This past weekend saw our 30th annual Stonycreek Rendezvous and it was a great success. This years rendezvous was extra special due to the fact that we dedicated the new release valve which provided for good water levels for the events of the rendezvous which included both a Playboater X race and a Freestyle rodeo.

We had a great turnout for the event with 13 boater participating in the Boater X and 23 paddlers in the Rodeo.

The Boater X was through class 3/4 Showers Rapid at the start of the Stonycreek Canyon run. It was a great race with 9 men competing and a seperate race for the ladies with four brave women lining up to race. The womens race consisted of two heats pitting all 4 women against eachother in a head to head format. The race started above the Showers slide with a rolling start. Once all paddlers were lined up equally a bullhorn started the race. Paddlers had about 10 yards to sprint before hitting the slide where things picked up speed quickly. Racers had to touch to marked rocks as they made their way through the rapid with the finish line on river left. Paddlers had to touch the marked rocks with either their boat, body, or paddle before they could move on to the next marker. The womens’ finals ended with Maria Stine in 3rd, Cathy Chung in 2nd, and Shelby Stine in 1st.

The mens races consisted of two heats the first consisting of four of the more experienced boaters in the group and even included one open boater Dale Briggs who braved the mass of paddles through the course. The second heat consisted of five boaters. After the first two heats the top two from Heat 1 and the top three from Heat 2 raced again to put the top three into the finals heat. The two losers from Heats 1 & 2 raced with the top 2 in the losers bracket making it to the finals. The final heat consisted of Locals Erik Johnson, yours truly ( Jason Rigby ) , hot up & comer Eli Loiben, Confluence local Jeff Felton, and finally Josh Lewis rounding out the final heat. It was a hotly contested matchup as Eli had a strong break away with the hole shot only to end up getting pushed up onto the first course marker by myself and Felton. Erik Johnson then got the break away and the win, followed closely by Jason Rigby, with Jeff Felton rounding out the podium.

Womens : Shelby Stine, Maria Stine, Erika Cheyney, Cathy Chung
Heat 1 : Erik Johnson, Eli Loiben, Jason Rigby, Dale Briggs
Heat 2 : Seth Burdette, Josh Lewis, Jeff Felton, Mike Maloney, Zach Reigel
Heat 3 ( Winners ) : Erik Johnson, Eli Loiben, Seth Burdette, Josh Lewis, Zach Reigel
Heat 4 ( Losers ) : Jason Rigby, Dale Briggs, Jeff Felton, Mike Maloney
Heat 5 ( M’s Finals ) : Erik Johnson, Eli Loiben, Josh Lewis, Jeff Felton, Jason Rigby

Mens Winners : 1st – Erik Johnson / 2nd – Jason Rigby / 3rd – Jeff Felton
Womens Winners : 1st – Shelby Stine / 2nd – Cathy Chung / 3rd – Maria Stine