Race schedule update

Here's my revised 2021 race schedule.

There's an omission from this schedule that hits me where it hurts: I learned last week that the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race, scheduled for June 19, will not take place this year.  I understand that when Outdoors put on a bike race last November, four of its staff members contracted COVID-19 while working registration and similar duties.  The company has decided not to put its employees at risk like that again.  I am stunned and saddened to learn that this classic Memphis tradition will not be going forward, but I do admire Outdoors for making the welfare of its staff a top priority.

The schedule currently stands as follows:

April

10  The Paddle Bender.  Murray Reservoir, Prosperity, South Carolina.  An 8-mile (12.8-km) flatwater race.  Register

May

15  Chitimacha Race.  Bayou Teche, Jeanerette to Charenton, Louisiana.  A 10-mile (16-km) race on a Class I river.  Part of the Tour du Teche race series.  Register

June

5  Taylorsville Lake Paddle Battle.  Taylorsville Reservoir, Mount Eden, Kentucky.  A 10-mile (16-km) flatwater race.  Register

July

15-17  Gorge Downwind Championships.  Columbia River, Stevenson, Washington.  A race (course yet to be determined) in the legendary downwind conditions of the Columbia River Gorge on the border between Oregon and Washington.

August

Ohio River Paddlefest.  Ohio River, Cincinnati, Ohio.  A 9-mile (14.5-km) race down this major artery of the Midwest United States.  Register

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