ST. FRANCIS RIVER SITE OF OLYMPIC TRIALS

FREDERICKTOWN -- Missouri Whitewater Championships officials are expecting a record field for events in the annual championships, to be held March 19-20, in the cold waters of St. Francis River, hoping to win the right to compete in the Olympic Games.

The 1993 event will serve as qualification trials for the 1994 Olympic Festival, to be held later this summer.

The Whitewater championships consists of slalom and downriver races.

The downriver races consists of a five-mile timed race through rapids. Slalom races pit paddlers against each others in a competition to negotiate gates hung over the river, with races judged on speed and accuracy.

This marks the first time the Southern Regional Olympic Festival Trials have been held in Missouri. Mary Burrows is vice president of media for the Midwest Foundation for Whitewater Excellence and marketing chair for the Missouri Whitewater Association (MWA).

The two organizations co-sponsor the event. She said Olympic officials chose Millstream Gardens (owned by the Missouri Department of Conservation) because of its outstanding natural beauty and challenging whitewater.

According to Burrows, the competition will take place at Tiemann Shut-ins, a narrow corridor that the St. Francis River has carved into igneous rock. She said the difficulty of the rapids at Millstream Gardens ranges from Class II to Class V, depending on water level. She said Class V is the roughest water considered navigable under the classification system.

"I saw this stretch of water after the heavy rains last November," said Burrows. "It was too wild to even imagine. The area is gorgeous." The stretch of river also has been designated a state natural area.

The race site is surrounded by granite bluffs and boulders, providing a natural amphitheater for spectators. A one-mile hike is required to reach the spectator area. Admission is free but on-site parking and toilet facilities are limited.

Burrows said she expects 50 to 100 kayak and whitewater canoe enthusiasts to take part in the Olympic trials, to be conducted from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. March 19. At stake are spots on the U.S. Olympic Festival Canoe and Kayak Team. Also on March 19, the MWA will hold its 27th annual Missouri Whitewater Championships, expert and masters classes.

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 20, another 75 to 100 canoeists and kayakers will compete in the 27th annual Missouri Whitewater Championships, novice, plastic kayak and decked canoe and open boat classes.

Additional information about the events is available by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Missouri Whitewater Association, 6633 San Bonita Ave., St. Louis, MO 63105, or by calling Burrows at (314) 725-1907. For information about camping, hotels and other accommodations near Millstream Gardens, call the Fredericktown Chamber of Commerce, (314) 783-2604 or the Arcadia Valley Chamber of Commerce, (314) 546-7117.