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HEADLINE
NEWS FOR THE 2007 RACE
2007 POST
RACE
Could it have been better? Great weather, great water level, record
participation. 109 boats started in 18 different classes. Fast flowing river
tipped many as they came through the rapids. Hypothermia was a factor, and 20
boats pulled out. Great support from numerous organizations and individuals
provided a great, safe race for all. Spectators enjoyed the race from numerous
places including Stockers Drop, the Chimney and Finish Rapids.
2007 PRE
RACE
Ok, so the planning has started again. We are always thinking about how to
improve the race, so one class has been added ([J] class) in the kayak group. We
are also taking a survey regarding a relay race meant for those of you who need
a little help on the way. After 16 years, even
the race organizers admit to sore shoulders and backs. This class would allow
for a "pit crew" at the portage by having fresh racer(s) take over to complete
the race. Give us some feedback on this idea.
2006 PRE
RACE
The 15th annual race is on the horizon. Trees are being
removed from the river. Plans are made. A great race is on the horizon. Now
mother nature needs to cooperate. The third warmest winter in history has not
given us much of a snow-melt. So as we approach race day we'll probably perform
a rain-dance or two. That aside, the river looks good, the before and after
activities look good, and we are ready! Come and join us for a day of fun.
Four large trees had fallen across the river last fall during
the big flood (15" of rain). With great help from many volunteers, numerous
chainsaws and ATVs, the river is now passable. With the flood the river has
changed, boulders moved and new island created.
Although we do not have a good snowmelt to look forward to,
provided the water level holds, the race should be good.
See you there!!!!
2005 POST
RACE
The fourteenth annual Spring Splash is over. Sunshine and
50'ish degrees. A great day. 95 boats and a 138 racers lined up. All the
volunteers did an awesome job in making this a great event to race in. The water
level was moderate. More spectators than usual made it to the race. Fluctuating
insurance cost kept the registration fee from stabilizing until race week, when
the price came down. The savings passed on to the racers. And now we are to
de-brief time. Again we will meet to discuss what we did well and what we could
do better. The more feedback we get from you the better we can be next year. So
please go to the RACE FORUM and tell us your experience. See you next year!
2005 PRE
RACE
Time to start preparations for another Scantic Spring Splash.
We have posted the race date and are now for the 14th time looking over our
notes to make this a even better race for YOU. Due to low participation in the
'04 Sprint Race we will most likely drop it for this year. If you think we are
wrong you need to let us know. Another issue this year is increased insurance
cost. We are shopping around to get the best cost available. Therefore, we have
listed the registration fee without the required insurance for now. Keep an eye
on the registration fee as we get closer to race day.
We know that there are many races in the area. What you may
not know is that we are truly interested and responsive to your suggestions. We
spend countless hours in preparation for the event and would like it to be a
"wow" experience for you. We attempt to improve all facets of the race. Now if
we could only control the precipitation we could even control the water level.
Well, we'll let some things be out of our control - hard as it may be.
We are again planning a great post race event in the barn
(race HQ). Plan on spending the afternoon with us. Win some prices and watch the
videos. Enjoy the afternoon with us.
Our insurance cost has doubled!
This year the insurance cost has increased 100% to $8 per
participant. We solicited numerous companies and organizations for quotes and
this was the best rate we could find. Thus, the registration fee has taken a
jump this year - Sorry.
UPDATE: The insurance has been reduced and the savings passed
on to you. See the new fees on the main page.
We have modified the race-classes for this year. Take a look.
WE ARE READY!!! Let's have fun! See you there.
2004 POST RACE
Another great race!
Record participation, good weather and great water level made for maybe the best
race yet! The new Sprint Race went off without a hitch. It did not have the most
participation, but not bad for a new event. The traditional Novice and Racing
Course races was as usual a blast. A lot of newcomers this year, traveling as
far as from Long Island. All with complements. The river was really getting low
before the race. Rain most of race-week made the river rise nearly 2 feet. It
crested on Friday and provided for ideal conditions on Sunday.
If you were not here, you missed a great event. Keep an eye on
the website and mark your calendar for next year.
2004 PRE
RACE
Where did the snow go?
Time to prepare for yet another Scantic Spring Splash Canoe
and Kayak Race. So what is in store for this year. Let's face it, we spend
countless hours preparing for each race. This year we are adding a 1/2
mile Sprint Race. It should be a great fast ALL OUT race down the finish rapids.
Details are found in on the Sprint Race page.
Other major changes are that this year the Racing Course races and the Sprint
Race are a part of the American Canoe Association (ACA) New England Regional
Down River Championship Races series.
We are again striving to have the best result service in the
New England. Computer network is on the drawing board. GPS being secured.
Key question - is mother nature going to cooperate and time
the remainder of the snowmelt for April 4th?
2003 WAS PROBABLY THE BEST RACE YET....
(Post Race Report)
At least the feedback indicates so. The river was
running high, pre-registration was way up and weather forecast was for an
unseasonable warm day. What more could we ask for? We were prepared for record
numbers and ended just 2 boats short of another participant record at 92 boats.
