The Jet Skis Are Coming!

For the second consecutive year, the East Coast Watercross Tour comes to Opechee June 5-7.

East Coast Watercross brings closed-course personal watercraft racing sanctioned by the IJSBA (International Jet Sports Boating Association). Riders will compete in 15 or more classes comprising different watercraft types, ages, and skill levels.

Shawn Dudek, owner of ECW, was born and raised in Laconia. His wife is a local, too, and his daughters attend Laconia schools. His brother owns a house on Opechee. He shares this to illustrate that he and ECW "care about this area and our lakes and are excited to bring an awesome event like this to our area and to show off our beautiful city to our racers and their crews and family members while they are in town spending money in our area."

In addition to safety checks, all watercraft will be subject to "Lake Host Inspection" before being placed in the water. Participants are required to adhere to ECW's "Aquatic Invasive Species Protocol," which includes hot water cleaning, inspection, and proper draining of watercraft. All fueling will take place in a designated area using bottom-spout safety fuel containers.

The program begins on Friday, June 5th, with racers registerng begining at 11:00 AM and practice time from Noon to 4:00 PM. Practice begins again at 9:00 AM on Saturday, followed by racing getting underway at 10:00 AM. Again on Sunday, practice begins at 9:00 AM, and racing action continues until approximately 3:30 PM, followed by awards.

The course for this year's races is expected to be essentially the same as last year's, shown here. The Point at Opechee Park should offer excellent viewing for spectators.

Spectators can also watch the races from the water, but be sure to leave plenty of space and to follow the direction of race officials.