This is a unique event in southern Missouri that attracts spectators from all around the local area and Midwest. Paddlers will paddle a whitewater slalom course, along with other events such as the downriver race and boatercross. 

After a two-year pause to avoid dealing with the Covid pandemic, the Missouri Whitewater Association (MWA) is pleased to announce the return of our full series of whitewater races on the St. Francis River, near Fredericktown, MO.

We’re planning to host our 55th Annual Missouri Whitewater Championships on the third weekend of March, March 18-20, 2022, at the Millstream Gardens Conservation Area. We’ll hold our 2 ½ mile Downriver race on Friday afternoon, Whitewater Slalom racing on Saturday and Sunday, and Boatercross early Sunday morning. Race classes include canoes, kayaks, and the occasional Stand Up Paddleboard, for men and women. The annual races at Tiemann’s Shut-ins attract competitors from ten states and hundreds of spectators. We will be setting up our race course the week before the race, and of course, as we enter the Spring paddling season, lots of paddlers will be in the Farmington-Fredericktown-Ironton-Arcadia area.

Our event takes nearly 100 volunteers to organize and operate, to cover safety, and judge for the weekend. We like to reward our full-time volunteers and racer-volunteers with a well-deserved  “thank you!” after they have spent so much of their time making this great event happen. As a 501(c)(3) tax- exempt not-for-profit organization, we often rely on the generosity of others, as much as we rely on the generosity of our own volunteers and members.