View our visual guide to race judging at the Missouri Whitewater Championships
Each spring, the Missouri Whitewater Association (MWA), seeks volunteer race judges for the Missouri Whitewater Championships. Judges are needed for the kayak, canoe and SUP slalom races through the rapids of Millstream Gardens Conservation Area on the St. Francis River near Fredericktown.
This year, the slalom races will be held Saturday, March 22 and Sunday, March 23, 2025. No experience is needed. We teach volunteers at our meetings the morning of the race. Volunteers are paired with experienced judges, part of a team stationed throughout the slalom course that will watch and time skilled boaters as they paddle through the rapids and slalom gates (poles hung from overhead wires). Each slalom racer’s score is a combination of time it takes to paddle the course and how successful they were in negotiating each set of gates. Race judges determine the latter. You would be judging the race in one of the most spectacular outdoor locations in Missouri, amid a beautiful springtime setting, and share the weekend with fellow volunteers, many members of the Missouri Whitewater Association, the Sierra Club and/or the STL Canoe & Kayak Club. A complete description of the event and maps are available at the Missouri Whitewater Association Championships page.
ALL JUDGES ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND RACE JUDGE TRAINING THE MORNING YOU WILL BE JUDGING THE RACES. TRAINING SESSIONS ARE AT 8:00 AM SATURDAY & 8:00 AM SUNDAY at the Millstream Gardens Pavilion. Directions will be provided. Free car and tent camping is provided in the group site at nearby Silver Mines Recreation Area on Friday and Saturday nights.
We encourage volunteers to judge for at least a day, which will earn judges a free race t-shirt. If you have questions, you can contact the judging coordinator directly: Jonathan Lehmann at jonathanlehmann@sbcglobal.net.