
Aren't there any folks from CO that do the OC and want to put on a race. Wait isn't there a feller on here that owns a shop in CO could be good publicity
B
There was some noise about possibly having the Downriver Nationals in Colorado next year (2010). Perhaps the two open boat Nationals could be held in back to back weeks in Colorado; say, for example, the Downriver near Salida and the Slalom in Golden. That might generate some buzz and encourage more folks to travel, though I confess there appears to be minimal overlap between the sets of competitors at this time.
Hey John... did you hear that Brandon invited us to go boating as well as hang out as his house next summer and drink all his beer... cuz that's what I heard him say.
Hey John... did you hear that Brandon invited us to go boating as well as hang out as his house next summer and drink all his beer... cuz that's what I heard him say.
Craig- had you come in 04 you could have had as much beer as you could've drank, just ask the people that did come, though maybe some of them don't actually remember. In fact I think there was an article all about it in one of the paddling magazines. Things go a little different out here in Montucky. Though at least we don't shoot paddlers http://www.wkrn.com/global/story.asp?s=10658836
Cheers
B
I think the Gallatin in Bozeman would be great! There are enough recreationally oriented businesses in that area that could financially support the race, hopefully. Is there a paddling club in Bozeman?
Colorado would be great also. Jeff Oxenford, Bob Stecker, are you watching this? Any interest?
For my own biased reasons I would really enjoy attending a national level OC slalom event out west, preferably in Oregon or Washington. That would truly be a rare occasion.
However, my practical side has to ask; would the turn out, both competitor and spectator, really make it worthwhile. Would racers really travel up to 5000 miles round trip to race out here? I'm sure the hard core racers would, but the more recreationally minded probably wouldn't. I also have to question the level of participation from local paddlers. OC is just not that popular here. This link: http://www.nwwhitewater.org/ is to the local NW racing organization , you won't see many OCs in the past race results. Sure, there are open boaters out here but I think they are greatly outnumbered by those east of the Mississippi.
If the nationals were to be held out west running it as a stand alone event may not be very beneficial. Perhaps running the races in conjuction with an event like the Gorge Games (held in the Columbia River Gorge near Hood River, OR) or other outdoor sports or lifestyle competion/festival would draw much needed attention to the sport.
I'm just thinking there needs to be something in addition to the races to draw people (paddlers and non paddlers) to the location. There would then be more folks to introduce to the sport who could watch the races and maybe even try out some demo boats.
I'd highly consider traveling out there and making a vacation out of it. That's kind've how many of us do it... the problem during the dead of summer is... there's not much to nothing else to paddle in most regions this time of year. Granted there might be other things to go do and see but... well... you know boaters. When Rob (aka the California Kid) was going to host the race in CA way back when there actually seemed to be quite a bit of interest. Locally speaking there were plans to possibly even have two or three people drive out with a truck and trailer full of boats to share and the others would fly out there. Could this happen in your region? My guess would be yes due to more rivers and far more to see and do other than paddling. I can think of at least 100 things to do and see between here and there.
Which brings me to this point... would I drive out there to spend five days just hanging out on the race course? Nope. Would I drive out to spend about three days on the course and then be able to do other things with like minded and fun people? It's more than likely I would. For me this pretty much applies anywhere Nationals would go... for me. On the regret meter of Nationals I've missed the two that stand out would be Jonquiere and Montana... but I had other personal/family things goin' on that held bigger priorities at those times. For me (with a wife and child) summer is actually the worst time for this event... there's just a lot less going on at our homestead in the late spring and early fall.
I'd encourage you to get in touch with Jim & Jan and at the least explore some possibilites for hosting it... they've been to a lot of Nationals all over North America, they're long time OCS committee reps and they should be able to give you a better sense of what the dealio is.
I'm really enjoying this thread and would really wish to be at Wausau this year to comment along with the committee at the meeting on-site. Thanks Craig on getting the questions out there. Andrew's been viewing with interest.
