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Kayak, Canoe Challenge Needs Volunteers

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 6, 2008

RIVERVIEW - Organizers of the 10th annual Alafia Challenge - a recreational canoe and kayak race - are working feverishly to line up volunteers, something they are finding in short supply.

"We probably have about 30 by this time, typically," said organizer Karen Wagner. "Right now, we have about 10."

Without volunteers, breakfast doesn't get served, canoes and kayaks don't get moved from vehicle to water and there may not be sponsors to provide sports drinks, water and food for the competitors.

The challenge pits paddlers against each other from Lithia Springs Park in Valrico to the Riverview Civic Center. There are teams of ace racers, leisure paddlers, families and Scouts.

"The economy is so bad right now and everybody's really struggling," Wagner said. "And we're struggling for sponsors."

With about 350 paddlers last year, the Alafia Challenge has become the largest canoe and kayak event in the state. Cutting it down is nearly impossible, she said.

Ron McClain, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, started the event in 1999 with a group of people who would typically gather for coastal cleanups. Although much of that core group remains, times are tough and some businesses that have sponsored the event in the past may not sign on this time, Wagner said.

The group does have commitments from Mosaic Fertilizer, The Tampa Tribune, the law firm of Wagner, Vaughan and McLaughlin and from Dick's Sporting Goods, but many more are needed to provide breakfast and lunch and help defray other costs associated with the race.

The mental and financial struggles that come with a bad economy are all the more reason people need good leisure activities to add to their quality of life, Wagner said.

And they need people committed to making it happen.

The Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department, despite cutbacks, will have people on hand to help with the challenge, said department spokesman John Brill.

"We get a lot of help from the volunteers, but we'll still stage the start and the finish, provide staff for timing and provide litter cleanup and maintenance on both ends," Brill said.

Meanwhile, Wagner said, "We need as many volunteers as we can get at the upcoming meetings." The meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Riverview Civic Center on Park Road in Riverview, Aug. 21, Sept. 18, Oct. 2 and 23 and Nov. 6. The race will be Nov. 8.

To learn more, go to www .alafiachallenge.com.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 865-1566 yhammett@tampatrib.com.

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