Irish boatercross series.

[Steve Fahy]

HI

myself and some paddlers had an interesting conversation in a pub the other night (always good when it starts this way) about how we actually have a good few boatercross and races over the calender year.
And although we have a freestyle leauge or championship we dont have it for Boatercross.

The idea was put forward (slowly) by many, why not have a series where individual and teams could earn points per win, say on the same scale as formula 1(top ten placed get points) with and over result for the year.?

Ah they said, it cant be done beacuse of the water or lack of,,,,, why not other races have been postponed??? and re -run
And two of the possible venues have dam release as a option?

hmmm what about the teams, well they could either be teams of mates or shop teams which would make for interesting competition.
Tea and medals provided of course.

another round came in, "i'll get this, naw put yer hand in yer pocket"

What about the clare glens event how would that fit in? Well that could act as the final all the top teams and competitors could make it through to that event ensuring only the best/fastest/travelledtoallevents get in, therefore ensuring safety? although the travelled to all events and did not finsh any could result in non application.

How would the program look, an incresingly drunk paddler asked?.
Well probably like this;

april ; Jacksons murdercross.
may/june?? ; Boluisce dam ram event.
september; Colligan smashfest.
october; The Buncrana cracker.
decemeber; The Flesktival
feb/march ; the Clare Glens allireland championship, leauge cup premiership boatercross finals.

An almost obliteratedly drunk paddler added their could be an international class or even the ultimate winners could go on to the european equivilant if there is one (seven down??)

But how would this come about? well it would take a meeting of all the organisers of the above boatercrosses to agree a universal format (which there kinda is) and then sign off on the scoring system and yer off.

One obscenley ossified boater added , very slowly,, ahhh sure no one would be arsed organising that.

The paddlers all went back to their beers and prayed collectively for rain.

Well??

[Seanie]

I like it and the plan about Irish boatercross series also

I didn't realise we had so many Boater-crosses until I saw your list. Even if some didn't happen due to lack of rain, you still have 2 that are dam released and a good chance that some of the others will work out.

I'd be up for helping out the Galway one, there's a bit of an event in the works at the moment and it could tie in nicely with it.

[paddymcc]

Sounds good, We had chatted to some others about trying to get more Boater-x events gong since the success of the Colligan Gorge Games, It would be great to see more events come through the works and I would be up for helping out with getting some more going once im finished college this summer.
The one thing I could see being a problem is insurance and the sheer amount of work it takes to get these events organised and run smoothly it is pretty much a full time job for the month leading up to it.
But def a great idea

[Seanie]

The one thing I could see being a problem is insurance

The problem so far is a that each event that has gone lucking for insurance has approached insurance issue in a once off manner. If it was sought under an umbrella of a group I would assume it would be much easier to obtain.

On a separate but related note, the ICU has softened its approach to Boater-cross since the AGM, and have said that they are open to someone submitting a complete risk assessment for a boater-cross so they can test the lay of the land, with both their insurers and the ICU board. Nothing is guaranteed, but it is worth exploring.

[Steve Fahy]

Glad we have some folks up for this, yeah Paddy either the insurance could be cheaper under an umbrella quote for the series or we could be taken under the wing of the I.C.U. ?

I think as a series it would also create the same buzz i remembered when play boating was at its peak around 2001/2 and hordes of folks travelled to the Rodeo comps.

Sponsor ship and coverage would be easier to get and all the beniefits that come with that.
And if folks wanted to organise another boater cross in their area they could always submit it to the series for inclusion or as an alternative. (just like F1)

I know its early days but the scoring system would be like this;

1st place 25 points
2nd place 18 points
3rd place 15 points
4th place 12 points
5th place 10 points
6th place 8 points
7th place 6 points
8th place 4 points
9th place 2 points
10th place 1 point

And to further rob other sports good ideas, maybe we should look at the systems they have for classes in other sports. we will always have the juniors and the sport or open class. but what about vets? or super vets?
And also the format, will it be purely boatercross, ie; 4 racing for the line, first up best dressed.
Will we have timed team events, indiviual timed, fun challenges?? lylo races????

First steps are;
1- either paddy or seanie asking an insurance company for an idea if they would cover a series like this and if so would it reduce the price to indiviual organisers.

2 -setting up a meeting of the organisers of the above boatercross events, somewhere in the midlands, and thrashing out ideas and a plan.

