MUDDY CREEK TWP — On Sunday kayakers will hit the water at Lake Arthur to compete in a fishing tournament hosted by Kayak Anglers of Western PA.

And next weekend Moraine State Park will host the two-day Regatta at Lake Arthur.

More and more, Moraine has become a magnet for a variety of athletic competitions including fishing, boating, biking, running or disc golf.

The Regatta is the park's biggest event and will coincide with an early round of the Disc Golf World Championships this year.

But throughout the year the park hosts running races, triathlons, fishing competitions, disc golf tournaments and other competitions.

Park Manager Dustin Drew said the park attracts athletic events because of its size and wide variety of trails, roads and access to Lake Arthur.

“Generally there is pretty good room for parking. We're set up well to accommodate large numbers of people,” Drew said.

He said that groups looking to sponsor an event at the park must meet with him or assistant manager Jake Weiland to discuss the details.

As long as the events don't conflict with other events and fit the mission of the park, they are usually welcome and the park staff sometimes provides manpower to ensure activities go smoothly.

Competitions bring crowds to the park and highlight what it has to offer, Drew said.

“It definitely introduces new visitors to the park. They come here for the event and then take time to explore,” he said.

Though not a requirement, many groups that hold events in the park have made a donation or found a way to give back to it.

For example, the organizers of the Regatta recently hauled in three truckloads of sand to replenish the Pleasant Valley beach before this year's event.

Boating abounds

Being planned in conjunction with the 17th annual Regatta are the 2015 Puddle Duck Racer World Championship and the 2015 Pennsylvania Standup Paddleboard Championship.

Ian Smith, owner of SurfSUP Adventures, said Lake Arthur provides ideal conditions for the stand up paddleboarding competition.

Though people also do paddleboarding in white water or on the ocean, the competition requires a body of water that doesn't have many waves.

“It's calm water. Where they have the regatta is in a back corner. There's no concerns about motorboats or barges making waves like you do on the rivers in Pittsburgh,” Smith said.

SurfSUP adventures is based in Fox Chapel, Allegheny County, but Moraine is one of the places where it frequently does tours and rentals, Smith said.

Last year's paddleboarding competition at the Regatta drew people from out of town, but it also used the regatta crowd to get new people into the sport.

“It's really grown a lot,” Smith said about paddleboarding. “Everyone wants to surf, but you can only do that near the coast. There's always a river or always a lake somewhere where you can go paddleboarding.”

The Moraine Sailing Club also holds sailing races on Lake Arthur during the summer.

Javier Lopez, commodore of the club, said that it is holding races for members on 12 Sundays this summer.

The group has 177 members and uses the boat launches at the Watt's Bay marina on the north shore.

The lake typically has a strong wind coming from the southwest, which is well used by sailors. Since the lake has a 20-hp limit on motorized boats, there isn't much of a wake to disturb sailboats.

“It's a great place for sailing,” Lopez said.

Disc golf contests

The park's 18-hole disc golf course, which starts near Lakeview Beach on the North Shore, will be one of four Western Pennsylvania courses to host the Disc Golf World Championships Aug. 1 to 8.

Gary Dropcho, course superintendent with the Pittsburgh Flying Disc Society, said he was one of the people who helped design the Moraine course that was built in 2005.

“Moraine is definitely one of the best courses in the world,” Dropcho said, referencing dgcoursereview.com, a website where it is ranked 16th in the country based on player reviews.

A couple of years ago, the park staff estimated that there are 20,000 rounds of disc golf played there a year. Since the park is free and the course is free, many people play there, he said.

The Flying Disc Society normally hosts two professionally sanctioned events each year at Moraine as well as a weekly league, a weekly scramble event and other tournaments that rotate to courses in the region. Many of Moraine's holes are long and have challenging terrain, making it a championship caliber course, Dropcho said.

With help from the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, the Flying Disc Society got the bid for the world championship from the Professional Disc Golf Association.

