My name is Mike Green and I am one of the organizers for La Ruta Maya. Bob
Jones at Eva's Restaurant forwarded your information request to me. I have
attached the official rules and I will attempt to summarize the event below.


This year's race will run from March 9th through March 12th. Starting
underneath the historic Hawkesworth Bridge in San Ignacio and ending at the
Belcan Bridge in Belize City, the course covers approximately 170 miles
down the Belize River. The entrance fee is $250.00 Bz. per team. The
rules call for open, manually powered canoes between 15 and 20 feet long
with teams of a maximum of three persons. There are designated nightly
camps where all teams are required to stop. The first camp will be at
Banana Bank, the second at Bermudian Landing and third at Burrell Boom.
All competitors start at the same time each morning and winners are
determined by overall elapsed times at the end of the race in Belize City.
The competition is divided into Professional and Amateur classes. Each
team will be required to declare their class with the basic difference
being that the Pros go for cash prizes and the Amateurs go for various
goods and services type prizes and the pure excitement of the adventure.
We are estimating that the total prizes for this year's event will be over
$60,000.00 Bz. The prize money for the Pros is awarded to first place at
numerous stations along the river and at the end. Basic meals and purified
water are provided. You can provide your own meals if you choose. You
provide your own camping gear and the race committee will transport it
between camps. There were 84 teams last year and I have no idea how many
will enter this year. We are guessing that there will be over 100.


You can enter by downloading an entry form from our website at
<www.bighjuices.com> and forwarding it along with your entry fee to:


La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge
C/o Big-H Enterprises Ltd.
33 Buena Vista St.
San Ignacio, Cayo
BELIZE


Tel: 501 92 2646
Fax: 501 92 3075


Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions.


Sincerely,


Mike Green
<[email protected]>

COMPETION RULES & CONDITIONS

1. The race will be held over the four day period commencing at 6:00am on Friday, March 9, 2001 and ending at 3:00pm on Monday, March 12, 2001.

2. The race will be will be divided into four segments, corresponding to each day of the race. The first day's course will run from the Hawkesworth Bridge to Banana Bank Lodge. The second day's course will run from Banana Bank Lodge to Bermudian Landing. The third day's course will run from Bermudian Landing to Burrell Boom. The fourth day's course will run from Burrell Boom to the Belcan Bridge in Belize City. The race committee will determine and designate the exact starting time and point as well as the finish point of each day's course. These times and points will be announced to all teams prior to the beginning of each day's race.

3. Designated nightly camps will be determined by the race committee. Each team will be responsible for providing their own camping equipment (tents, sleeping bags, etc.). Transport of each team's camping equipment between the nightly camps will be provided by the race committee. Portable toilet facilities will be provided. If a team decides to overnight elsewhere, the race committee must be notified of the location, in advance.

4. Timing for determination of winners will be on an overall elapsed time basis and will be recorded by the official race committee timekeeper. The elapsed time from beginning to end of each day's course for each team will be recorded. These times will be added together to determine each team's overall time at the completion of the race.

5. The race will be divided into two competition levels or classes. "Class A" will be for serious professional teams and "Class B" will be for amateur/pleasure teams.

6. Each class will have 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners determined by lowest overall accumulated elapsed times at the final finish line. "Class A" place prizes will be monetary in nature with the exact dollar amounts to be announced at the "Pre-race Meeting" on Thursday, March 2, 2000. The sponsor of the 1st Place "Class A" team will receive the Big H "Kinich Ahau" trophy which will be theirs to publicly display throughout the following year. The trophy is to be passed on year to year to the sponsor of each year's winning team. In addition to the overall place prizes there will be numerous "Class A" Station Prizes of varying dollar amounts awarded to the first team to reach designated stations along the course of each day's race. These designated stations will be determined by the race committee and their location and dollar amount will be announced at the "Pre-Race Meeting" and at the beginning of each daily course. Station Prizes will only be awarded to teams that complete the entire race course. "Class B" place prizes will be in the form of various donated prizes of goods and/or services. In addition to the "Class B" final place prizes at the end of the race, there will be daily "Class B" place prizes awarded at the end of each day's course. These daily "Class B" place prizes will also be in the form of donated goods and/or services. All prizes, both monetary and goods and/or services, will be awarded at an awards ceremony which will be held after the finish of the race at a time and place designated by the race committee.

