On the evening of May 26, 2016, a group of 12 Invitees of the Valhalla Offshore Invitational (hereafter refered to as the VOI) met at Pleasure House Brewery on the North Shore of Virginia Beach. After a brief presentation of the vision for the VOI, this group (who will go down in history as the “Inaugural 12” ) entered a 'lively” discourse on the fundamental rules of the VOI...
Inaugural 12:
Bobby Alverio
Mark Bawcom
Kevin Baum
Chip Boggs
Isa Cohen
Chuck Conley
John Contos
Steve Eudy
Vernon Harrison
Gina Hossen
Bill House
Peter Morgan
...the results of this discourse are as follows:
2016 Valhalla Offshore Invitational Protocols
Scope:
The VOI is a individual time trial event for paddle or hand paddled craft. Each participant logs an un-interrupted run of a minimum of three miles on open salt water in Virginia Beach near shore waters. The run must fall within the event window and will then be uploaded to the VOI group Face Book page for consideration. The winner in each division will be the participant who logs a verified highest average speed on their run.
Participation:
An eligible invitee is any individual that is a member of the VOI Face Book group page. If an interested individual has not been “invited” to this page but would like to be, they need only request addition to the group and upon approval by the page manager, they are then eligible to participate and post a run. Eligible invitees are not “active participants” in the VOI until they post an actual run. Eligible invitees have no culpability to the VOI and are welcome to follow the event and attend any gatherings wether they chose to become an active participant or not.
The VOI Face Book Page:
The VOI Group page is exclusively managed by Valkyrie Downwind whose purpose is solely to disseminate information on, record results of, and provide stoke for the VOI. It IS NOT a paddle meet up page, or instructional and safety resource. These types of pages are a great idea, and the hope is that motivated participants will take it upon themselves to develop all of the above; however, the VOI page is an after-the-fact page. It exists to manage the overall event and post the runs after they happen.
Note: if you create a meet up, event, or group page, please do not use or refer to either the VOI or Valkyrie Downwind in the title to avoid any confusion as to the location of the the main information/content dissemination location.
**Please stand bye for a subsequent blog post that will address safety and responsibility coming out shortly.**
Eligible Waters:
The eligible waters for the VOI (see photos) are the North Atlantic Ocean and Southern Chesapeake Bay from a Southern boundary of 36º 40' 00 N to a northern boundary of 37º 24' 00 N. All inshore waterways, sounds, and rivers are OFF LIMITS for a legal run (see photos). These “off limits” waters may be used for set up of a run but if a submitted GPS track shows passage through the “off limit” waters during the recorded run, it will be invalid. Note: while there is a definitive line that bars the inshore waters to the west and along the North Shore, there is no Eastern boundary in the Atlantic ocean. No submissions from Portugal will be valid. Virginia Beach water only!! Any method of passage for paddler and craft to the start point of a run is valid: auto, boat, airplane etc.
Lower Chess. and Northern ocean limits.
Ocean limits South of Sandbridge.
*It is expected that all USCG and local law will be followed in any passage through the above outlined waters!**
Divisions:
All divisions are unisex and craft length is unregulated.
~ Surf Ski (single or double)
~ Outrigger Canoe (single or double)
~ Prone Paddle Board
~ Stand Up Paddle Board
Window:
May 30 – October 31 2016.
During this window, invitees may submit as many eligible runs as they would like in any or all of the above divisions.
Guidelines for Submission:
To be considered for eligibility, a GPS track and the average speed of a run must be posted to the VOI group page, as well as uploaded to the “files” tab on the page with the submitter's name and date of the run in the title. Runs must be submitted WITH IN 36 HOURS OF RECORDING.
The run will then be considered for legitimacy. In order to be legitimate the run must:
be recorded on an up loadable device/app that allows the reviewer to see the track on a map (exp: MovesCount, Garmin, Strava, MapMyRun etc.),
show the average speed for the run in question,
show no interruption in the recording devices function during the run (e.g. a pause to catch your breath), and
cover AT LEAST THREE CONSECUTIVE miles in distance on eligible event waters.
The technical details of the above validation of runs will be a learning process. There are many different types of devices and soft wear that will provide the required information. It is paramount that the uploaded files be easily judged for viability by ALL PARTICIPANTS. For Example: If a submitted track is six miles long and the submitter wishes to submit a section of three CONSECUTIVE miles within the full track, they must use their chosen software and any description (including the math) to make it easily verifiable.
Note: the intent of the VOI is the capitalization of tide, swell, and wind on the open sea; any evidence of the use of ship or boat wake will cause the run to be invalidated. Usage of a rigged sail is also cause for invalidation.
Emergent Issues:
As the VOI develops through the “open season” any changes or additions to the above protocols will be considered by the Inaugural 12 and promulgated promptly on the VOI group page.