Festival Operations and Event Logistics, France
Opening Ceremony: Thursday 27 August
1.00 - All teams to be on site.
3.00 - All teams should assemble under the trees. Teams will be located by country and then alphabetically by team, from Argentina first through to USA last. France will walk in last, in the same way as the Olympics.
4.00 - Teams start walking.
4.30pm - Teams are on site.
5.00 - It is expected that all teams will be on the beach ready for the speeches and the awakening of the Dragons, followed by the opening ceremony and festivities.
Race Days: Friday 28 August and Saturday 29 August
Pontoons will be available, with volunteers present to hold the boats.
The start calls will be: “Are you ready? Attention!! GO….” If weather conditions are inclement, this command may change.
Day 1 races are 500 metres; Day 2 races are 200 metres.
There will be two heats and a final each day, for a total of 6 races.
The course will have six lanes and a transit lane.
Boats are CHAMPION brand boats.
The Sandy Smith Finale will be a 200m race, as will the grand final and the flower ceremony.
Payments
Some teams have not paid the bank transfer fee when settling their final accounts. These fees must be paid before registration packs can be collected.
The organisers expect to have an online payment system ready in June for any remaining payments and will communicate this as soon as the system is ready, as they would like to avoid payments being made at registration pack collection wherever possible.
Food
Some of the food options that were initially conveyed have been changed to better suit dietary needs.
Flower Ceremony
Acknowledgement of Metastatic paddlers was introduced at the 2023 IBCPC Festival in New Zealand. The 12 participants that year were memorable, and as at two weeks ago there were 65 registrations for the Metastatic boats that will participate in the flower ceremony. This is currently expected to equate to three to four boats when supporters are included.
Current flower ceremony flotilla expectation: six boats in the Sandy Smith Global Finale; six boats in the grand finale; four boats for Metastatic paddlers; one for VIPs; and one boat of the slowest finalists. This totals 18 boats.
If the organisers choose to add more boats, the additional boats will include one boat of volunteers, one boat for Droles de Rames, and one boat for Ensemble pour Elles, the organising BCS teams of the festival. This would take the total to 21 boats, making it the biggest flower ceremony to date.
All of this remains subject to change if circumstances require it, but it is hoped that this is how it will proceed.
Sandy Smith Global Finale
The organisers will contact each team and advise them to send Claire Fiaschi, one of the France National Representatives, the name of one person per team to paddle in the Sandy Smith Global Finale. This includes 6 drummers and 6 helms, for a total of 132 people. The organisers will share an email address in due course so that names can be sent to Claire.
Registration Documents Pick-Up and Transport
Please remember that accreditation is required to use the transport. Options are currently being considered to ensure that everyone has their credentials before transport is needed, as credentials and registration are required to board the buses. The organisers will advise the best solution in due course, and teams are asked not to contact them at this stage.
Closing Ceremony
Planning is still being finalised, and teams will be advised when the buses will leave the site. At this stage, racing is expected to finish at 6:00 PM, with the flower ceremony as the final on-water element before closure. A buffet and entertainment will follow, so teams may wish to bring clothes to change into on site for the closing ceremony, as there will be significant entertainment after the flower ceremony.
