Jet Ski Championships Are Planned in St. Ignace in Aug.

St. Ignace's shoreline near American Legion Park will be the site for the seventh and final round of the Midwest Watercross Tour August 18 and 19. A cardboard boat race will also be held for spectators during the two-day event.

Nearly 100 personal watercraft professional racers from the Midwest and Canada are competing for the tour championship and qualification to the national and world watercraft tournament, to be held in Nashville, Tennessee, August 31 through September 2.

People can watch from American Legion Park or from boats in the bay during the Straits Area Water Sports Weekend. Admission is free.

It will be the second consecutive year that St. Ignace will host the tour. Last year, St. Ignace was the second-to-last stop for the tour. This year, competitors will race in Hillsdale for the first two rounds, Algonac for round three, Harbor Beach for round four, Celina for rounds five and six, before heading to St. Ignace to wrap up the tour.

Often described as "moto-cross racing on the water," these events pit up to 18 racers against each other on 1,000-foot-long by 800- foot-wide race track of tight turns and straight-aways. In some classes, racers must also negotiate obstacles and log jumps on the race course. A rubber band starting system is used to control the start of each race.

For the Cardboard Classic boat races, participants will be given cardboard and one roll of duct tape to build a boat. Participants will then compete in a race in the water close to shore. Entry fees and prizes have yet to be decided. Competition is for all ages.

Coordinating the two-day event is Marianne Huskey, a member of the St. Ignace City Recreation Advisory Committee. Sponsors for the event are Kewadin Casinos, St. Ignace Visitors Bureau, and Quality Inn in St. Ignace.