The WWOCD rules call for special recognition of the Overall Winners in the Downriver events for both OC-1 and OC-2 in the Formula 14 and Formula 16 divisions. These awards are for the “fastest of the fast” regardless of the class. The Overall Winners for the 2003 ACA Whitewater Open Canoe Downriver National Championships are the following:
OC-1 F14: David Benner 0:53:42
OC-1 F16: Charlie Brackett 0:56:42
OC-2 F14: Clayton Cole/Paul Cole 0:54:07
OC-2 F16: Jonathon Flatley/Charlie Brackett 0:54:45
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Willis Hackett Memorial Trophy
The Willis Hackett Memorial Trophy is awarded each year to the paddler with the fastest Downriver time in the OC-1 F14 (>40) division. This year the award was presented to:
OC-1 (40-54) F14: David Benner 0:53:42
Youngest Downriver Competitor
A three foot , authentic birch bark canoe has been donated by Neil Phillips to serve as a traveling trophy which is awarded to the youngest WWOCD competitor of the event.
The recipient of the ACA 2003 Downriver Open Canoe National Championship Youngest Downriver Competitor was Todd Boucher. Todd is 11 years old, from Hudson, NH, and he competed in both the OC-2 (10-16/25) Formula 16 Sprint and the OC-2 (10-16/25) Formula 16 Downriver races. Todd won the silver medal in the OC-2 Male (13-15) Formula 16 Downriver race with a time of 0:19:30 and he won the OC-1 Male (10-12) National Championship with a time of 0:22:42.
OC-1 Male (10-12) F16: Todd Boucher 0:22:42
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Special Thanks to the Following:
To the ACA Dixie Division for their support of this national championship event
To Duke Power for providing water releases each day of racing during the event.
To the USDA Forest Service for letting us use their boat launching facilities throughout the event.
To the Nantahala Outdoor Center for providing the facilities for Race Headquarters, registration and award ceremonies for the duration of the event.
To the Nantahala Racing Club for valuable advice on conducting the event, and for the use of their racing bibs and boat inspection stickers.
Notable Performances
Excellent performances were turned in by Clayton and Paul Cole who posted the fastest OC-2 sprint time and the fastest OC-2 downriver time for the event. Additionally Clayton posted the fastest OC-1 sprint time as well. Jonathon Flatley (age 16) teamed up with Charlie Brackett to win two National Championships, first in the OC-2 (10-16/25) class on Monday and then followed it up on Wednesday with a fine race in the OC-2 Men (19-39) class. Charlie won a total of five gold medals, two in Sprint and three in Downriver. Congratulations to Clayton, Paul, Jonathon, and Charlie.
Acknowledgements
The 2003 ACA WWOCD Race Committee extends a special thanks to all the volunteers that made our event possible. All of the competitors who chipped in to help when they were not racing helped to make a difficult job easier and I thank each of them for their efforts. We were fortunate to have a safe, fun, and exciting National Championship event.
Race Committee: Ed Sharp, Lynne McDuffie, Sue Havens, Chris Stec, Carla Bryant, Karla Havens, Charlie Brackett, Kirk Havens, Joe Sharp.
Web Site: Joe Sharp, Kirk Havens
Safety Crew: Chris Stec, Paul and Clayton Cole, Scott Nelson, Chad Nickerson, Keith Havens, T. J. Boucher, Dave Pearce, Bill Deighan.
Race Photos Riley Cole, Mike Watson
T-shirts: Sue Havens, Karla Havens, Zane Havens
Inspection: Ed Sharp, Paul Brown, Keith Havens, Jim Farrington, Kirk Havens, Charlie Brackett
Registration: Sue Havens, Carla Bryant, Ed Sharp
Timing: Sue Havens, Carla Bryant, Jim Hall, Karla & Kade Havens.
Clean-up: Sue Havens, Zakk and Zane, Jim Farrington, Jonathon Flatley, Andrew Deighan
Awards for drawings Nantahala Racing Club
National Champion Shirts William & Lynne McDuffie
Chief Judge: William McDuffie
Jury: Karla Havens, Ed Sharp, Dave Thomas, Scott King, Bill Deighan