Editorial: The future of Manchester’s Canoe/Kayak Race — an opinion
Guest editorials are by local leaders or experts with specific knowledge of a topic and may contain opinions. Views expressed in any editorial are always exclusively those of the author.
by Sybil Kolon
When you say “canoe race” around Manchester there is no doubt you are talking about the third Sunday in May, rain or shine or snow, starting promptly at noon. We just had our 56th Annual Manchester River Raisin Canoe/Kayak Race with 82 canoes and kayaks and 121 participants, not to mention the spectators.
The competition has evolved since the first race on April 22, 1967, in celebration of the Village of Manchester’s Centennial Anniversary. Mid April can be on the cool side, so the third Sunday in May, after Mother’s Day and before Memorial Day, seemed to be perfect.
It started out as a boat and canoe race with four classes, started by the Centennial Committee. The Chamber of Commerce took over in 1968. The Optimists ran it from 1976 to 1987. In 1988 the Chamber of Commerce took over for a year on short notice before the Recreation Task Force ran it from 1989 to 2002. Then the Kiwanis Club made it their own until they shut down in 2019. It now has thirteen classes for canoes and kayaks.
In my opinion, our Canoe/Kayak Race is one of the defining events in Manchester every year. It is not a huge event, but it brings people from near and far. In some cases, three generations of participants and spectators have returned for years. They keep coming back because it is a unique and challenging but not too long of a race in a small town with a welcoming vibe. Memories are etched in the minds of so many kids, and they come back with their own kids.
Our race is now believed to be the second-longest currently running canoe race in North America that hasn’t missed a year since it started, behind the Potomac Whitewater Canoe Race, which has been running since 1956. That gives us some real bragging rights and something to be proud of.
In 2019 our local Kiwanis group closed up after sponsoring the race for 16 years. For the past three years, a contingent of mostly former Kiwanians have kept the race going with the help of many other volunteers. Forming a new group has been considered, but no one has stepped up to take on that task. We have approached several existing local groups to take over, but to date, none have.
In the meantime, the River Raisin Watershed Council has provided the liability insurance to satisfy the Village requirement. The Manchester Music Boosters have managed the money. The volunteers have handled all the details, from getting a DNR marine permit to timekeeping at the finish line. The RRWC is based in Adrian and does not have the capacity to run this race.
Regardless of who runs it, this event belongs to the entire community. Many local groups and individuals support the race with in-kind, monetary, and volunteer donations. Having a wide array of volunteers is what gives it its strength, just like any other network. The result is worth much more than the sum of its parts.
Who will step up to make sure this race continues into the future? How do we convince a local group with the capacity to run the race to see the value of keeping it going and to make this commitment? It seems like whoever stepped up in the past just did it when the prior group moved on for one reason or another. Three years after Kiwanis of Manchester disbanded, none has yet stepped forward. As one member of the ad hoc committee that has worked so hard to keep it going, even through the pandemic, I am ready for some certainty. Presuming someone else will do it is not sustainable.
Do we just wait until some group decides to take it on, or we miss a year that we can never get back? Is there a way to get the community to weigh in on who should do it? Can we start a poll to seek input? Maybe that isn’t necessary and we can just trust that whoever does step up will honor the past while continuing the evolution of the race as trends develop.
In my view, the Chamber of Commerce is the most logical sponsor and its members would benefit with a bit more focus on other things going on in town. But I am not a business owner and hold no sway with them, or any of the other groups, for that matter. If you are associated with any of the groups in town, whether or not you have ever been in a boat, canoe, or kayak, please encourage your group to step up to the plate. And while you are at it, put your name in the hopper to be a volunteer next year.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login