Get Involved

The organizers are seeking volunteers for the following duties:

Registration: Help racers get registration packets, unload vehicles, answer questions about Yankton and the region, and provide other miscellaneous help or information. Volunteers needed from 5-7 p.m. on Friday night before the race, May 25. We need 5-10 people, depending on the number of racers.

Pre-race set up: Help racers set up for the 7 a.m. starting gun on May 26, Riverside Park in Yankton. Basically helping make sure people are in the right place as the event starts, assisting unsupported crews with their gear, helping out as necessary.Volunteers who can help should show up about 6 a.m. or as soon as they can before 7 a.m.

Checkpoints: The race will have four checkpoints. Staff/volunteers will open the first one before 9 a.m. Checkpoints 2, 3, and 4 will open as the race progresses, and we'll need volunteers at checkpoints to

• watch for racers
• record the racer's number and name
• Help with ice and water
• General duties

We'll have “rolling” checkpoints so racers need not exit their boats, just get close enough so the checkpoint staff can record their information. We also will have ice and water for racers at the checkpoints. Staff at checkpoints can pick one and stay there or leapfrog down river to the finish line if they wish. We'll need plenty of people at all of them and the locations of the checkpoints will be announced, based on water levels.

But we'll need to staff them throughout the race, which goes overnight and ends at 1 p.m. Sunday.

On-water safety/spotters: We enlisted a small armada of boaters who followed our racers in 2010, and had even more set for last year. Open to any powered and non-powered watercraft, we seek fishing, recreation, kayaks, canoes - any craft - who can help provide shepherding to our paddlers and respond if necessary. Key role is communications.

On-land safety/spotters (pictured): We will have some folks at a variety of points to make sure we are attuned to the progress of the racers, these jobs will open/close as the race progresses down the river. Checkpoint staff often designated spotters.

Finish line staff: We'll need about 5-10 people to record the finishes of racers as they cross the finish line at the entrance of the marina at Bev's On The River in Sioux City, and we'll need a few strong volunteers to assist racers in exiting the water and hauling their boats and gear up from the marina to the staging area.

Sign-up to volunteer: