Ruta Maya River Challenge 2001: bigger than ever - 03/08/01 06:04 PM
Seventy-five teams have registered to compete in this year's La Ruta Maya River Challenge up to midday Wednesday.
The race committee is optimistically hoping for as many as a hundred teams to enter this year's race.
Almost a quarter of the registered teams are foreigners, hailing from as faraway as Europe, the United States, and Canada.
Up to Wednesday many of the teams could be seen practicing at various points along the river, flexing their muscles to ready themselves for the challenge.
The winners' Kinich Ahau trophy is held by the sponsor of the winning team each year to be proudly displayed for a year, or until it is won by another team. No team has ever won the Challenge for two consecutive years.
In the professional category, attention will be focused on those who are considered the five strongest teams: Koop Sheet Metal, Black Rock Lodge, Chaa Creek, Builders Hardware, and Pine Lumber. Both the Builders Hardware and the Pine lumber teams have imported professional canoes made of Kevlar, the lightweight plastic material used in bullet proof vests.
Chaa Creek team built their canoe in Belize, under the guidance of a professional race canoe designer who custom designed the craft for this year's competition.
Mr. Elvin Penner of Koop Sheet Metal has followed in the footsteps of his uncle, Meno Penner, Penner has also designed and built his team's canoe. Elvin told Reporter, "I have taken time to design the canoe because I like the race, and I will do everything to have a winning advantage.
"I do not think that an imported canoe is better than the ones I have built. The design was taken from a canoe my uncle Meno used in the first La Ruta Maya with his BICO team. I have studied the race and the canoes used since, and now I made this canoe entirely of cedar, increasing the size and flexing the design just enough for me to say we might really have the winning canoe in our camp this year."
Penner has also made three other canoes of the same size and design from fiberglass, which will be used by the Belize Bank team, the One Barrel Team and the defending amateur champions from Sacred Heart College.
The canoe's design by Penner can be purchased after the race by anyone interested.
The British Army Support Unit Belize (BATSUB) will be keeping the time for the race ensuring a fair chance for all participants.
The La Ruta Maya River Challenge is the brainchild of Luis Garcia of the Belize Community Service Alliance. Garcia, in a combined effort with Big H Enterprise, which was promoting Vida Purified water, and Gary Ayuso of the Reporter, organized the first race in 1998 to promote the conservation of the river.
Luis Garcia said, "We have certainly come a long way, we have certainly experienced the good and bad sides of being involved, but we have overcome obstacles and are pleased to present another even grander event this year. This year as a part of keeping with the race's commitment to the environment, the River Keepers will be monitoring and taking samples of the water quality, the erosion problems along the entire river bank from San Ignacio to Belize �ity, and a Bird Count will also be taking place. This however does not take any precedence over the 300 or so participants of the race. Both aspects of the race compliment each other."
This year, with all the professional canoes and the locally-designed canoes, teams are expected to beat the current record of 22 hrs. 1 min. 15 secs. achieved by the Cheers team in 1998.
All villages and communities along the river are asked to support the racers as they pass by, and all other boats are asked to give way to the paddlers on their quest for glory.
The race committee is optimistically hoping for as many as a hundred teams to enter this year's race.
Almost a quarter of the registered teams are foreigners, hailing from as faraway as Europe, the United States, and Canada.
Up to Wednesday many of the teams could be seen practicing at various points along the river, flexing their muscles to ready themselves for the challenge.
The winners' Kinich Ahau trophy is held by the sponsor of the winning team each year to be proudly displayed for a year, or until it is won by another team. No team has ever won the Challenge for two consecutive years.
In the professional category, attention will be focused on those who are considered the five strongest teams: Koop Sheet Metal, Black Rock Lodge, Chaa Creek, Builders Hardware, and Pine Lumber. Both the Builders Hardware and the Pine lumber teams have imported professional canoes made of Kevlar, the lightweight plastic material used in bullet proof vests.
Chaa Creek team built their canoe in Belize, under the guidance of a professional race canoe designer who custom designed the craft for this year's competition.
Mr. Elvin Penner of Koop Sheet Metal has followed in the footsteps of his uncle, Meno Penner, Penner has also designed and built his team's canoe. Elvin told Reporter, "I have taken time to design the canoe because I like the race, and I will do everything to have a winning advantage.
"I do not think that an imported canoe is better than the ones I have built. The design was taken from a canoe my uncle Meno used in the first La Ruta Maya with his BICO team. I have studied the race and the canoes used since, and now I made this canoe entirely of cedar, increasing the size and flexing the design just enough for me to say we might really have the winning canoe in our camp this year."
Penner has also made three other canoes of the same size and design from fiberglass, which will be used by the Belize Bank team, the One Barrel Team and the defending amateur champions from Sacred Heart College.
The canoe's design by Penner can be purchased after the race by anyone interested.
The British Army Support Unit Belize (BATSUB) will be keeping the time for the race ensuring a fair chance for all participants.
The La Ruta Maya River Challenge is the brainchild of Luis Garcia of the Belize Community Service Alliance. Garcia, in a combined effort with Big H Enterprise, which was promoting Vida Purified water, and Gary Ayuso of the Reporter, organized the first race in 1998 to promote the conservation of the river.
Luis Garcia said, "We have certainly come a long way, we have certainly experienced the good and bad sides of being involved, but we have overcome obstacles and are pleased to present another even grander event this year. This year as a part of keeping with the race's commitment to the environment, the River Keepers will be monitoring and taking samples of the water quality, the erosion problems along the entire river bank from San Ignacio to Belize �ity, and a Bird Count will also be taking place. This however does not take any precedence over the 300 or so participants of the race. Both aspects of the race compliment each other."
This year, with all the professional canoes and the locally-designed canoes, teams are expected to beat the current record of 22 hrs. 1 min. 15 secs. achieved by the Cheers team in 1998.
All villages and communities along the river are asked to support the racers as they pass by, and all other boats are asked to give way to the paddlers on their quest for glory.