Bogalusa's Crew 313 ready to pursue 12th national title

At the top of the list of winners is a name of a place some people seem to have difficulty pronouncing — Bogalusa, La.

Crew 313 advisor Col.
Robert Miller and helper
at the 2010 White River
National Invitational Race.

And Thursday morning, when oars make contact with water for the first time in the 45^th Annual National Invitational White River Canoe Race, Bogalusa Venturer Crew 313 will be seeking to add a 12^th national title to its total.

Crew 313 is headed by Col. Robert Miller and is fresh from the 110-mile Bogue Chitto River Marathon. As has been tradition, the Bogue Chitto race ended about mid-day Saturday and the Vogalusa team was on the road before dark.

Water levels, according to the USGS, are good — with 8.93 feet at Calico Rock and 9.54 feet at Batesville — although heat advisories have been issued by the National Weather Service.

Upwards of 160 canoers from across the country will gather at Bull Shoals Dam and must have their canoes at the water at 7:45, ready for an 8 a.m. start. The first leg runs 17 miles from the dam to Cotter, a small cradled in a bend in the White River while leg two is a 13.3 mile run from Cotter to Buffalo City. Crews may change paddlers after each of the first two legs, while leg three, the final of the day, is 12.3 miles and takes the teams to Norfork, where teams will eat, have a team meeting and camp at Quarry Park at Lake Norfork Dam.

With 42.5 miles in the books, team rise early on Friday to have their canoes at the water by 7:45 to meet the 8 a.m. start. The first leg of the day, the second-longest of the entire race, is from Norfork to Callico Rock. After this 18-mile leg, crews may once again change paddlers in preparation for leg five, 17 miles from Callico Rock to Allison/Sylamore.

At Sylamore, teams will have a cookout and a talent show prior to getting some sleep and rest for the championship push.

The final day gets under way earlier, with canoes due at the water at 6:30 and the race under way at 6:45.

Leg six is from Allison/Sylamore and runs 21 miles to Lock No. 3 on the White River. This is the longest leg of the race and is a clock out leg, as is leg seven, a 12-mile stretch from Lock No. 3 to Lock No. 2. This leg is also a clock out leg.

The final leg of the race is seven miles long, from Lock N. 2 to Batesville, with national titles on the line.

Following completion of the race, the awards ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. at the Pavilion near Norfork Dam.

Awards to be presented include:

            • Each member of a team placing first, second or third will receive an award;

            • The Doug Summer Memorial National Championship Traveling Trophy will be awarded to the team regardless of division entered that has the shortest accumulative elapsed time for the race. Doug's Faribault, Minn. Post 301 began attending the race in 1985 and by 1988, they were dominating most classes. Post 301 still owns all (Girls and Co-ed) of the Cruising Division records for the race as well as Co-ed Aluminum. This award is named for the late Doug Summer or "Coach Summer Sir". He was the first coach of Post 301, Faribault, Minnesota. His competed in the White River Canoe Race. He also swept all seven divisions of the race in 1998, the same year as his death from a car accident while returning from the United States Canoe Association (USCA) Nationals with junior paddlers.

• The Ron Eddings Memorial Traveling Trophy will be awarded to the Boy's Aluminum team with the shortest accumulative elapsed time for the race. Advanced and Novice Boy's Aluminum teams are eligible for this award. This award is named for the late Ronald Eddings, an advisor with Post 29 from Camdenton, Mo.

• The Dr. R.J. Van Patter Memorial Traveling Trophy will be awarded to the Girl's Aluminum team with the shortest accumulative elapsed time for the race. Advanced and Novice Girl's Aluminum teams are eligible for this award. This award is named for the late Dr. R.J "Doc" Van Patter, an advisor with Post 8 of Little Rock, Ark. and one of the early founders of the race.

• The Co-ed's Aluminum Championship Traveling Trophy will be awarded to the Co-ed's Aluminum team with the shortest accumulative elapsed time for the race. Advanced and Novice Co-ed's Aluminum teams are eligible for this award.

• The Girl's Cruising Championship Traveling Trophy will be awarded to the Girl's Cruising team with the shortest accumulative elapsed time for the race.

• The Co-ed's Cruising Championship Traveling Trophy will be awarded to the Co-ed's Cruising team with the shortest accumulative elapsed time for the race.

• The Sportsmanship Traveling Trophy will be awarded to the crew, post, or troop best representing the commonly accepted attributes of good sportsmanship such as fair play, respect for others including teammates, competitors and officials, helpfulness, positive attitude, fellowship, encouragement, and effort. The Sportsmanship award will be voted on by team captains at the conclusion of the race.

• The "Tom Edwards" award will be given to the team that travels the greatest distance to compete in the race.

• The "Carl Garner" award will be given to the crew/post/troop exhibiting the greatest spirit in the opinion of the race organizers.