Unfortunately, we will not be in Wausau. I'm still waiting for surgery on the brain-bucket. I'm not that urgent, I guess.
Which will mean we will be in sore need of a good long trip, and I've been wanting to go west for awhile now, so if you get bids for the "other side", we're there.
I'm really enjoying this thread and would really wish to be at Wausau this year to comment along with the committee at the meeting on-site. Thanks Craig on getting the questions out there. Andrew's been viewing with interest.
Unfortunately, we will not be in Wausau. I'm still waiting for surgery on the brain-bucket. I'm not that urgent, I guess.
Which will mean we will be in sore need of a good long trip, and I've been wanting to go west for awhile now, so if you get bids for the "other side", we're there.
Cheers
Carole
Carole... we will certainly miss your presence this year.
We're all wishing you well and for a speedy recovery.
Tell Andrew not to be afraid to tap on the keys if he wants to toss some of his thoughts out here as well. I know you probably both have a great deal to contribute but I can completely understand if you both choose to refrain from using this format.
28- OC1 Jr RAC
29- OC2 Jr RAC
30- OC2 Youth/Sr RAC
31- OC1 CM Open RAC
32- OC1 CM Open REC
33- OC1 CM Women RAC
34- OC1 CM Women REC
35- OC2 CM Open RAC
36- OC2 CM Open REC
37- OC2 CM Mixed RAC
38- OC2 CM Mixed REC
39-CITIZEN RACE
please memorize all of these classes... there will be a test
Last edited by Craig Smerda on Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Craig Yes I need to get pictures of my new boat on this. In the mean time, thanks for posting the classes, it makes it easier for me to ax em.
Historically speaking 4 meter boats and 15 foot boats have significant differences (advantage/disadvantage) from each other. Individuals who like the extreme challenge maneuvering a 15 footer though the slalom course will surely feel at a disadvantage racing against a 4 meter boat. So it seems in retrospect of the small change theory, it may be more compatible for the moment (couple years maybe) to keep the 4 meter class with the (any length or open), but in order to do this you would need to increase the minimum length because 4 meters was the minimum, so all the boats are longer than 4 meters.
Below are some changes to consider. There’s still a lot classes that paddlers can cross over to make a three class day. And if the race still has three days of water for racing the seven class max could still be possible, keeping the revenue for the race organizers
I beleave a freestyle event would have a positive impact for the OC Slalom Nationals
01-
02- OC1 Women
03-
04- OC1 Women REC
05-
06-
07-
08- OC1 Open
09-
10- OC1 Open 13’ 6” RAC
11-
12- OC1 Open REC
13-
14- OC2 Open
15- OC2 Women
16-
17-
18- OC2 Mixed RAC
19-
20- OC2 Open REC
21- OC2 Mixed REC
22- OC1 Master Open (All Masters classes any material)
23- OC1 Master Women
24-
25-
26- OC2 Master Open (Any two paddlers requardless of gender)
27-
31- OC1 CM Open (All CM classes any material)
32-
33- OC1 CM Women
34-
35- OC2 CM Open
36-
37- OC2 CM Everything else (mixed, jr/sr, Masters, Rec), let race organizer determine if any classes should be consolidated or separated.
38-
CITIZEN RACE Non Championship which includes any kind of OC (X boat or traditional)
OC Freestyle As long as the boat fit OC open cockpit regulation and give it National championship status the first year. Not sure what the regulations are, but we could make regulation it fit the open canoe philosophy.
I think these classes would express our committed mantalliy as open boater open mind with and all inclusive nature we feel for each other when we're just out paddleing for fun, putting bragging rights aside the campfire. And maybe bring home hardware as and extra bonus to the fun we all shared.
Looks like Craig and Kaz are going to chair the race here in MT next year, should be nice being a local with no responsibility for the race since the out of towners are going to run it 
