450 Meter race. 3 lanes, held starts

Professional steerspersons will be provided for all boats and all races.

In addition to the steersperson, each team must have one drummer (mandatory) and 20 paddlers. Of those 20 paddlers, you must have at least 8 women. If necessary, a team can race with a minimum of 16 paddlers.

The drummer, if a woman, is not counted as one of the 8 women on the team.

Team members should be prepared to spend several hours at the festival. After the qualifying race, GWN staff take a lunch break while judges seed teams for the semi-final races. All teams will have a waiting period between first and second races. Teams are scheduled in the semi-finals based on their time in the qualifying race. Teams are scheduled in the final race based on their time in the semi-final race.

It is recommended that teams have alternates if crew members have afternoon or early evening activities scheduled that require them to leave at a specific time. Races are run on a strict schedule as efficiently as possible however teams cannot be seeded for the following race until all times are recorded. It is important that all teams understand that this is how the sport works and exceptions can't be made to accommodate teams even in a forfeit situation.

All team captains MUST go to the team check-in area first thing in morning on race day. If you did not receive your wrist bands at a practice session, you will be given wristbands for the team members listed on your roster. These wristbands must be worn all day. Please ensure they are affixed to your wrist snugly so they do not come off in the water while you are racing. No one will be allowed to race without a wristband on.

Medical: The team captain should be aware of any medical issues someone may have on their team. For example…if someone is asthmatic, do they have an inhaler with them and, if so, someone else should know where it is if he or she needs to get it quickly … both for practices and the event. There is a privacy issue. They do not have to tell anyone anything if they do not want to.

The time of each team's first race will be posted on this website one week prior to the Festival.  Teams should plan to arrive at least one hour before their first scheduled race.

Race day runs from 9 a.m. to approximately 4:00 p.m. (Captains' meeting at 8:00 a.m. at the Tremayne Sheter)

Time in between start of each race: approximately 12 minutes

At 9 a.m., four teams in four lanes will race to the Finish Line. At 9:12 the second set of three teams will race, then another three teams at 9:24, and so on until all teams race for the first time. Teams are randomly slotted into their first race. Gateway to Health Challenge teams will first race other Health Challenge teams.

After a team's first race, each team will be placed in divisions according to where they placed in the first race for the Semi Finals.

Results: Captains will find the results of their team’s races (approximately 10 minutes after each race) on the Results Board which will be located at the Tremayne Sheter.

Medals: will be awarded at the conclusion of the races.