Sunday, April 14th, 2013 is the official date of the 41st Annual Raisin River Canoe Race, Eastern Ontario’s longest canoe race. An annual rite of spring in the region, that will see hundreds of paddlers winding their way down the Raisin River, from St. Andrews West to Williamstown. The race annually attracts canoe and kayak enthusiasts from across Ontario and Quebec, with hundreds of spectators lined up along the 35km route.

Everyone is invited to participate, starting with a pre-race breakfast hosted by the Knights of Columbus Council 10416, at the St. Andrews Parish Hall from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon. The cost is $6.00 per adult or $3.00 for children 12 and under.

Registration will take place at the St. Andrews Catholic School starting at 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The cost to participate in the event is $35.00 per canoe/kayak. New this year is online registration, visit www.rrca.on.ca to register ahead of time. The starting gun will fire at 10:30 a.m. sharp!

Canoe rentals are available by contacting Jenda Paddlesports @ 613-826-0922 or info@jenda.com

Classes include Pro, 17 Foot Open, Men’s Rec, Woman’s Rec, Mixed Rec, Adult/Youth, Student (men’s, women’s and mixed) and Kayak. A trophy will also be awarded to the high school or intermediate school with the most participants.

The finishers’ banquet will be held in Williamstown, at Charlan Recreation Centre from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. where the medals will be awarded at the end of the day. A spaghetti dinner will be served during the banquet which is open to the public.

The Raisin Region Conservation Authority would like to thank this year’s local business sponsors for their support! We are pleased to have Williamstown Mini Storage as our platinum sponsor, John Warden Fuels as our Gold sponsor and Kayak-ity-Yak and Saturn Power as our silver sponsors.

If you don’t intend to paddle in the race itself, you are encouraged to cheer the paddlers on at one of the many points along the beautiful Raisin River.

For more information, please contact Lissa Deslandes, at the RRCA at 613-938-3611 or at info@rrca.on.ca