Volunteer’s kayakers needed May 1 for Ford Ironman triathlon

I’m hoping you’ll help me get the word out to the Grand Canyon family about an upcoming opportunity in St. George on May 1st. I’m a member of the local SAR dive team and as such we are responsible for surface support, via divers and kayaks, at all the local triathlons–usually 3 per year. This year is the first year that St. George will hosting the Ford Ironman triathlon on May 1st. In the past, I’ve been fortunate in finding enough paddlers locally to cover the events, but that won’t be possible for a competition this size–hence, the shout out.

As captain of the kayak section of surface support, I’m looking for a minimum of 50 volunteers. Presently, I have roughly 20 volunteers (none that I know!) and 99% of them have very little time in/on a kayak. I need to find some solid boaters for this event.

The start of an Ironman is impressive. There are two start times; the first are the pros–70 athletes followed 15 minutes later by everyone else–2500 athletes! Chaos for the first 75 to 100 yards of the swim. This is where I need some strong paddlers who can move boats in less than ideal conditions. Kayaks and stand up paddle boards will be stationed throughout the 2.4 mile course and will be first line support to the athletes. Motor boats and jet skis will be secondary.

For anyone interested please go to www.sgcity.org and click on the Ironman link and then the “volunteer” tab at the top. There are many areas besides kayaking where volunteers are needed and people can list three choices on the site. Volunteers will contacted via the captain over each specific area with more info.

Thanks so much!

Michael Caifa

 
Keywords: Ironman, volunteer, Ford Ironman triathlon, kayak