Staff writer
Carl Davis and his son, Trey, won first place in paddleboat races Saturday at Marion County Park and Lake, but not without a little controversy.
“It wasn’t a fair win,” said Drew Davis, Carl’s daughter. “At the starting line he was grabbing onto our boat, then pulls us backward and shoots off of our boat.”
Carl denied any foul play, calling the race a “great victory for all mankind.”
“We actually came over in a canoe,” he said. “We thought we were going to do a canoe race, but they didn’t have any other canoes show up, so we jumped in a paddleboat.”
This year’s races included six entries, down from 12 last year.
“This year we feel the numbers are down because the water was so high people were scared, but it’s taken up a lot of enthusiasm for those that are doing it,” race co-coordinator Maggie Nichols said. “The rain hurt us, but those that do it have a ball, and we’ve added some extra races to make it longer.”
Nichols said a single race was the lone complaint from last year’s inaugural event, leading to the addition of an obstacle course and relay race.
A lack of entries prevented the relay race from running.
“Third year’s a charm, and we will hopefully have a good crowd on the bench and in the water next year,” she said. “We’re hoping it won’t rain this much in August again.”