Beaver Boat races set for July 23rd

Jack Elliott
Contributor

The 4th Annual Great Beaver Cardboard & Duct Tape Boat Races are set to run this year on Sunday, July 23 in conjunction with the Rainy River Music Fest. Fun and Safety on our Waterways is the ongoing theme for the Races, a community sponsored event.
In previous years, this event has proven to be a real crowd pleaser with thousands lining the shores of Hannam Park to witness the engineering prowess, paddling, and piratical talents of 35 teams.
Purist‚ boats are made entirely of duct tape and cardboard supplied by the organizers. Teams then construct their ships over a three-hour period. (An open class‚ encourages ships‚ to be built in advance of competition day with an award reflecting best theme, costuming and piratical technique.) At the appointed launch time, each team will launch their craft crewed by two of their members who will attempt to navigate their craft down the approximately 300-yard course on the Rainy River.
Once again this year, awards will be made recognizing the best time, in each class, best design, and most spectacular sinking.
Rules similar to past years‚ are being posted shortly for this year‚s Races and registrations are again $10 per team. In the Purist‚ class, number of entrants will be restricted to supplies available on site, July 23. All minors must have completed permission slips and all entrants must supply their own paddles and CSA approved life jackets. Entrants of any age, from anywhere in the world are encouraged to participate.
Registration and supply pickup gets under way Sunday at 12:00 noon, July 22 at the Riverside Pavilion in Hannam Park, with race heats commencing at 3:00 p.m. from the Second Street boat launch. For more information and pre-registration contact Jack Elliott at Box 742, Rainy River, ON, P0W 1L0 or call 807-852-3790