Paddlers from the Yorkton Canoe Kayak Club competed this past weekend at the Canada Day Regatta & Canada Cup West in Regina. This competition is the largest of the season, and hosted athletes from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Yukon, BC, and the USA (Oklahoma and Seattle). 聽
鈥淭his is an amazing opportunity to meet and paddle with athletes from different clubs in Canada and the USA. How often does a kid from Yorkton get to say they competed against athletes from Oklahoma?鈥� said YCKC head coach Jessica Riley. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a chance for our athletes, especially the newer paddlers, to see a mass of people come together and celebrate a cool sport. They see the older athletes compete, then use them as role models when setting personal goals for training. They also paddle with kids their own age that are new to the sport and then get to share with each other the excitement of racing for the first time at a large competition.鈥�
Competitors Stephan Roy (U11), Seth Quiring (U11), Ewan Hutzul (U13), Sara Switzer (U11), Tayja Kohut (U11), Sophie Smith (U11), Josh-lynn Kohut (U13), Elia Bolme (U13), Angela Fetsch (U13) represented team YCKC. YCKC athlete Ethan Caskey raced for the Saskatoon Racing Canoe Club this past weekend as he trains in team boats to qualify for the Canadian Canoe/Kayak Championships in August.
鈥淵CKC athletes had many great accomplishments this weekend.聽 Each paddler had personal goals for the competition and achieved them! Day two of racing included rough weather due to high winds, but our athletes didn鈥檛 quit and finished the competition very well!鈥� says Riley.
Stephan Roy walked away with one gold, two silvers, and one bronze medal. He placed second in his U11 Men鈥檚 K1 200m with a time of 1:09.51 with the first place finisher having a time of 1:09.01.聽 Roy also placed 6th in the U13 Men鈥檚 K1 2000m final of 20 racers.
Seth Quiring and Ewan Hutzul were new to the Canada Day Regatta and had excellent races for their first time at this competition. Quiring won gold and bronze in team events and placed fourth in his K1 (single) 500m race. Hutzel achieved personal goals in his K1 events and won silver in his team event. 聽
Sophie Smith, Sara Switzer, and Angela Fetsch were also new recruits for the Canada Day competition. Smith and Switzer won gold in their U11 K2 500m event. Smith paddled with members of the Oklahoma team in a K4 (4 person team) event and won silver. Switzer won bronze in the same event paddling with a YCKC crew, won silver in her U11 Women鈥檚 K1 500m final, bronze in her U11 Women鈥檚 K1 200m final, and silver with Tayja Kohut in the U11 K2 200m event.
Fetsch made her Canada Day debut with a bronze in the U13 women鈥檚 K4 200m final, advanced to finals in three of her U13 events, placed top 10 in the U13 Women鈥檚 K1 2000m race,聽 and 22nd racing up in the U15 women鈥檚 K1 4000m event. Fetsch鈥檚 K4 event with members of team Yukon placed fifth in the final.
In addition to her silver medal in her K2 200m event with Switzer, Tayja Kohut raced with a partner from team Edmonton to win bronze in the U11 women鈥檚 K2 500m event. T. Kohut placed fifth in the U11 K1 200m event and seventh overall in the U11 women鈥檚 K1 500m final. 聽
Josh-lynn Kohut advanced to two A-finals and placed well despite bad weather conditions.聽 Kohut placed 14th in the U13 women鈥檚 K1 2000m event. J. Kohut took home bronze with Switzer, Fetsch, and Bolme in the U13 women鈥檚 K4 200m event.
Elia Bolme advanced to finals in three events.聽 Bolme placed 15th of 33 racing up in the U15 women鈥檚 K1 4000m long distance event, placed 6th in the U13 women鈥檚 K1 2000m event, and won bronze with her YCKC teammates in the K4 200m event.聽 聽
Ethan Caskey won Bronze in his U17 Men鈥檚 K1 1000m event.聽 Caskey raced with team Saskatoon and walked away with an additional two gold, and one silver in K2 and K4 events.
What鈥檚 next at YCKC?聽聽 Members are fundraising for clubhouse and boathouse repairs. Bottle Collection week is happening now until July 6.聽 Please contact YCKC for drop-off/pick up. Thank you to McMunn & Yates for their material donation to help with the siding project.聽 聽
CanoeKids camps kick off this week. CanoeKids is a day camp for 8 鈥� 12 year olds. Cost is $175/4-day camp and there are spots available for the July & August camps! Check out the YCKC website fore more information.
The Racing program always welcomes new paddlers ages 8+. Summer program runs Monday to Friday from 10 am 鈥� 4 pm. See website for more information and scheduling. Next competition is Prairie Divisional Regatta 鈥� August 11/12, Regina.
Drop-In Dragon Boating begins Wednesday, July 4, from 6pm 鈥� 8pm. Cost is $15/non-member. No experience necessary. Please arrive between 6 and 6:30pm. Minimum of 6 paddlers needed to bring out the boat so bring a friend!
Discount paddling sessions are $5 Fridays (6pm 鈥� 8pm) and Toonie Sundays (Sundays 2pm 鈥� 4pm). Please see calendar on website for applicable dates. 聽
The Yorkton Developmental Regatta will be Saturday, Aug. 18. The event brings new paddlers from SK. YCKC is always looking for volunteers for this event!
The Fifth Annual Fall Dragon Boat Race is Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018. Sign up your team now! Cost is $40/person. Teams of 10 paddlers + 1 drummer.
For more information on YCKC and its programs email [email protected], like YCKC on Facebook, or visit www.yorktoncanoekayakclub.com
