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A SPECIAL SECTION DEVOTED TO
LIVING ON LAKE LANIER
LLOV News
Lake Lanier Olympic Venue
Calendar
Lanier Canoe & Kayak Club
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Sept. 8: Hong Kong Dragon
Boat Festival
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Sept. 15: Richardson Racing
League Fun Race
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Sept. 22: Recreational
Program #5 Georgia Canoeing Association. Lanier Racing Series #5
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Oct. 20: Recreational
Program #6, Cold Weather Paddling and Safety
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Oct. 27: Halloween Howl
Lanier Racing Series #6, Fungatta
Lake Lanier Rowing Club
Stories:
Hagler resigns LCKC post
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Dine
under the stars at Taste of Gainesville |
Club presidents
discuss boat ramp issue |
LCKC places second in sprint nationals
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Cultures unite in
Dragon Boat Festival
Hagler resigns LCKC post
By Jane Harrison
Connie Hagler, the seemingly
tireless keeper of the Olympic flame at the Lake Lanier Olympic
Venue, resigned her post as executive director of the Lanier Canoe &
Kayak Club. Her resignation came after 12 years of guiding LCKC from
its formation before the 1996 Olympics to its current status as one
of the leading clubs in the U.S.
LCKC President Jeff Canupp
described the resignation as sudden, although Hagler said she had
pondered it at length. “It has been building for a long time. I
think it’s in the best interest of the club,” said Hagler. She said
she hopes her resignation pushes the club and community to step up
in promoting the Olympic venue toward its potential as a big event
facility, “if that’s what the community wants.”
“I got the call (from Hagler)
two weeks ago,” Canupp said after LCKC made the public announcement
Aug. 29. “I was shocked,” he said. “She feels she’s given all she
can and wants to remain as a member and active as a volunteer.” He
called Hagler’s years of service a “blessing in all ways” and spoke
of her possible role as a board member.
“In my opinion, Connie Hagler is
the essence of LCKC. She made it what it is. She made it a success
and a role model for other clubs,” Canupp said.
Under her leadership, the club
has taught thousands of children to kayak, hosted regional, national
and international competitions and nurtured athletes who are
competing for 2008 Olympic berths. But, Hagler contends her “long
hours and lots of work,” including fixing toilets and fire alarms,
foster “mediocrity” at an Olympic venue that “deserves so much more
than an amateur effort.”
“If all my time is spent doing
what I’m doing, it’s not really going to help the world class venue”
live up to its potential, she said. “It could be a whole lot more.”
She alluded to other venues, such as those in Oklahoma City, Lake
Placid, and Chattanooga, where communities have pumped big money
into developing a hospitality infrastructure to attract national
events.
“We’re not giving up trying to
bring big events,” Canupp said. But, the club can’t go it alone
without “teamwork” between local tourism and commerce bureaus,
governments, and the community. Hagler and Canupp cited huge
economic gains for the area if the venue were to operate at its
potential.
Hagler will remain at her job
through October. Coaches Dave and Devri Robertson will oversee LCKC
programs. “The club is on stable ground,” Canupp said.
Hagler anticipates spending more
time with her husband, Richard. She reflected on her LCKC tenure as
a special opportunity “to change the lives of a lot of young
people.” These include her own children, Ty and Katie, who grew up
to be world class paddlers. “I can’t think of a better way to spend
time with your children than to play at the lake,” she surmised.
(Lakeside plans an in-depth
perspective on Hagler’s tenure next month).
Explore area cuisine, dine under the stars at Taste of Gainesville
By Jane Harrison
The most unique dining
experience on the lake is set for Sept. 22 at the Lake Lanier
Olympic Venue grandstands. The annual Taste of Gainesville,
organized by the Lake Lanier Rowing Club, will feature cuisine from
50 to 60 area restaurants, dinner under the stars and music by local
performers.
The al fresco affair
traditionally attracts 800 to 1,000 diners who sample canapés and
barbecue, crepes and hot wings. It’s an event that draws returning
patrons year after year. Most know that it’s best to get there
early. The gate opens at 6 p.m. The event closes at 9 p.m.
“We have many return diners who
turn this into their monthly supper club dinner and the atmosphere
can’t be beat,” said LLRC member and dinner organizer Ann Marie
Hynes.
Independent and chain
restaurants from Gainesville and nearby cities will be preparing
specialties to serve diners who follow their appetites from booth to
booth, piling their plates before settling down at tables adorned
with flowers and candles on the plaza. Entertainment director Kathy
Mellette said local guitarist Andrew Darrough will be back to sing
and strum easy listening pop tunes. She plans to invite other local
performers to share the stage.
This will be LLRC President
Duane Schlereth’s fifth Taste of Gainesville. “My favorite memory is
last year, looking out over the lake having great food and
conversation with our next door neighbors who attended as our
guests,” he said
He suggested several reasons for
the event’s popularity. It offers a “chance to dine overlooking the
lake with fine music and romantic lights and the chance to try out
new restaurants on a very low cost basis,” he said. He added the
restaurateurs bring great food and enthusiasm.
