MONROE - The skies of Monroe are destined to be filled with plenty of color this June with back-to-back hot air balloon events.
The first U.S. Open National Championships is scheduled to be held in Monroe Saturday, June 9 to Wednesday, June 13, a week before the community's annual balloon rally, and it is expected to be grueling.
"It's all about the competition," said Matt Urban, Monroe balloonist and balloon rally organizer, who created the event with balloonist Maury Petrehn of Kansas.
The championship promises to be a world-class event, bringing in national and international balloon competitors, Urban said.
Eight high-level flight competitions are scheduled for the five-day event. Each 45- to 90-minute flight will be filled with as many as 11 types of tasks.
At the annual Monroe Balloon Rally, balloonists stay closer to the ground and complete challenging but simpler tasks, such as dropping baggies onto ground targets. The 27th Annual Monroe Balloon Rally is still planned for Father's Day weekend, Friday, June 15 to Sunday, June 17.
But during the national competition, balloonists will maneuver much higher in the air and, for example, use GPS to fly through invisible targets, or "holes in the sky," Urban said.
The competition is for pilots and run by pilots, with Urban and Petrehn underwriting the costs for now. They are looking for national sponsorship, a title sponsor as well as event sponsors.
"We just had to do this," Urban said. "We are committing to covering the costs. If we just say, 'It might happen,' it wouldn't happen."
Urban said the Monroe area offers a perfect blend of terrain and overnight amenities, for which balloonists "will come the distance" to participate in the competition.
"It's not so rural" that balloonists can't find food, hotel accommodations, fuel and repair parts, he said. "But it's not overbuilt, so you can fly over the rolling hills."
The competition doesn't end in Monroe. Balloonists will compete again Wednesday, July 18 to Saturday, July 21 at the Three Sisters Park, Chillicothe, Ill., near Peoria, for the second round of the championship. Each location offers unique flight experiences, and scores from both events are combined to crown a champion.
The Monroe championship event will have no central location to observe lift-offs and landing in Monroe; instead balloons are expected to be located at various locations around the city, many near their sponsors' places of business.
Social media - websites, Twitter and Facebook - will update observers with the latest information on what flight path the balloons might take.
While the championship is not a festival event, it will offer observers a more leisurely "Napa Valley experience," Urban said.
Visitors "should bring their bicycles and their guide (books), and, between the sunrise and sunset flights, take in all the other things Monroe has to offer - the downtown restaurants, bike trails and cheese making demonstrations," Urban said.
Additional information on The U. S. Open National Championships can be found at www.open-championships.com.
The first U.S. Open National Championships is scheduled to be held in Monroe Saturday, June 9 to Wednesday, June 13, a week before the community's annual balloon rally, and it is expected to be grueling.
"It's all about the competition," said Matt Urban, Monroe balloonist and balloon rally organizer, who created the event with balloonist Maury Petrehn of Kansas.
The championship promises to be a world-class event, bringing in national and international balloon competitors, Urban said.
Eight high-level flight competitions are scheduled for the five-day event. Each 45- to 90-minute flight will be filled with as many as 11 types of tasks.
At the annual Monroe Balloon Rally, balloonists stay closer to the ground and complete challenging but simpler tasks, such as dropping baggies onto ground targets. The 27th Annual Monroe Balloon Rally is still planned for Father's Day weekend, Friday, June 15 to Sunday, June 17.
But during the national competition, balloonists will maneuver much higher in the air and, for example, use GPS to fly through invisible targets, or "holes in the sky," Urban said.
The competition is for pilots and run by pilots, with Urban and Petrehn underwriting the costs for now. They are looking for national sponsorship, a title sponsor as well as event sponsors.
"We just had to do this," Urban said. "We are committing to covering the costs. If we just say, 'It might happen,' it wouldn't happen."
Urban said the Monroe area offers a perfect blend of terrain and overnight amenities, for which balloonists "will come the distance" to participate in the competition.
"It's not so rural" that balloonists can't find food, hotel accommodations, fuel and repair parts, he said. "But it's not overbuilt, so you can fly over the rolling hills."
The competition doesn't end in Monroe. Balloonists will compete again Wednesday, July 18 to Saturday, July 21 at the Three Sisters Park, Chillicothe, Ill., near Peoria, for the second round of the championship. Each location offers unique flight experiences, and scores from both events are combined to crown a champion.
The Monroe championship event will have no central location to observe lift-offs and landing in Monroe; instead balloons are expected to be located at various locations around the city, many near their sponsors' places of business.
Social media - websites, Twitter and Facebook - will update observers with the latest information on what flight path the balloons might take.
While the championship is not a festival event, it will offer observers a more leisurely "Napa Valley experience," Urban said.
Visitors "should bring their bicycles and their guide (books), and, between the sunrise and sunset flights, take in all the other things Monroe has to offer - the downtown restaurants, bike trails and cheese making demonstrations," Urban said.
Additional information on The U. S. Open National Championships can be found at www.open-championships.com.