The group has been working for three years to improve the courses by installing concrete tee pads and by grooming and widening the fairways and surrounding areas to allow spectators to see the action.

Last year's world championship in Portland, Ore., attracted about 1,000 spectators for the final round, Dropcho said.

Though the final round of this year's tournament will be at the Slippery Rock University course, the organizers will hold several events on Aug. 2 at Moraine in conjunction with the regatta. They will have a putting competition, a skill shot competition, a miniature disc golf game and a tent with 30 disc golf vendors.

“One of the things we think is so cool about partnering with the regatta is thousands of people will be exposed to disc golf that otherwise wouldn't get to see it firsthand,” Dropcho said.

Fine fishing

Ron Feits of Butler Bass Casters said the group hosts fishing tournaments every Wednesday evening during bass season at Lake Arthur.

“It's a good lake and a tough fishery. We have some real good weigh-ins there,” Feits said.

Since plenty of fishermen use the lake, the group moves its competitions among different boat launches during the season, he said.

“It gets a lot of pressure. At Moraine there are always people fishing it. It can be a challenge to really figure out what the bass are doing,” he said.

The tournaments attract about 70 boats per week and usually more than 100 total fishermen.

The group also takes $1 out of every registration fee at the weekly fishing tournaments for a Lake Arthur Habitat Fund. It typically donates about $500 at the end of the season for maintenance and improvements to the lake.

Also holding fishing events once a year at Lake Arthur are the Penn's Waters Bass Busters as a part of the Keystone Buddy Bass Circuit and the Slippery Rock University Competitive Bass Anglers who have held an ice fishing tournament in February the past two years.

Running races

For the Glacier Ridge Trail Ultramarathon, having a lot of room to work with is key.

The event, started by Dan Adley and Bob Fargo in 2011, takes place in May and includes a 50K, 30K and 50-mile races as well as a 50-mile relay.

Many long distance races have to do multiple loops because there is limited trail or road space available. The 50-mile route at Moraine has two turnaround points, but makes use of a lot of distance of trails, Fargo said.

“Dan and I are into trail running in general, and we started to explore the trail system there in 2010 and didn't realize the park had such an extensive and well-maintained trail system,” Fargo said. “It lends itself very well to trail running events.”

The Ultramarathon has donated its proceeds, about $55,000 over five years, to the Moraine Preservation Fund and the Moraine McConnells Mill Jennings Commission, two nonprofit groups that put on programs and work to improve the park.

Other running events at the park include the Butler YMCA's Adult Mini Triathlon, held on July 11, and the Mighty Moraine Man, which has several triathlon and race events in May and over two days in September.

The YMCA mini triathlon has been at the park for more than 30 years, said Jamie Knauff, YMCA sport and family director.

It typically gets about 200 competitors.

It is a sprint triathlon, consisting of a quarter-mile swim, a 7-mile bike ride and a 5K run, that starts and ends at Lakeview Beach.

It makes use of the beach, the paved bike trail and roads. In addition to water, triathlons need space where the competitors can change and get on or off their bikes.

“The transition area is perfect, there is enough space for everything,” Knauff said.

Here are a number of the competitive and athletic events that are scheduled at Moraine State Park• Puddle Duck Racer (sailing) World Championship at the Regatta at Lake Arthur• Disc Golf World Championships held by Professional Disc Golf Association• Pennsylvania Standup Paddleboard Championship held by SurfSUP Adventures• Bass fishing tournaments held by the Butler Bass Casters• Kayak fishing tournaments held by Kayak Anglers of Western PA• Rock Ice Fishing Tournament held by SRU Competitive Bass Anglers• Keystone Buddy Bass Circuit held by Penn's Waters Bass Busters• Glacier Ridge Trail Ultramarathon• Adult Triathlon held by the Butler YMCA• Mighty Moraine Man races held by Get Fit Families• MPF 5K Race held by Moraine Preservation Fund• Month of Mud off-road bike race• Weekly sailing races held by Moraine Sailing Club