3.put it to the paddlers and if they like it, its on.

suggestions,theories,outright disgust,rantin welcome

steve

[muirs]

Ideas all sound good, but any Flesk races are a bit of a question mark... we had issues getting access last time after the land at the bottom left of the Gates changed hands.
Muireann

[paddymcc]

Sounds good scoring system could work well and fit in with existing events with little change, the colligan have insurance covered through the OEC so ive no dealing with insurance companies the office deal with that.

The best thing I could think of would be set up some form of boater-x/whitewater committee or have a chat with the current white water racing committee and see if their is scope for boater-x too fall under their umbrella and that way the insurance cover may sort itself as I think (open to correction) the ICU insurance covers their races. In the eyes of an insurance company it could be seen as a general purpose white water racing event so instead of using the down river wild water boats, creekers could be used just like in marathon racing. Their is not essentially major difference between white water racing and boater-x, with regards to water conditions and timed runs. it may even work out for the white water racing people by highlighting their aspect of kayaking abit more.

[Seanie]

The best thing I could think of would be set up some form of boater-x/whitewater committee or have a chat with the current white water racing committee and see if their is scope for boater-x too fall under their umbrella and that way the insurance cover may sort itself as I think (open to correction) the ICU insurance covers their races. In the eyes of an insurance company it could be seen as a general purpose white water racing event so instead of using the down river wild water boats, creekers could be used just like in marathon racing. Their is not essentially major difference between white water racing and boater-x, with regards to water conditions and timed runs. it may even work out for the white water racing people by highlighting their aspect of kayaking abit more.

I like it!!
I know IFS have been closely linked to boater cross in the past, it would be worth talking to them too. But I would agree that the white water/Wild Water Racing committee might be a better match for this sort of thing if this does fall inside their remit. http://www.irishwildwaterracing.com/

[Paul s]

hi

I think this idea of boatercross series would be great. I do think it needs a commitee to keep things organised and the points system is good with maybe top 3 of the league being allowed to race in clare glens race if possible at the end of season?

just my thoughts

regards paul

[J.K.]

Class idea. Even if the individual organisers are happy to stick to just organising their own events, and nothing more, all it'd take would be a couple of people to do the over all sticking together of results/coordinating stuff.
You could be on to a winner.

[Steve Fahy]

Hi

Yeah nothing much needs to change, except that the format should be the same at every event and all classes should be covered at each stop on the tour.

The only boater cross that would have to change slightly would be the glens, and that would be that it would be based on qualification only instead of invitational.
And that is up to the organisers to decide if that will still ensure them the safety aspect.
It would be a nice finale for the boaters who acrue the most points over the year as it is spectator and photo/video friendly.

As for how many progress from the standings table at the end of the open races wel that depends on a few factors.
1.How many classess do we have, junior,sponsored,sport,veteran,superveteran,ladies,shop team, club team or do we mix some of them.

2. Also depending on the ability of each class to progress to the final if it was on a bigger/relatively more difficult river ala the glens, for example if all the sports or junior qualifiers were slick paddlers, thats fine, but what if they won by being the only one in their class to finish??? or the only one to enter???

3.the cut off would depend on the capacity of the final venue to handle a certain amount of racers.
so that would be final, would there be points at the final???

As far as the flesk access issue,mentioned above. either we could approach the owner and come to an arrangement or we could seek another suitable venue in kerry or west cork. i am sure there the rivers and sections , but the bank access for sepctators and paddlers is always the issue.
Remember every venue can have its indiviual style they dont have to be similar. longer, shorter,techincal,multiple lines, single lines,drops,no drops, you get the idea.

Also added to the committe /icu idea can folks think of a product or brand that you associate with paddlers or the public would associate with us (tricky in this day and age but it worth a shot)
Things to avoid, are cigarette companies,booze companies,energy drink as if you are allowing juniors to enter these could cause an issue.

any ideas for a venue/date/folks/volunteers for an initial meeting.

steve

[Seanie]

I hear that the Colligan Gorge Games is being planned for November 13th.
http://www.colligangorgegames.com/

The Colligan Gorge Games is Back!

After another successful year, we are once again delighted to announce this years Colligan Gorge Games will be run on November 13th. Online registration will be open from Septmeber 1st - so get in early to avoid dissapointment.

The online registration will allow us to streamline the registration procedure and get you on the water earlier. Registration fee of €35 can be paid on race day. (Registration fee, Colligan Gorge Games t-shirt, ticket to after party)
The race will be taking place on the challenging gorge section of the river Colligan, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. If you are not sure where this is then have a look at the google map on this website.

[orky]

hey i just saw this for the first time.interesting concept and even though technically the glens race is not a boatercross I'd be happy to help out.I've a few other ideas for races including a cascade clash(ennistymon)