Canoe race ready for the starting line!

The Manchester Canoe and Kayak race is ready to go! Get your registration in by May 10 at 2 pm.

Submitted by Sybil Kolon, Canoe Race committee

The 55th Annual Manchester River Raisin Canoe/Kayak Race is almost here! The banners are up and the registrations are coming in. All of the key items are checked off. Having pulled off the race last year, amid a pandemic that stopped nearly all routine events in town, we are feeling good about where we are. But we know the final details are key and we will not let up.

A few updates:
- Online registration ends on May 10 at 2 pm. You can still submit a paper registration, and enter on the day of the race, subject to the limit of 100. If you plan to enter on the day of the race, you will not be allowed to register until 12:30 pm, after those who registered early are checked-in.

- As always, there is no entry fee for children from 5 to 12, who are entering in the Adult- Child Canoe Class. We discovered after online registration started that any entrant is automatically charged the standard $15 fee. Because we are not able to change the program at this point, we will refund the $15 for the child when you check in for the race.

- The other clarification is on the age of entrants for the “adult” classes, including Men’s Canoe, Women’s Canoe, Man-Woman Canoe and Single Canoe. One or two teenagers, ages 13-17, can enter these classes. This applies to the Single Female Kayak and Single Male Kayak classes, but keep in mind there is a Single Teen Kayak class.

- The annual clearing of the river to remove major obstacles is scheduled for the weekend before the race. If you are doing a practice run before that you will likely have to navigate quite a few tree trunks that have fallen since the last race.

In the first week of registration, we have 14 canoes and 10 kayaks entered. There are several classes for which we have no or few entries. We have the medals and want to award all of them, so please encourage your friends and family to be part of this great tradition.

We especially need people in the following classes: Teen Canoe, Single Teen Kayak, Competition Canoe and Corporate Challenge Canoe. We added a class for Double Kayak and Single Canoe, and have only one entry for each so far. More are also needed for Women, Men and Man-Woman Canoe, as well as Single Male Kayak. We have the most entries for Female Kayak and Adult-Child Canoe.

For the first time this year we have pre-registration of four people who plan to compete in the Sprint Class, which takes place on the Mill Pond after the other races are completed. If you haven’t had quite enough canoeing for one day, you can enter the Sprint Race on the spur of the moment for $5 per person. Another minute or so of paddling just might win you a medal.

Here is the link for online registration. You can also order a t-shirt, even if you don’t enter the race. https://manchester.revtrak.net/canoe-kayak-race/#/list Contact Kristi Campbell with any questions at kcampbell@mcs.k12.mi.us or 734-330-0029. An email will be sent to all entrants a few days before the race with last minute details.

We have had many generous sponsors step up to cover the costs of medals and other expenses. This will help ensure that most or all of the entry fees will go toward supporting the Manchester Music Boosters’ delayed trip to Europe next year. Sponsors will be listed on the back of our race-day t-shirts, announced during the race, and publicly acknowledged shortly after the race is in the books.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.