2009 Lake Henault Endurance Challenge
Where: Mandeville, Quebec Canada
When: June 27, 2009

On June 27th 2009 was held the 7th edition of the “Lake Henault Endurance Challenge” in Mandeville, Quebec (Canada). This event, hosted by André Rocheleau and his wife Pascale Damato, was the season opener for the 17 Quebec barefooters who participated this year.

As usual, there was a party atmosphere with live DJ (Jet-7) and announcer & commentator (Jean Lafrance).

The event consists of 2 rounds of endurance barefooting with the boat, a 1999 Malibu Sportster LX, going in a circle pattern. It takes about a minute per lap depending on the skier’s speed to give an idea. The times from the 2 rounds are added up and bonus seconds are given for a few basic tricks such as:

10 seconds for a flying dock start
15 seconds for a tower start (approx. 15 feet)
20 seconds for a tumble turn (only 1 per round is permitted)
10 seconds if you wave to the crowd (only 1 per round is permitted)
The footer is allowed to sit down to rest or cross waves once for a maximum of 5 seconds. Skiers who decide to ride backwards have their time count for double. The order of the first round is a draw and the second round order is depending on the results from the first round where the best times (bonuses included) ski last.

Pork and beef roasts were roasted on a rotating skew over a wood fire during the event and served for diner accompanied with Barefoot wines that were generously sponsored by the company.
 

A special thanks to the organizers, André Rocheleau and Pascale Damato and all of the sponsors for without them none of this would have been possible. Hope to see you all next year!

Sponsors: Barefoot Wines, Michel Lambert, Caisse Populaire Desjardins – Brandon, Rocheleau Labranche & Associates, Hôtel-Resto St-Charles, Group Desnoyers, In-X-Tremis, Jet-7 Productions, Gingras-Moïse Insurance, Pepsi, Gaston Contant, Labatt, J'M Sports - St-Gabriel, Lapointe Sports, Garage Pierre & Pierre, Leclerc and IGA Tellier.

If you would like to see more pictures of the participants in action, I invite you to visit Daniel Sr Larivière’s Flickr gallery at the following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielsrlariviere/sets/72157620901616087/

If you would like more information on future races, you may contact me by email at danieljrlariviere@yahoo.ca or PM me on the BarefootCentral.com Forum under 1FootDan.

This year’s battle for first place was pretty much the same as last year’s but with a different outcome. Benjamin Guay-Lafrance took first place, followed by Patrick Baril and myself (Daniel Jr Lariviere) in third.

Here is a short video that sums up the event.
Click Here for Video

2009 Lake Henault Endurance Challenge Results

After the endurance competition, there was time for a 1 on 1 challenge just for fun. In semi-finals, it was Benjamin Guay-Lafrance, Patrick Baril and first time competitor Nelson Grenier. Benjamin and Patrick made it to the finals where they tied for first place. They both fell at the same time Freestyle style while attempting a long-line roll-over one another in front of the crowd.