Tickets are $25 in advance, $30
at the door, $5 for children younger than 12. Ticket sales in
advance are available by calling (770) 287-0077 or (770) 534-0472
(nights and weekends).
Approximately 155 tables are
available. Most accommodate eight diners, but 20 tables will
accommodate 10 diners. To reserve a table the charge is an
additional $5 per person. A table for eight can be reserved for $40.
A table for 10 can be reserved for $50.
Hynes said all proceeds go
toward funding LLRC rowing programs, venue costs, such as power and
water and “hopefully there will be enough left to purchase
additional equipment for club use.”
Club presidents
discuss boat ramp issue
By Jane Harrison
Presidents of the two clubs that
carry on the Olympic legacy on Lake Lanier met in July with other
lake users whose interests seem to collide with those of paddlers
and rowers. Jeff Canupp, of the Lake Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club,
and Duane Schlereth, of the Lake Lanier Rowing Club, left that
meeting somewhat relieved that a spirit of cooperation pervaded.
“When I walked in there I was
scared to death,” said Canupp of his first meeting of the committee
formed by Hall County Commissioner Steve Gailey to sort out
differences among parties using the Clarks Bridge Park boat ramp and
waters near the Olympic Venue. “But I left with a good feeling,”
Canupp said, adding he and a bass fisherman continued to share ideas
for about 30 minutes after the meeting adjourned.
The committee of representatives
from the clubs, anglers and recreational boaters was called to
communicate each group’s needs at the county park, which is part of
the Lake Lanier Olympic Venue. Motor boaters had presented a
petition to the Hall County Commission expressing anger about
closures of the park’s two boat ramps for paddling and rowing
events. Boaters were also displeased with having to slow down in the
no wake zone near the venue.
LCKC and LLRC get permits from
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to close the ramps about a dozen
times a year for large competitions. After anglers and recreational
boaters found the ramp closed two consecutive weekends last spring,
they stopped in at a nearby bait store to swap complaints about
kayakers and rowers. They collected names to submit to the
commission in protest.
The July meeting was the first
time they all talked with each other. Schlereth described the tone
as cooperative. “It was good to hear the various viewpoints and
understand the reasons behind them,” he said. “We stressed that
safety issues were the reason the ramp was closed. We also stressed
that motorboats are still allowed to come through the regatta area.
We just asked for an awareness of the rowers in unpowered boats and
the same type of slow, careful passage that cars use in a school
zone when children are present.”
“Part of the issue is the safety
of our boaters,” Canupp said. He explained that kayaks and canoes
are “so tippy.” Some races at the venue include time trials that can
affect an athlete’s future, he said. A bass boat or PWC ripping by
can douse a competitor’s chance to advance.
Another issue is parking, which
is sure to be a challenge at the Sept. 8 Hong Kong Dragon Boat
Festival, the largest event at the Olympic Venue. The boat ramp will
be closed early that morning before 4,000 people are expected to
crowd the grandstands for the popular celebration.
“That’s a lot of people and a
lot of parking,” Canupp said. The boat ramps will close to prevent
anglers from putting their boats in early and returning to find they
cannot get their truck and trailer out in a parking lot full of
cars.
One idea discussed at the
meeting was the need for better signage, Schlereth said. “We would
welcome the city or county providing larger, more visible signs to
notify the boating public of the upcoming events,” he said. He
suggested signs with a calendar of boat ramp closings and a larger
marquis posting closure dates two weeks in advance.
Schlereth also said it was
suggested that Gainesville-Hall ’96 add community members to the
committee that plans the event calendar to submit to the Corps for
review. “We do not close the ramp because we decide on a whim that
it should be closed. We make application to the Corps and they
approve all ramp closings.”
Both club presidents said they
have been not been notified about another meeting, though it was
collectively decided another is needed. Canupp said he hopes it is
soon. “I don’t want to let what we’ve accomplished lose momentum.”
Attempts were made to contact
Commissioner Gailey and Commissioner Tom Oliver. They did not
respond to phone messages.
LCKC places second in sprint nationals; Olympic hopefuls striving to
qualify
By Jane Harrison
The Lake Lanier Canoe & Kayak
Club placed second to the Seattle host team in the USACK Sprint
Nationals Aug. 14-18. LCKC’s 38 entries scored a total of 427 points
to finish runner-up to the 70-plus strong Seattle squad that won
with 612.25 points.
“We were a fairly small team”
whose members raced well against larger clubs, said LCKC Executive
Director Connie Hagler. Many LCKC paddlers hit their personal best
times, nobody missed their race, and participants were motivated and
excited, she said.
The national competition pits
club teams in bantam, juvenile, junior, senior and intermediate
levels. LCKC paddler Emily Vinson, who raced the previous week in
the Senior World Championships, won Best Junior Woman, garnering
gold and silver medals. LCKC canoeist Ben Hefner earned the top
canoe award.
Hagler said the bantam age
bracket was “huge and very competitive.” The size of this group,
consisting of the youngest competitors, bodes well for the sport,
she said.
