A contingent converged on the Saluda River Saturday.

These men and women competed in the 19th Annual Millrace Massacre and Iceman Championships.

The event on a warm and sunny January day drew a crowd of spectators.

“I was very pleased with the crowd,” said Michael Mayo of Palmetto Outdoors, a longtime advocate and supporter of the competition.

“It was well-attended. I think well over 500 people came to watch.”

Mayo won the first Millrace Massacre in 2001.

The Millrace Massacre time trials require paddlers to take on the rapids near Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

The Iceman competition got underway after the time trials.

It’s a free-for-all race in which the competitors begin at the same time in a test of strength and endurance.

First, the racers paddle through the river’s Millrace rapids to the zoo bridge. Then they race back to a patch of river bank. From there, they travel back up to a spot above the rapids, run up a river trail on foot, to relaunched and run the Millrace rapids again.

Before finishing, the competitors plunge into the cold water below the rapids and swim to shore, kayaks in tow behind them.

Mayo said the event offers a way to use the river in a high-profile manner and he’s happy it has grown.