Celebrate, promote and protect the beauty of the Ohio River at the 8th Annual Ohio River Way Paddlefest on Friday, June 26 and Saturday, June 27, 2009. Come to Cincinnati to enjoy two days of paddling, education, entertainment, competition and camaraderie.
Registration for Paddlefest will open in January, 2009. Stay tuned for more news and updates as we draw closer to Paddlefest.
See you in 2009!
The First Annual Great Ohio River Swim, sponsored by the Ohio River Way, Inc, was a great success. Over 70 swimmers ages 13-91 from four states participated in the inaugural 1/2 mile swim from the Serpentine Wall to the Ky shore by Newport on the Levy and back. Race Director Jonathan Grinder and his team from Tuscon Racing managed the timed race. Special thanks to the Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Cincinnati Sail and Power Squadron for patrolling the Ohio which was closed to barge and power boat traffic for the swim. Thanks as well to the 12 life guards from the Cincinnati Recreation Commission who monitored the safety of participants and to the students from the Thomas Moore College Center for Ohio River Research and Education who placed and retrieved our race buoys.
• Story on Cincinnati.Com • Photo gallery on Cincinnati.Com
UPDATE: Race times are now available! Click here for results. Photos below!
Great Ohio River Swim Photos
Click the photos below to view our photos on Flickr. If you're posting your own photos from the Swim to Flickr, be sure to tag your photos "ORWswim" and we'll share them with everyone.
We are very sorry that water quality conditions as tested on Friday by the Ohio River Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) forced us to cancel the inaugural Great Ohio River Swim.
While we still have a few minor details to iron out with the Coast Guard, we are now planning to conduct the Great Ohio River Swim on Sunday, July 27 at Cincinnati's Serpentine Wall.
Click here for more details and how to participate.
You can help us make next year's Paddlefest even better by completing our online survey. We appreciate your ideas and feedback.
More photos have been posted on the Ohio River Way Flickr page. New photos include the 8.2 mile float, The Ohio River Arts & Music Festival and the Kids Ex-Stream Expo. There are still more photos to come, so please keep checking back.
