River Quest sets registration record
The Yukon River Quest has had all 125 spots fill in record time.
The Yukon River Quest has had all 125 spots fill in record time.
Registration opened on November 1. A wait list has now been started, and currently has 14 teams on it.
The rapidity in which the spots filled was a welcomed surprise for the organizers.
鈥淚t took between two-three days for registration to fill. It鈥檚 a new record,鈥� said Jeff Brady, a spokesperson for the Yukon River Quest. 鈥淚t took us by surprise. Last year was the 20th anniversary of the race and that filled by mid November. It is nice to see more interest, and it is nice to see it grow.鈥�
The solo boats filled the quickest, which according to Brady is what usually happens. The River Quest has gradually increased the amount of solo racers but had to cap it at 50 for safety reasons.
鈥淭he 50 solo boats filled quickly,鈥� said Brady. 鈥淭here will be seven solo canoes, 12 stand-up paddle boards, and the rest are kayakers. We limit the solo boats to 50 because of safety. Since they are paddling alone they get the majority of attention from our evacution staff.鈥�
The race will also cap the number of voyageur boats, which carry six or more paddlers.
鈥淲e had 12 voyageur canoes register,鈥� said Brady. 鈥淲e tend to cap the amount of voyageur canoes to 15 because there are so many people in a boat. The minimum amount of people in the boat is six but they can have more if they wish. There isn鈥檛 enough bank space to hold more than the 15 boats.鈥�
The race also saw a fair number of C4 (four person canoes) register according to Brady. The C4 class was introduced two years ago and is the newest class in the River Quest.
Fourteen countries will be represented in next year鈥檚 race. Racers will be coming from: Canada, the United States, Australia, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Wales and France. These 12 countries have all been represented in the race in previous years.
The race will welcome competitors from two new countries. The first team is named Endless Possiblities and are mixed tandem kayak team from Papua New Guinea. Cheryl Sinclair and Glen Bonnici are the racers. According to their team bio on the River Quest webiste, Sinclair鈥檚 aim for the race is to 鈥渞each the end in a good time for a nice cold beer.鈥�
Bonnici鈥檚 bio says his reason for joining the race is 鈥渂ecause Cheryl asked me too.鈥� His aim of the race is to have that nice cold beer with Cheryl.
The second country new to the race is Norway, represented by solo kayaker Morten Paulsen, from Lillesand.
According to Paulsen鈥檚 bio he has competed in numerous races around the world.
His bio says he joined the River Quest because, 鈥淚 think the YRQ looks like the perfect combination of kayak racing and expedition padling. Not to forget the amazing nature of Canada wilderness. I鈥檓 up for the challenge.鈥�
Paulsen鈥檚 aim for the race is to, 鈥淩ace smart, no big mistakes and finish on a good time and experience the wilderness.鈥�
The race will take place between June 26-30. It is the 21 Annual race.
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