River Games 2009 Recap
Our first annual River Games event, co-sponsored by Quest Watersports and Chicago MasterCraft, was met with a spectacular, sunny, 80 degree September day. Participants numbered in the hundreds – out for pulls behind MasterCraft boats, camping, food, fun, and an end-of-day “Air and Water” show.
The die-hards arrived Friday evening and either camped on site at Heritage Harbor, stayed in the marina on their boats, or lived it up aboard a luxury cruiser via Heritage Harbor’s “Boat and Breakfast” program. Ski, wake and surf coaching and pulls were the main activity thorough the afternoon on Saturday – along with great food & beverages provided by Crawdad’s Bar & Grill. The day’s activities were launched from a floating platform anchored off Heritage Harbor’s east peninsula, which supported a constant flow of participants cycling onto four MasterCraft boats underway throughout the day. The backdrop was a gorgeous, unspoiled stretch of the Illinois Waterway bounded by trees and stone cliffs. Riders young and old enjoyed their outings – whether as first timers new to the sport, or seasoned vets looking to push the envelope just a bit more. A live radio remote, a film crew and a few photographers were all on hand to document the day.
Saturday evening’s emceed show started with parachute drops, closed with some serious double-ups, and included shoreline passes by athletes showing everything in between, from barefoot tricks to wake surfing. After a DJ’d gathering at Crawdad’s, the overnighters stuck around for more great weather on Sunday…
The event wouldn’t have been possible without help from MANY of our friends, including:
· Heritage Harbor Ottawa, for the awesome venue
· Raging Buffalo, for free instruction throughout the day
· Liquid Sports, for showing their wares and providing the riding gear
· Skydive Chicago for the parachute drops
· All-Actionsports.com for promotion, photos and event support
· Many, many volunteers – who helped with just about everything!
Thanks to all for such a great event – we hope to see you next year…!!!
See a few pictures of the day below, and plenty more on Facebook.
