Nearly 135,000 festival-goers gathered at Delpha-Sauvé Park this weekend for the 83rd edition of the Régates de Valleyfield.

Despite disastrous weather conditions that led to the cancellation of Thursday's evening show and the postponement of Friday morning's races, the sun shone throughout the rest of the weekend of races and shows.

The most eagerly-awaited event on the HRL Hydroplane Racing League circuit was an emotional one, crowning the youngest driver of the event, as well as the North American champion.

In the 2.5-liter class, Grant Liddycoat took top honors on his first visit to the course, aboard the S-97 Send It. Adam Carruthers (S-38 Herrin Choker) and Campivallensian Alexandre Leduc (S-88 Fatboy) completed the podium.

In Formula 2500, John Shaw (F-92 Tenacity), who dominated all weekend, took his first win at the Régates de Valleyfield. He crossed the finish line ahead of Owen Henderson (F-3 Secretly Ahh-Sum) and Tommy Shannon (F-4 Pièces d'auto Valleyfield).

The duo of Jimmie Stewart and Peggie Ewancio took first place in the Jersey Speed Skiff, aboard the JS-10 Yumpin' Yiminy. It was their second victory in as many years on the Robert-Théorêt circuit.

The Hydro 350 class final was dominated by American Bobby King (H-242), who won in Valleyfield for the second year running. The podium was completed by Andrew Tate (H-300 Pennzoil) and Campivallensian Michaël Tremblay (H-8 Last
Minute Again).

In the Grand Prix class, American Andrew Tate took the champagne on the winners' dock for the second time in a row, this time aboard the GP-88 Hydrofish.

Tate and Jeff Bernard (GP-79) battled fiercely throughout this memorable final. With this victory, Andrew Tate is crowned North American champion.

Nearly 80,000 people attended the racing portion of the event.

A new class

The Novice class made its first appearance in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, and the final was a highly emotional one, with Jayden Théorêt (N-144 Miss Virgo) taking victory on the Robert-Théorêt circuit, named in honor of his grandfather. At the age of 10, he became the youngest ever champion of the Régates de Valleyfield.

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Strong gusts of wind and intense rain in the late afternoon of July 13 made it impossible to hold the Brittany Kennel and Roch Voisine shows.

However, over 16,000 music fans turned out for the hip-hop evening featuring La Bronze and FouKi.

On Saturday evening, over 18,000 festival-goers attended the Cajun-flavoured show by Mentana and Salebarbes, as well as the fireworks display.

In all, some 55,000 people were able to see the twenty or so artists in the program put together by Valspec, who took turns on the Distillerie Trois-Lacs stage.

A resilient team

For Régates de Valleyfield general manager Émilie Daoust, the weekend's uncontrollable weather events served to reaffirm the strength of character of the golden team of employees and volunteers, as well as the dedication of partners.

" No one was daunted by the magnitude of the work ahead of us last Thursday evening, she explained. From cleaning the site to setting up the race course, everyone rolled up their sleeves to ensure that the rest of the event went off without a hitch," she said.

The organization was able to count on more than 250 volunteers, who went above and beyond the call of duty and showed great availability and generosity.