Before the home team hit the
water in Seattle, LCKC veterans on the U.S. National Sprint Team
raced in the Senior World Championships in Duisburg, Germany. The
international event indicated that Olympic hopefuls Morgan House,
Tim Hornsby, Emily Mickle and Vinson face tough training ahead to
qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
House finished third in the C
finals in the Men’s K1 1000-meter race in 3:54.896. German paddler
Tim Brabants was the overall winner in 3:40.113.
Hornsby’s K4 200 boat got 9th
place in the A Final in :32.536. Hungary’s K4 boat won the event in
:30.715.
Vinson finished 9th in the
Women’s K1 200 meter B-Final in :44.915. The A final winner, from
Hungary, finished in :40.835.
Mickle’s team boat finished the
K4 200-meter race in :40.87. The event was won by a German paddler
in :35.459.
Two American paddlers qualified
for the USA Olympic Team. Rami Zur, from California, and Carrie
Johnson, from Hawaii, each finished 5th in K1 500 meter A finals.
Athletes face stiff competition
for the chance to compete in the Olympics, barely a year away.
Hagler acknowledged that LCKC paddlers have their work cut out for
them. A record number of paddlers from 142 countries are vying for a
limited number of Olympic slots. Fourteen or fewer entries are
accepted in each event, according to Hagler. The total allotment of
athletes is 246.
Hagler’s daughter, Katie, also
on the U.S. Sprint National Team, is among those keeping the Olympic
dream alive. Hagler, who placed seventh in her event in the Pan
American Games in July, is expected to join the others in spring
qualifying events.
House and Hornsby were slated to
participate in the Beijing Olympic Test Event Aug. 23-26. Their
finishes could boost their Olympic chances.
Cultures unite in
Dragon Boat Festival
By Jane Harrison
A crowd of about 4,000 is
expected for the year’s biggest event at the Lake Lanier Olympic
Venue Sept. 8. The Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, a feat of
cultural diversity, teamwork, and family fun, is projected to fill
the Olympic Venue grandstands and put about 56 teams on the
250-meter Olympic course.
The combination of Chinese
culture and a diverse field of competitors from schools, businesses,
clubs and ethnic communities offers an unique experience on the
lake, according to organizer Gene Hanratty, senior consultant for
the Hong Kong Information Center. “The diversity aspect is the real
key. Dragon boat races themselves are very colorful and exciting
with drums beating and all the people rowing. It’s very visual and
very exciting,” he said.
With 56 teams registered as of
late August, the 13th annual festival event topped last year’s
record of 50. A team from Gainesville High School and a second
Breast Cancer Survivors group are among the newcomers who will
paddle 39-foot boats outfitted with dragonheads and tails. Each boat
holds 22 participants. Twenty of them paddle furiously while a
drummer beats a cadence and steerer directs the boat. Hanratty
describes the contests as recreational team-building exercises, but
he has seen the competition heat up when rivals from businesses,
S.W.A.T. squads and schools meet up at the start.
The action is not limited to the
water. “The emphasis is on entertainment,” Hanratty said. The
grandstands traditionally become a feast of Chinese culture, with
oriental artisans, entertainment and a symbolic ceremony. The dragon
boat racing breaks from noon to 1 p.m. for the opening ceremony
highlighted by the customary “Dotting the Eye of the Dragon.” A
selected paddler or official will brush black paint on a boat’s
dragon eye while a group clad in a lion costume dances for good
luck.
Two Chinese children’s dance
troupes, Laotian dancers, and drummers from the Taiwanese School of
Atlanta are among the performers.
Vendors’ tents will offer an
array of items for sale, from Chinese artistry to water bottles to
shaved ice. Children can frolic on inflatable play mattresses.
The family friendly festival is
“huge,” said Connie Hagler, Executive Director of the Lanier Canoe &
Kayak Club. LCKC has assisted the Hong Kong Information Bureau since
the dragon boat races came to Lanier six years ago from Stone
Mountain. “It is incredibly well-run by LCKC,” Hanratty said. “The
venue is world class. I’ve been around and seen these festivals all
over the U.S. A couple of venues may be as nice as this one, but
there are not any that are better.”
Georgia Tech, Georgia State
University, Georgia Perimeter College, Emory University, Kennesaw
State University, and Agnes Scott College have registered teams.
Georgia Power and SunTrust Bank are among the 30-plus corporate
teams that usually participate. Two teams from the Laotian community
are traditional crowd pleasers with their flamboyant show of spirit.
One of the main goals of the
event is the sharing of Hong Kong culture with the local community,
Hanratty said. Dragon boat racing dates back 2,000 years to the
ancient Chinese kingdom of Chu. A Chinese folk story describes an
attempt by anglers racing to save a much-loved poet and court
minister who threw himself into the Mi Lo River. Too late to save
the poet Qu Yaun, the boaters beat the water with their paddles and
threw rice dumplings to lure the fish away from his body. The failed
attempt to save Qu Yuan is re-enacted each year in Hong Kong and
major metropolitan areas throughout the world in the form of dragon
boat racing.
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