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The men and women's open class has no age restrictions unlike the masters class (men and women) that requires particpants to be age 40 and older.
"If we have enough teams participate in the trial class (age 14-17) it will be made into a championship class the following year," Rickey said.
In addition to the National Canoe Race, Rickey has also helped organize two "Canoeing for Kids" races on the Eleven Point River with all proceeds benefiting Arkansas Children's Hospital.

    At the age of 32, Rickey took his first canoe ride when he received an invitation from his brother, Billy, to join a floating trip from Woody's Canoe Rental to Dalton.
    "One of our main comcerns that day was to avoid a thorn tree that the current would sweep you into," Rickey said. "We were watching for it and was able to avoid it. We had a good trip although the canoe seemed tipsy to me."
     A couple of weeks later an article in the Pocahohtas Star Herald caught his attention of an upcoming canoe race to be held on the Eleven Point River, along with a cnoe racing clinic to be held at the Black River. Rickey invited his brother-in-law, Tony Eubanks, tobe his teammate in the race and the duo began training for the big event.
     "He had never been in a canoe and I had only been once, so we thought it might be a good idea if we went to the clinic,' Rickey said.
     The clinic was instructed by Joe Brashears, Beorge Baldwin and Tim Potter who taught the basics of camoeing such as how to sit in the canoe to keep it level, paddling in unison along with how to construct a drinking system by use of a flexible hose to allow them to get a drink with no interuption to their paddling.
     "It was a five mile race and we managed to win the Novice Class, even though about half way dawn the river a strong eddy caught us and spun us around backwards," Rickey said. "We had borrowed a cane that was badly dented on the bottom, but we had a lot of fun."

In the years that followed, Rickey's canoe racing would allow his family many opportunities to travel, and bonding time with sons, Cody and Casey.
"I've really enjoyed racing with my sons," Rickey said. "One of the shortest races, just over three miles, that we do is held the first of May on the Mississippi River at Memphis. It begins in the mouth of the Wolf River and go immediately ito the Mississippi, then under the I-40 bridge and into Memphis Harbor by Mudd Island."

     The annual race always draws "several hundreds" participants. Rickey said he had "managed" to win the race a couple of times with each of his sons.
     Many of the Rickey family's vacation time revolved around canoe racing, such as in 2002 when they visited the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, Niagara Falls, Canada and the Great Lakes. Included in the vacation was a 70-mile canoe race - Rickey's longest run to date. the race turned into a family affair with son Cody serving a s Rickey's canoe partner while Rickey's wife, Judy, and son Casey serfving as pit crew.
     "A race this long rquires a pit crew to meet up with you about every tow hours to replace water jugs and bring some food which is usually power bars and bananas with Ibuprofen inside. "Rickey said. "The Ibuprofen helps ease the pain you have from sitting so long."
      To prepare for a race of this magnitude, Rickey and sons underwent approximately 100 hours of training. "We were told we needed this much of training so in order to get that many hours in we had to paddle agter dark with a flashlight taped on the front of a conoe,'' Rickey said.
"We paddled five miles upstream on Black River to Current River and then back. This gave us about two hours of training."
      On Saturdays the same course was completed, twice, and b y the time of the big Memorial Day race, the Rickey's had completed over 90 hours of training. The big race began at 8 a.m. on a small lake in Cooperstown, New York. The 70-mile course consisted of three dams in which the duo had to "get out of the river" and carry the canoe around.
      "We learned our training was good for about six hours of paddling,"Rickey sid. "It took us just over eight hours to finish. Those last two hours the pain from sitting was excoriating."
      Rikey said he and Cody had elected to race in the Top Class, therefore, went into the race with no expectations of winning.
      "We were ahead of several teams until we flipped the canoe at the last pit stop, just before the finish,"Rickey said,"It was a great experience with my family."

For the past three years, Rickey has served as advisor for Venture Crew 455, a local canoe racing team for ages 14-20. Venture Crew is a branch of the Boy Scouts of America, however,both male and female are allowed to be members. Each year, since forming . Rickey's youth teams have particpated in the annual three-day 120-mile relay canoe face on the White River from Bull Shoals State Park to Batesville. In addition to canoe race, the nature lovers participate in other events such as hiking, camping or swimming.

Throughout his 22 years of canoe racing Rickey has had to contend with thunderstorms which he said"makes you paddle faster," heat, in the excess of 100 degrees, shallow water (on one occasion padded for 21 miles in 6-to-12 inches of water), huge rocks, limvs, waves from wind, ski boats, Jet skis and barges. And one cannot forget the drunks on inner tubes that always say,'hey,are you racing?' There have been snakes on limbs hanging over the water,bugs, and mosquitoes and abiting flies. And on one occasion, alligators were spotted prior to a bayou race just south of New Orleans.
"I have traveled an estimated 2500-to-3000 miles by canoe," Rickey said. "I guess some people would say I'm crazy while others world say I must love canoe racing. I would just say as Forrest Gump would,' I like it A LOT?"