Sports

Fletcher third, Hendersonville fourth in river race

By Bill Moss, Published: August 20, 2012

The city of Asheville paddled to victory in the annual Mayors' Cup Raft Race on Sunday at the French Broad River Park in Asheville.

Finishing a close second was the team from Buncombe County, followed by the town of Fletcher in third, city of Hendersonville in fourth, the city of Brevard in fifth and the town of Montreat in last place. WLOS meteorologist Jason Boyer emceed the event and Huck Finn Rafting Adventures of Hot Springs provided the equipment.

The purpose of the race is to acknowledge the importance of the French Broad River as a cultural, economic, natural, and recreational resource. Sponsored by Pepsi and hosted by Land-of-Sky Regional Council, the Mayors' Cup features city and county teams from Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania counties. Together, the four counties comprise the upper French Broad River basin.

"Although the teams are competitive, the Mayors' Cup is a fun and good spirited event. It focuses attention on the river. A lot of work has been done over the past three decades to clean up the river and make it suitable for recreational activities such as rafting and canoeing," said Bill Eaker of the Land-of-Sky Regional Council. The city of Asheville's team will hold the coveted Mayors' Cup trophy for the next year. Next year's challengers for the Cup will spend the year in training.