Update as of 7/9/08:

500m, 1000m and 10k results are up

Click on 'Sprint Results' at the left for all sprint results.

Thank you everyone on a great and successful regatta. We hope to see you back here next year!

Terry Kent

 

 

The 2008 LPI becomes the largest Olympic canoe/kayak race in the U.S.

7-6-2008

 

Contact: Terry Kent

(518) 418-9144, terry@lakeplacidinternational.com

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – The 2008 Lake Placid International became the largest Olympic canoe/kayak race in the United States and one of the largest in this hemisphere, hosting over 300 competitors on Mirror Lake.

“300 competitors doesn’t sound like that much, until you realize that each competitor enters 6 to 8 events over the weekend, making for a huge competition,” said LPI organizer Terry Kent, “we completely covered the Mirror Lake Beach Park with canoes and kayaks.”  Officials from USA Canoe/Kayak said “Congratulations, you’re officially bigger than the U.S. National Championships.”

One reason was that this year, the Lake Placid International became an integral part of a seasonal competition between Team USA and Team Canada.  Mac Hickox and Peter Neirdre, the national junior team coaches of Canada and the USA, respectively, decided to use the LPI and the Canada Day Regatta in Ottowa to compile a Grand Prix competition between both countries.  Teams for every canoeing province in Canada and clubs from all over the United States came to the LPI.

Another reason is Lake Placid.  “All weekend, I heard participants tell me that they love coming to Lake Placid, because it is so beautiful and there is so much to do,” said Kent, “plus people in the town and the village really goes out of their way to make our competitors feel welcome.”

That’s good news for the U.S. Team.  “Canoe/Kayak is a big sport in the Canada, while it is smaller in the U.S.,” said Kent, “It is huge for our athletes to get a chance to compete against a strong team like Canada on their own home turf.”  Team USA did well, beating Canada in the Junior men’s kayak events, and getting close to them in Junior women’s kayak and Junior men’s canoe.  But, overall, Team Canada took the Grand Prix Cup, scoring 174 junior team points to Team USA’s 160.

This year, the LPI also hosted distance races, with a three lap 10k race around Mirror Lake and a 15k race across Mirror Lake, around Lake Placid and back to Mirror Lake.  Marathon paddlers raved about the beauty of Lake Placid and the fun they had cruising around Mirror Lake.  With about 200 sprint races held over the weekend, holding a distance race in addition bumps up the scale of the event.

 “Next year, if we’re going to keep up, we’re going to need some help,” said Kent, “I’m going to need to recruit volunteers.  Usually a large, successful club hosts a regatta this size and right now, it’s just me with some key volunteers.  For this to work, we're going to need more people helping out.”

If you’re interested in volunteering for 2009, email Terry Kent at terry@lakeplacidinternational.com.

 

Race images by Claire Delnegro