FGPC Wetdashe - Fairway Gorge Paddling Club - Outrigger, Dragon Boat, Kayak, SUP

Welcome to the 13th annual FGPC Wetdashe, 16-17 November 16 2024

Location: Fairway Gorge Paddling Club (FGPC), 2940 Jutland Road, Victoria BC

Race Distance: Three distances to choose from: 12km (4-Lap Short Course) OR 24km (8-Lap) OR 48km – 16 lap (running concurrently based on advance crew registrations for one of these three distances).

Race Categories: Classic women’s and/or mixed (no less than three women must be in the canoe at any one time); or exhibition crews (e.g. all-male crews or crews with over-quota males) can register and race along with mixed crews with results logged in the “exhibition” category.

THIS IS A “DRY” CHANGE RACE, which means 6-person crews hotswap on the dock with their team mates at the end of each lap. Dock-change times are included in your team’s aggregate time, so efficient changes get the best results.

Boats: Both Spec & Ultralight options are available. FGPC’s outrigger fleet of boats is supplied to registered teams by FGPC. Ultralight requests are alloted to 48km racers and will be considered based on experience and proficiency with ultralight canoes. Spec hulls will be assigned to 12km and 24km distance racers. Spec and ultralight results will be calculated separately. Grid assignments/start positions may change on race days. Boat allocations will be confirmed on race day.

Grid assignments/start positions may change on race day.
Boat allocations will be confirmed on race day.

Registration:

Registration fee is $45 per paddler (including GST)

Tech racing shirts are included in the registration fee with sizing available on a first-rostered, first-served basis.

Want to go faster? Get your community to support you by supporting a great cause, the BC Cancer Foundation!

Competitive advantages are available for a good cause through the “Make Every Second Count” Wetdashe Men’s Health Fund, managed by the BC Cancer Foundation. Competitors and supporters can help Wetdashe 2024 teams “make every second count.” This year’s 13th anniversary Wetdashe Challenge encourages racers to invite friends, family and team supporters to participate by contributing pledged donations to the BC Cancer Foundation. Donations “add speed” to teams’ results by reducing finish times based on donations received. For every $10 donated to the Wetdashe Men’s Health Fund, a 1-second advantage is added to the scores of chosen teams. Please join individual and cohort athletes and their supporting communities across BC to “make every second count” for men’s health. Contribution instructions for pledges and time credits (1 second per $10 dollars) will be provided to participants once their registrations are confirmed.

Money raised through supporters’ pledges is directed to the BC Cancer Agency’s research and clinical development of “PSMA prostate scanning technology,” an advanced prostate cancer diagnostic that results in better outcomes men affected by prostate cancer.

Donations open in the Fall of 2024

Race Formats

CHEVRON 12km: Short Course 12km (4 x 3km laps) running concurrently with 24km & 48km in spec boats (Advantage or Mirage hulls)
WALRUS 24km: Long Course 24km (8 x 3km laps) running concurrently with 12km & 48km in spec boats (Advantage or Mirage hulls)
IMPERIAL 48km: Ultra-long course 48km (16 x 3km laps) spread across either one full day (Saturday OR Sunday), with ultralight hulls provided to registered crews

Race Rules

Crews are comprised of classic mixed and/or women’s crews (minimum of 3 women the boat at all times) or as “exhibition” for non-classic mixed combinations (e.g. more than 3 men in a boat); note that roster compliance is mandatory for the sake of fair play. Spares are permitted by means of advance registration and supplementary payments (which include tech race shirts if ordered before 1 November)

Start crews will be released at 30-second intervals from held positions on the dock.

Steerspersons’ meetings as well as race course review and rules-of-racing will be reviewed before the start of each heat.

A detailed race map will be provided to registrants in their information packages. Full crew changes must occur on the dock after each lap; pre-assigned paddlers will be required to pass the baton to his or her replacement seatmate after each lap. Paddlers can race sequential laps if desired, but must still exit and re-enter the boat at each change.

Water marshals will be stationed at each buoy, and dock attendants will be at each dockside loading station to direct canoe traffic / loading; time penalties (10 seconds to 1 minute) will be assessed for teams who do not follow water and dock marshal instructions.

13th-Anniversary Wetdashe Paddling Shirts

Each registered team’s paddlers will be provided with “tech” 13th-anniversary Wetdashe paddling shirts, with pre-ordered sizing or assigned sizing based on roster numbers (and depending on if you provided sizing before production deadline). Shirt sizes and numbers will be requested after the team is registered. FGPC will not provide shirt exchanges or race shirt returns, but crews can arrange to swap shirts between paddlers as they wish.

Registration and roster submission must be completed no later than one month before the event in order to ensure race shirt sizing and numbers. Registrations closer to the event date will include a selection of race shirts but sizing is not guaranteed.

PFDS MUST BE WORN DURING ON THE DOCKS AND IN THE BOATS AT ALL TIMES

Each registered team’s paddlers will be provided with FGPC tech-fabric paddling shirts, with pre-ordered sizing or assigned sizing based on roster numbers (and depending on if you provided sizing before the deadline of 1 November). FGPC will not provide shirt exchanges or race shirt returns, but crews can arrange to swap shirts between paddlers as they wish.

Results will be based on total accumulated time, but lap times will be published after the event. Awards and prizes will be distributed after each heat. Prizes will be allocated by random draw.