We had tuned several headquarters procedures this
year;
- Better organized registration area.
- More networked computers
- More communication facilities for timing data
- Introduced GPS for super accurate timing
equipment
- Better auditing procedures of race times
- Networked scoreboard keeping all racers up to
date with our results as times became available
All of this make it better for our racers, which
we saw in positive feedback in our guest-book and race-forum, as well in
comments given during the event. So what do we do next? We take 6 months
vacation from the race, then we go back to the drawing table for next year. We
consolidate the feed-back received from you (both good and bad) and we look for
solutions. These solution are put into practice and we make our goals for yet
more improvements. However, to do this we need your
feed
back. And then when March comes around we start looking for
pre-registrations again - to see if you are coming back for another race
or not.
See you next year!
2003 (pre-race) THE
SNOW IS MELTING...
The snow is melting and the river is rising. The upper half of the course has
been surveyed and the plans for cleanup and tree removal are made.
It
is time again for the Scantic Spring Splash.
The
organizing committee has been working through the winter to make this the best
race yet. The last year's changes were overall successful and will remain in
place. The registration is again in the barn at the finish. We recommend that
you drop off your boat at the start early in the morning, then go to
registration. Register here on the website to speed up the process. Each
participant will still need to sign all the forms and receive the bib number,
but it will be must quicker than completing all forms by hand. Leave your car at
the finish and take the shuttle to the start. The last bus will leave at 11am
for the start area for the mandatory pre-race meeting at 11:15.
 Every year we try to
improve on our timing system. The ultimate goal is to provide race times as a
boat crosses the finish line. Last year's difficulties with out computer network
should be resolved this year, and we will again attempt the ultimate goal. New
this year is the intent to have a scoreboard available for you to monitor the
preliminary results as they unfold. It will be located inside the barn. Nothing
like the excitement of a "live race" where the results changes continuously.
However, we always audit all results for accuracy, so please
enjoy the entertainment while we finish up.
So
now we just hope that the snow will melt from the finish area so that there will
be ample room for all the spectators along the finish rapids. Due to weight
restrictions on the bridge, only a limited amount of spectators will be allowed
to stay on the bridge this year, so we recommend that you find a prime spot along the
rapids.
As
you see from our web-counter and from this statistic, our website visits are
exceeding all previous numbers.
2002
WAS THE BEST.... (post race report)
The week leading up to the race was "iffy". A dry
winter had left no snow to melt and the river was the lowest we had seen in
years. The interest in the race was greater than usual, but everything looked bleak
until a couple of days before race day, when it started raining. By race day
morning, there was enough water to run a good race.
Race day morning came and we were executing our new plans. New
website with pre-registration. Would anyone use it? They did. About 30% of the
racers walked in to the pre-registration desk to just sign the papers. In and
out service with hardly any wait.
Most racers had already left their boat at the start before
registering for the race at the finish (Race HQ). So now they jumped on the
shuttle bus and rode to the start. No more need to catch a ride to the start to
pick up the car after the race. Busses ran full all morning long.
Our new scoring system was put to the test. Before the
entertainment was over, the finish lists was on the wall. Thanks to a dedicated
HQ group.
So we had the largest race in our history with the shortest
wait for registration (if you pre-registered), and no waiting for the results.
We count that as success.
Other areas that improved this year were the on-course
monitoring of the boats. We had more folks (ham radio, fire and fish &
games) stationed along the river than ever before for racer's safety than any
previous race.
HEADLINE
NEWS FOR THE 2002 RACE (pre-race)
LOCATION
FOR RACE REGISTRATION HAS MOVED
To improve on our race results service, we have moved registration to the Race
Headquarter at Powder Hollow Barn on South Maple, next to the Finish Line.
Please plan accordingly since you need to travel out to the Start area after you
register.
TIMING
AND RACE SCORING
Every year we attempt to improve the race. A new registration and scoring program has been developed. This will allow you to pre-register here on the website. Then on
race-day, come to the Race Headquarter at the Powder Hollow Barn and go to the
pre-registration table. You will find your race registration form printed out,
ready for you. You and your team-mate (if applicable) must verify
the information and sign the registration
form to receive a bib-number.
For those who do not have computers or cannot decide on a team-mate, we will
still have the traditional paper registration.
You will now move to the start area for the Pre-Race Meeting. As your boat crosses the start line, your
start-time is radioed into Race Headquarter via Amateur Radio. As soon as you
cross the finish line, your finish time will also be radioed in. This data will
be entered into our registration and scoring system, which will calculate your
race time and position immediately. So now we will only have to wait for
everybody to have fun down the river and rapids, and the results should be up
before the last boat is out of the water.
With this new program we will also track how many racers are on each half of
the course. If you withdraw from the race, you must notify Race
Headquarters in the Powder Hollow Barn. You will otherwise be considered missing
on the race course.
WEBSITE
This website is also new as of 2002. Give us some comments on the usability of
this site. Since the website is made for you we would like to know what
information you need here. Contact Webmaster
Knut.
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