PRE-OLYMPICS CONTESTS ARE SLATED FOR KAYAKERS

Millstream Gardens Conservation Area on the St. Francis River near Fredericktown will be the place to be March 18 and 19 when qualifying competition is held as part of the process to select a whitewater canoe and kayak team for the summer Olympics in Australia.

Between 100 and 200 competitors from across the country are expected for the midcontinent qualifier, one of the final-four qualifying events during the selection process. Winners from the Missouri competition and competitions in California, Texas and North Carolina will compete in finals April 6 through 9 on the Ocoee River in Tennessee. The best in that competition will represent the United States in Australia.

The Missouri Division of Tourism, which is promoting the St. Francis competition, expects as many as 5,000 spectators. There could well be more since it is being held in conjunction with the 33rd annual Missouri Whitewater Championships. The Missouri Whitewater Association, which has about 400 members, was instrumental in getting the event to come to the Fredericktown area.

The competition will be held along a 200-yard stretch of the river that features a drop of 20 to 30 feet. Twenty-five gates through which canoeists and kayakers must maneuver will hang over the course. That stretch of the river is lined on either side by large boulders, where spectators will gather to watch the competition.

Whitewater events are held annually along the same stretch of river and draw good-sized crowds. But those audiences will be nothing like the turnout expected March 18 and 19. The competition, which will be exciting to watch, will provide an economic boost to the Fredericktown area.

The event hinges on ample rainfall between now and the weekend of the competition. The St. Francis in that area fluctuates wildly, and without enough rain the river might not be high enough to provide the rapids needed for the competition. In that event, the competition would be postponed until March 25 and be held at Six Flags Amusement Park's Thunder River in Eureka.

Here's hoping the weather cooperates and the competition can be held as planned, because the competition promises to be fun and thrilling.