Presidents Message: Spring 2010
2010 is here and the TCRA has evolved into the TCKRA aka. The Texas Canoe and Kayak Racing Association (Mike Drost has volunteered to update our logo). The 2010 calendar is being finalized check the dates and set your calendars, please send in any updates. Category One points races are settled and posted on the web site.
The Town Lake Series is going on in near freezing weather (impressive and thank you John Baltzell). Please go to the web site…… http://tckra.org/……………. and renew your 2010 membership on line or send in to Debbie Richardson, repeating as membership Chairperson in 2010 and adding to her duties by accepting the task of serving as Vice-President for the 2010 season. Grady Hicks will serve as 2010 sec/treas. Much thanks to Mike Rendon for all of his hard work on the web site. He is trying to standardize many of the sections including information updates and race information. Please respond to his requests.
2010 Upcoming:
Spring cleanup. Spring Clean up (March 6th if I am not mistaken). We need a coordinator, Tim and myself are both out of town. Please e-mail me if you will help on this.
USACK Marathon National Championships/World Trials
The TCKRA and the Texas Rowing Center will be hosting the USACK Marathon National Championships/World Trials on Lady Bird Lake on May 22 and 23, 2010. It will be a chance to see some of the best paddlers in the world in head to head competition. This will truly be an athletic event of the highest caliber and it is a chance for all of us to be associated with the tip of the pinnacle. Please try and find the time to preferably race; or contribute some time or at the least come out and watch. This is an excellent opportunity to associate our youth with a great athletic event that will show them the end product of hard work and dedication.
For more information contact John Baltzell e-mail
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John Mark and Erin have been working hard to have the Club take possession and make available to our youth and others a fleet of training boats (K1, K2 k4, ICF C1, ICF C2… in multiple numbers). No decisions have been made as to disbursement, but certainly the opportunity to have boats readily available to our active youth and others in Houston, Austin and other areas will be a big plus. Be thinking about storage areas and how these boats can best serve the interest of the paddling community.
The USCA State Championships have been moved to September to give all a better chance to participate. Frank Gray will be race director, please give him your support.
2010 USCA National Aluminum Championships will take place in Pocahontas, AR on July 3, 2010. http://www.uscanoe.com/2010_USCA_Aluminum_Nationals_W12.cfm
2010 Points Program
The points program will continue to be administered as written on the web site. There is a need to clarify the following:
All racers are eligible for the Category One awards (Upper Tier or more experienced) just by participating. If you have won a Category One Division; or Win it in the current racing year; or you self-declare yourself as a Category One Racer –you are not eligible for Category Two Awards even if you have the highest point total in Cat. Two that same year that you win your first Cat. One Division. You will be awarded the Cat One Championship that year and will not be eligible for Cat Two Awards.
As the Category One Division gets populated with winners and experienced paddlers it will be harder to capture the category one awards.
Web Site
Take advantage of the web site. Our membership tracking is in place, on line registration is functional and the data base is up to date and being transferred to the membership list on the web site. We should be able to eliminate past confusion and tracking errors that frustrated all of us (apologies to a patient Zeek family).
John Mark is working to help establish the web site as a broad resource library full of educational river paddling, safety and other general useful information, including short video clips on paddling and other river skills. Bob Spain has agreed to assist on a single blade video lesson and challenges others to step forward. Please forward to John Mark any helpful ideas.
2011 USCA Aluminum Nationals
The Club is making a bid to host the 2011 Stock Aluminum National Championships. The tentative date will be late September 2011 and if the bid is accepted we will hold the race on the Colorado River,on the Bastrop Course.
The 2010 Board elections took place and the following individuals have volunteered to serve. Please give them your support. We will be posting their updated contact information on the web site.
- Debbie Richardson - Vice President
- Grady Hicks - Secretary Treasurer
- John Baltzell
- John Mark Harris
- Tommy Yonley
- Frank Gray
- Jay Daniels
- Bob Spain
- Tim Curry
- Pete Binion - President
- Alternates:
- Bruce Trainum
- Jim Pye
2010 Committe Chairs and Race Directors:
Membership Chairperson: Debbie Richardson
Newsletter: Jay Daniels
Conservation Committee Chairperson: Tim Curry
State Aluminum Race Director: Bob Spain
USCA State Championship Race Director: Frank Gray
Co- Race Directors ICF State Championships: Erin Magee/John Baltzelll
Points Facilitator: Lee Deviney
Needed: 2009 Banquet Chairperson