Do you love speed? And boats? Then you don’t want to miss the inaugural Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees (GLOC) Performance Boat Shootout, presented by Grand Lake Casino, this weekend in Grove.
The event has been designed to bring high performance boat racing to the Grand Lake area and takes place on Friday and Saturday, July 10th and 11th.
And if all goes according to plan, this will become an annual event at Grand Lake that attracts visitors and performance boaters from around the country every summer.
“We’re just so excited to see this come off,” said Linda Little, who along with her husband Ken Little and a committee of volunteers have worked tirelessly to pull of this ‘new to Grand’ event. “It’s going to be amazing!”
About The GLOC Shootout
The GLOC Shootout is a ¾ mile, straight ‘drag’ strip (buoys will outline the course) set up on the lake where boats will run at their top speeds as measured by radar.
The race course is approximately 1,500 feet West of Sailboat Bridge, running in a southwesterly direction toward Weed Island, with a large area for boats to tie up to take in the festivities.
During the races, each boat will make 2 passes through the course. Two radar guns will be used, at different spots on the course, to mark the fastest times to determine who will be the first ever champion of the GLOC Shootout.
Spectators who can’t get out on the water can get a great view of the boats at Grand Lakeside (formerly Royal Bay) where GLOC Volunteers will be helping with parking and directing people to the spectator areas. Access to the viewing at Grand Lakeside is free and there will be food available for the spectators.
Additionally, Eagle’s Landing RV Park (formerly Bears Den) will open up their picnic areas along the lake for spectator viewing. There will be a charge of $5 per car at Eagle’s Landing.
“This is the only shootout in the U.S. that has land viewing for spectators,” said Ken. “This is going to make our Grand Lake event unique.”
Over 30 boats have already signed up for this inaugural event – including Kenny Mungle and his 1991 32-foot Skater “Gone Again” that has been called the world’s fastest 32’ Skater, and Win Farnsworth and his 50-foot “Low Altitude” turbine that just recently won the Desert Storm Shootout at Lake Havasu with a recorded speed of 182 mph.
Several boats from Oklahoma have already entered as well as additional boats from Texas and Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.
If you have a boat and would like to enter the shootout, it is open to everyone – with a limit of 60 participants that will very likely be reached by Friday.
The best thing to do if you would like to enter the GLOC Shootout is call Ken Little at (405) 301-6755 or (918) 964-8031.
GLOC Shootout Schedule
The event kicks off with the VIP Family Fun Night on Friday night, July 10th, at the Grove Civic Center. Vendors and concessions will be available.
The VIP Family Fun Night is free and open to the public, giving you a chance to have an up close look at these awesome boats as well as to meet the drivers and racing teams taking part in the race.
A program book will also be given out, and the books give children (and fans of all ages) a chance to get autographs from the various racers as they mingle throughout the evening.
Saturday’s events begin with a Parade of Boats through the streets of Grove at 8:45 am, winding from the Civic Center to the Wolf Creek Park boat launch.
The radar runs begin at 10:30 am with an exhibition run by Motion 77 and then the competition begins with the official shootout runs beginning at 10:45 am.
The timed runs will conclude at approximately 4 pm and the fun will move back to the Grove Civic Center for a reception from 5 pm to 8 pm with food, beer and wine available for purchase.
At 8 pm will be the “Simply Grand” Awards Ceremony for the participants and that will be followed by a party and dance from 9 pm to midnight with live music from Beacon Drive.
Again…ALL EVENTS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
Please note that the parking lot at the Grove Civic Center is being reserved for the boats and their teams and therefore you will need to park in the lots surrounding the Civic Center, including the adjacent grass lot that is used each September during REC Day.
More To Know About GLOC
On Saturday the 11th – during the GLOC Shootout – officials with the Grand River Dam Authority Lake Patrol have established a “no wake zone” in effect from Sailboat Bridge west approximately ¼ mile past Quarry Rock.
GLOC Safety Boat with banners and GRDA No Wake Markets will be placed on both end of this no wake zone.
Also, streets leading to the Wolf Creek Park boat ramps on 16th Street and 21st Street will be closed to the general public beginning at 8:30 pm Friday and lasting until approximately 6 pm Saturday to allow boats participating in the GLOC Shootout to be launched and recovered safely from the boat ramps. Local traffic will not be impacted.
You will NOT be able to launch a boat at Wolf Creek Park during this time frame.
The organizers of the 2015 Grand Lake O’ the Cherokee Performance Boat Shootout are confident and hopeful that this will become an annual event for Grand Lake.
It is also worth noting that all proceeds, after expenses, will be returned to Grove and Grand Lake area non-profit organizations.
This isn’t just about big boats going fast…it’s about bringing new folks to the Grand Lake area while also giving back to those in need in the region.
For more information, to enter your boat or to volunteer, please contact the event organizers via their website at http://glocshootout.com or email at [email protected].
We’ll see YOU at the 2015 GLOC Shootout!
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