The Potomac River rushes by as people prepare for the race. A slalom pole can be seen to the left hanging over the river.
In previous posts I’ve shared photographs of the racers in the 2017 Great Falls Race, an annual whitewater event on the Potomac River near Washington, D.C. where kayakers and canoeists compete on the Class V rapids. In this post we take a look at some of the people who work the race, setting it up, monitoring and running it, and providing safety support when needed. Without these people there would be no race.
Working the race involves first getting to the edge of the river. People arrive by boat, haul their boat onto land, then set up at the edge of the river.
The folks who work the race arrive just as the contestants do, by kayak, canoe, or boat, over the river to the rocks on either side of the race lines. They have to haul their boats out of the water then hike over the rocks to the waters edge.
Some locations are more difficult to get to than others.
Setting up near the finish line to the race. This is below the last large fall.
Some of them run lines across the river to mark parts of the race. Some of the lines will hang the slalom poles which can be lowered during the slalom portion of the race and raised back out of the way during the classic race.
Lines are run across the river before the race.
Securing one end of a line to the rocks.
Some of the lines they run are safety lines to assure they don’t get swept away if they fall into the water. These are world class rapids with large volumes of water moving very quickly. You can see many of the people on the rocks have these safety lines.
People setup on both sides of the river.
Notice all the lines, some marking parts of the race, some hanging slalom poles, others for safety.
There are also people strategically staged along the course in kayaks ready to assist anyone who needs it in the water. Thankfully, it isn’t needed very often, but it’s good to have that support there when it is needed.
Sometimes people need assistance in the water when their boat overturns and they get pulled out into the river.
These races involve a lot of people, both in the race and behind the scenes. To any of you out there who do work these events, setting them up, tearing them down, working the river, know that your efforts are noticed and appreciated.
These amazing whitewater events are possible because of the hard work of the many people who work behind the scenes, along the river, and on the river.
A wide angle view showing the large numbers of people on the rocks. Some are race contestants, others are working the race.
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