7. The competition registration fee will be $200 BZ per team and must be delivered to the Race Committee along with a fully completed Registration Form prior to 5:00pm on March 8, 2001. Each team will designate a "Team Captain" who will be responsible for the actions of their team and communicating with the race committee.

8. Registration fee will include basic team meals and nutritional liquids during the course of the race, basic first-aid and safety support, transportation of personal sleeping gear between race camps, toilet facilities, prizes as allocated by category, and access to official rules and scores during the course of the race.

9. Each team will consist of a maximum of three members. No substitution of original team members will be allowed at any time during the entire course of the race.

10. Only open canoes with lengths of 15 feet to 20 feet will be utilized. Propulsion will be by manual paddle only. No motor, sail, other mechanical power will be utilized on any competition canoe. Each team's equipment
(canoe, paddles, life preservers & any other accessories) will be provided by the team or its sponsor. The race committee will not be responsible for providing any equipment.

11. No team will be allowed to receive any assistance during the course of the race, except in emergency situations, from any source other than authorized assistance from official race safety boats.

12. Each team member will have a serviceable, readily available life preserver within the canoe at all times while on the water.

13. For identification purposes, each team will be provided with a "Team Number" which will be affixed to each side of the bow (front) of the canoe.

14. During the course of each day's race, all teams must remain within the banks of the river. It is not permitted to leave the river at any time during the course of each day's race. Canoes can, however, be carried or dragged through shallow waters.

15. Each team will be provided with a pack lunch, fruit and water at the beginning of each day's course. All disposable materials (paper, foil, plastic, etc.) are to be returned to a location designated by the race committee at the end of each day's course. No garbage or other items of any description will be intentionally disposed of or discarded in or along the river course or any at other unauthorized location. DO NOT LITTER! Intentional littering will result in disqualification.

16. There will be NO drinking of alcoholic beverages or use of any illegal drugs during the entire course and time of the race.

17. The race committee will provide a minimum of three motorized safety boats during each day's course. One boat will remain in the front and one boat will remain at the rear of the competitors. The other boat or boats will patrol the middle section of competitors.

18. Qualified medical personnel will be provided by the race committee and will accompany the entire race.

19. Any medical problems must be reported to a race official &/or race medical personnel as soon as possible.

20. All teams are to remain together while engaged in the actual race. In the event that a team member or members are forced to leave the canoe and discontinue the race for medical or other reasons, he or she MUST remain on the nearest safe riverbank until picked up by a safety boat. The remaining team members, if they so desire, may continue on with the race but must immediately seek the assistance of the nearest safety boat and advise a race official of the location that the team member or members were left. When a team member or members leaves a team under the above circumstances, he or she will not be permitted to rejoin their team during that day's course of the race but upon clearance by race officials and race medical personnel will be allowed to rejoin the team for the next and remaining days of the race.

21. All team members and sponsor representatives must exercise the highest degree of sportsmanlike conduct at all times. All race officials and volunteers must be shown respect and their directions followed at all times.

22. The race committee reserves the right to change the above rules and conditions to meet any unforeseen safety or other conditions that threaten the safe and uninterrupted completion of the race.

23. Individual and/or team disqualification can occur for violation by any team or team member of any of the competition rules and conditions. Any team or team member found in violation of the competition rules and conditions and is disqualified by the race committee will forfeit any and all station prizes won prior to disqualification and not be allowed to continue the race. All decisions concerning rule violations and disqualification are the within the sole parameter of the race committee.

24. Any team wishing to lodge a formal complaint or protest concerning the actions of another team or of a race committee decision or action must do so to a race official as soon as possible after the incident concerned occurs.

25. Decisions regarding any and all complaints or protests are within the sole parameter of the race committee and will their decision will be considered final.

26. Any logistical problems, safety concerns, rules violations or other matters of concern encountered during the race must be reported to a race official as soon as possible.