Powerboat racing made its Labor Day weekend appearance on the Rogue River last Sunday as the Don Burnison Memorial brought sanctioned competition through Grants Pass, adding another race to a local sporting history that has unfolded on these waters for generations.
Racers competed along the Rogue between Baker Park and Griffin Park during the American Power Boat Association-sanctioned event. Smaller than the sprawling celebration surrounding Boatnik each Memorial Day weekend, the Don Burnison Memorial puts the emphasis squarely on racing while carrying the name of one of the most successful competitors in Grants Pass powerboat history.
Don Burnison won Boatnik eight times during a racing career that placed him among the dominant names associated with competition on the Rogue. His record stood alone for years before Roger Sanderson matched the eight-victory mark in 2019.
The memorial bearing Burnison’s name brought racers back to the Rogue more than three months after the annual Boatnik competition, giving Grants Pass powerboat racing a second holiday-weekend appearance during the summer season.
While Boatnik arrives with a parade, carnival, community events and several days of activity, the Labor Day weekend race is a more concentrated affair. The boats and the competition take center stage, with the Rogue itself providing the course.
Racing on the river carries challenges that distinguish it from competition on a conventional circuit. Drivers contend with current, natural channels, varying depths and changing water conditions while navigating a course that has tested generations of racers.
Those characteristics have helped establish Grants Pass as a recognizable home for river powerboat racing. The sport has been part of the community calendar for decades, with competitors returning year after year to race on a waterway that demands speed, precision and an intimate understanding of river conditions.
The Don Burnison Memorial preserves another piece of that racing calendar beyond the larger Memorial Day weekend program. Its Labor Day weekend running brings the sport back to the Rogue as summer approaches its conclusion and provides a dedicated race honoring a competitor whose record remains among the most accomplished in Boatnik history.
Last Sunday’s competition added another running to that history. Racers once again took to the Rogue, spectators followed the action from along the river and the Don Burnison Memorial carried Burnison’s name through another year of competition in Grants Pass.
With this year’s race now complete, the Labor Day weekend event joins another season of powerboat racing on the Rogue, a Southern Oregon sporting tradition that begins each year with the anticipation surrounding Boatnik and continues through events such as the memorial honoring one of the racers who helped write its history.