Second annual rock skipping event holds special meaning
It was a special day, made more intense by the presence of Ken Avison, home and recovering from a recent double-cancer treatment, to celebrate the dawn of summer and the value of family and friends.
Nearly 100 rock-skipping enthusiasts kicked off the Memorial Day Weekend with the second annual Flathead Lake Rock Skipping Championship, held at Riverside Park in Polson.
Registration earned participants the right to brag about competing in the country’s only rock-skipping competition and the joy of all you-can-eat pizza and drinks at the Cove Deli, the event sponsor.
Chloe Moore of Bigfork arrived just before the competition began to support Team Ellie Anna, her daughter who fought off and survived childhood cancer but lost oxygen in the process and lives with special needs.
Ellie Anna Moore, 13, wore her bright pink Special Olympics jacket over seeing about six flat rocks on a picnic table in front of the Cove. She was excited to begin the event.
Ellie Anna Moore just wrapped up her showing at the Montana Special Olympics in Missoula, earning one medal for bocce ball and two ribbons for the 50- and 100- meter dash.
Brother Ben Moore, 10 and Avery Passons, 10, helped Ellie Anna choose rocks from Boettcher Park just before the event.
Chloe Moore said she’s been looking for a rock skipping competition for her daughter since Ellie Anna was about four years old.
Ellie Anna Moore, her mother said, spends hours at the lake skipping rocks because it helps her mind settle down.
“It’s her favorite thing to do all summer long,” Chloe Moore said.
Team Ellie Anna was prepared with the perfect medium-sized rocks – not too heavy and not too light, Chloe Moore said.
A few picnic tables over, another group of kids was comparing rocks, talking about what they planned to do when the competition began.
Robert Perez, 11 stayed the night with friend Trae Wyman, 12, before the event. Wyman was present with his brothers Max, 8 and a half, George, 10 and a half. Along with the Wyman brothers, the Bontadelli children prepared for their turns.
Jackson, 7 and a half and Riley, 4 and a half, were there with their parents Tony and Jennifer.
Trae Wyman said he was particularly excited.
“I missed it last year,” he said. “This is my first year.”
Trae Wyman and his entourage practiced for today’s event when they went to choose rocks at Boettcher Park last night, he said.
The competition began last year when Kevin Avison and friend Mike Lozar, both of Polson, developed the idea.
Ryan Avison said that rock skipping is one of those fun pastimes that he and his brother spent hours enjoying as children.
“We had a cabin at Finley Point when we were kids and we spent hours skipping rocks into the lake,” he said.
The idea of eventually turning that idea into a business-sponsored event was the natural outcome of those happy memories.
Proceeds from the event will be donated to charity.
Organizers estimate that about 50 rock skippers turned out for the second-annual competition, Ryan Avison said.
Skippers hailed from Canada as well as the United States.
Though the competition was held May 28, the free concert that will accompany the official event schedule will perform June 3.
The concert will feature The Wench, whose two-man crew also founded The Clintons, a band of world renowned, Ryan Avison said.