Race schedule update

When a major-league baseball player is working his way back from an injury, he typically plays a few games at the minor-league level before returning to big-league play.  In baseball lingo this is called a "rehab assignment," and it gives the player a chance to work on his swing against live pitching and get his timing back and stuff like that before going back to the high-stakes world of the big leagues.

I've got my own "rehab assignment" coming up this Saturday: a race on the White River at Batesville, Arkansas.  I hope to get my body used to the idea of racing again before I face some tough competition here at Memphis the following Saturday.

At this moment, my race schedule for the remainder of this year looks like this:


June 11: Batesville Canoe and Kayak Race.  White River, Batesville, Arkansas.  A race of about 7 or 8 miles downriver from Lock 2 to the U.S. 167 bridge at Batesville.

June 18: 35th Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race.  Mississippi River, Memphis, Tennessee.  A wonderful event here in my hometown.  5000 meters down the Mississippi, starting at the mouth of the Wolf River and finishing in Wolf River Harbor at Mississippi River Park.

June 25: The Great Chickasawhay Race.  Chickasawhay River from Shubuta, Mississippi, to Waynesboro, Mississippi.  21 miles downriver.  The name of the river is pronounced chick-uh-suh-HAY.

July 31: USCA Downriver Kayak National Championships.  White River, Batesville, Arkansas.  The national championships for kayaks that meet ICF wildwater specifications.  Held in conjunction with the USCA Stock Aluminum Canoe National Championships.  The course will run upriver and downriver, starting and finishing at the U.S. 167 bridge at Batesville.

August 6: The Paddle Grapple.  Fontana Reservoir, Bryson City, North Carolina.  A 10-kilometer flatwater race.

August 12: USCA Marathon National Championships.  Connecticut River, Northfield, Massachussetts.  13 miles both upriver and downriver.  I will be competing in the K1 Unlimited class in my surf ski.

September 17: Gator Bait Canoe and Kayak Race.  Barnett Reservoir, Brandon, Mississippi.  A 9-kilometer flatwater race.