Bellingham International Invitational Regatta

Hi there my US and Canadian boat racing friends,

Here it is......the official invite to the Bellingham International Invitational Regatta. Also known in some circles as the U10 world championships.(Insert Smiley Face) We like having all of you racing at our lake. So, here it is again.....June 17th, Saturday.....the Saturday after Ted Houk. I know, I know, it is ridiculous to hold a regatta immediately after Ted Houk, but it is the only date we can host it, no joke.

What to expect? For your $15, a day of racing for everyone. All levels and ages of paddlers are welcome. If you recall, we do things a little crazy at this event. The course is loose. The events are ideally customized to have each participant feel cool at some point in the day. A C-2 might be in the same heat as a K-1??? You just never know. What is guaranteed???.......... that fun will be had by all, prizes will be awesome, weather will be weather, and we will once again dog fight the K-4's and C-4s because we all have them, they are a blast to paddle, and it is hilarious to watch them draft and race without lane structure. If you recall.....we have cool podiums and last year we gave away pancake mix and Maple Syrup. Please note that I capitalized the Maple Syrup out of respect for Canadians. Seriously, you don't want to miss this event.

I know that our president made it ridiculously difficult for cross border travel......I am sorry about that.....but please take the plunge. The Bee-Ham Regatta without Canadian teams takes the International out of our International Invitational, and that just doesn't sound as good.

Events are as follows
200m K-1, C-1 K-2 C-2
500m K-1, C-1, K-2, C-2, K-4, C-4
4 boat relay
Para anything you'd like, surfski anything you'd like.

***There have been a few changes. Below I have attached a Google Spreadsheet link. It is still ok to register as previously detailed, but this should simplify things for those who think this is simpler.

The one big change.......the RELAY. The relay will be more awesome than awesome has ever been. Here is the plan. Please submit the participating boats approximate 500m time with their name. This can be K-4, mini C2, Tub Boat, K-1......NO HOLDS BARRED, ANYTHING GOES. It's a mixed craft flat water relay. We will build the relay teams in as fair of groupings as possible from the various clubs. Example, a FCRCC mini K4, Kyle Field in K1 from Gig, and a SCKC C-2 might be a team. This will be a great way for the teams to interact with each other and have a fun end to the day.

Keep in mind, this Regatta is a little different. Throw together team boats for fun if you want.... you are welcome to do mixed ages and gender if you like. You can do all the things you've thought about doing, but never have anywhere to actually do it. If you are planning on doing the odd pairing stuff, I'd advise using the direct writing method of registering rather than Excel Sheets.....you know what I mean, sometimes it's hard to customize stuff on a spreadsheet. I'm here for y'all....just tell me what you need.

The sooner the better on this. We are past the initially published deadlines, but that's pretty common. Try to have this filled out and returned by June 5th. If you know you absolutely aren't attending, please let me know too. That way I'm not sitting around, with tears in my eyes, worrying about whether or not you'll be joining us.

Here is the link. I will send the waivers to those who register:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DMtnXG6UZFp9jrNIxrb8YlzfSlWsqXq1Ym-F1Mr4Jgs/htmlview