The beloved annual Wild Water Derby in Shortsville may be moved to a new location outside of the Village of Shortsville for 2026, according to the Shortsville-Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce.
This event, which has drawn in people from across New York, has been held at Budd Park for 50 years. Community members gather at the park to watch people race through the Canandaigua Outlet in makeshift rafts, canoes and kayaks to raise money for the Shortsville and Manchester Fire Departments.
At the 50th anniversary last April, participants paraded their rafts in trucks along the street next to the park before the race began. Vendors were also lined up in the park along with food trucks and live musical performances.
On Nov. 25, the Shortsville-Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce posted on its Facebook page stating that the decision to move the event is a result of increased insurance requirements newly mandated by the Village of Shortsville.
“While we respect and understand the Village’s position, the Chamber’s membership ultimately determined that purchasing the additional insurance coverage would not be a responsible investment of our limited resources — resources that we strive to use to directly support local businesses, community growth, and economic vitality,” the post states.
The Village of Shortsville adopted a new policy that requires proof of liability insurance when an organization is using Village property for a public event, Village Clerk Amy Alexander said in an email statement to the Democrat & Chronicle. A standard practice in municipalities, Alexander said, describing the new policy.
Alexander said that the Village is unsure as to why the event would need to be relocated, as the Chamber of Commerce should have already had that insurance in place. She added that any cost to “add the Village of Shortsville as an additional insured for a one-time event would be minimal.”
Where would the Wild Water Derby relocate?
Shortsville-Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce president, Martha Doody, stated that only the out-of-water activities would be moved- the derby itself would remain in the Canandaigua Outlet.
According to Doody, the American Canoe Association provides insurance for all the event’s activities within the water, including the kayaks, rafts, canoes and also the swift water rescue team.
All activities outside of the water are hosted and overseen by the Shortsville-Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce. This includes the set-up, clean-up and crowd control with assistance from the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office. The chamber never had a separate insurance set-up for the out-of-water activities since it had never been required, Doody said.
The Village’s current requirement is $1 million/$2 million in liability, $500,000 property damage, according to Doody. The chamber got insurance, which covers $1 million /$2 million liability and $5,000 of property damage.
In a statement emailed to the Democrat & Chronicle, Doody said that the chamber insures its own property and that it doesn’t use any structures at the park for the derby except for a pavilion and two island bridges that were built and donated by local organizations that participate in the event.
“We are also not a non-profit and we don’t have a true physical location, so insurance was tricky for us, but we have it and we fully believe what we have is sufficient,” she wrote. “The Village of Manchester and the Manchester Shortsville School District accept our insurance just fine.”
The next Village meeting will be held on Dec. 10. There, Doody said she plans to ask the board if they will allow all activities on Water Street, next to the in-water activities. If they don’t allow it, she said all out-of-water activities will hopefully move to the lawn of the Manchester Shortsville School, however, approval is still pending.
Even if those activities get moves, Doody believes the in-water activities will be allowed to continue as usual.
“However, crowds will still gather there [Budd Park] unless the village deters it in some way,” Doody wrote. “If the crowds gather, the village will assume all liability of folks on their property.”
Matt Schaertl, the chamber’s special events coordinator, emphasized that without the chamber taking control of the park that day, there will be no additional portable restrooms, traffic control, alcohol control, coordinated police force, barrier for illegal vendors that show up that day lacking health permits, or park clean-up.
Those resources have always been handled by the chamber.
The next Village Board Meeting will be held on Dec. 10 at 6 p.m. and is open to the public.
— Madison Scott is a journalist with the Democrat and Chronicle who covers breaking and trending news for the Finger Lakes Region. She has an interest in how the system helps or doesn’t help families with missing loved ones. She can be reached at MDScott@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Wild Water Derby may move out of Shortsville after new insurance rules
Reporting by Madison Scott, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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