The Yorkton Canoe and Kayak Club has had a very successful competition season, bringing home 31 event medals.
The season began with the Canada Day Regatta in Regina, to which nine paddlers attended.
Atom paddler Jordan Percival brought home four silver medals in his kayaking events.
Tanner Washington, who is a Peewee, received two silver and one bronze.
He also made his Bantam men K1 500 meter event final and finished with a new personal best time!
Novice paddler Enrico Bijman showed promise placing well in all his races. Nathan Washington also made his debut in the atom category with three silver and three bronze medals.
New paddlers Ronin Bijman and Jessica Burgess represented the females well with Ronin scoring three gold medals and Jessica receiving one silver medal. Patricia and Frank Bijman held their own in the adult masters category against the Regina crew with Patricia bringing home three silver medals and Frank taking one gold and one silver.
Tanner and Nathan Washington, Burgess, and Locke Winslow competed at the Canadian Western Divisional Championships also hosted in Regina on July 27-28.
They brought home a total of 15 event medals and honoured YCKC with the Peewee Burgee award! New paddler Locke Winslow brought home an astonishing three silver medals and one gold. Tanner Washington received four gold medals and one silver medal. Burgess won four gold and two silver medals and eight-year old Nathan Washington received five gold medals.
Following their success at Divisionals, YCKC paddlers Bijman, Winslow, Burgess, and Tanner Washington represented Parkland Valley Canoe and Kayak team at the Saskatchewan Summer Games held at Meadow Lake, Sk.
All four paddlers advanced to their event finals. In an exciting race Winslow and Bijman won a bronze medal in the K2 4000 meter final receiving the first medal for the Parkland Valley district at the games.
Congratulations boys for your success in making your district proud!
"This has been a successful season so far, from both from a personal and club point of view", says head coach Jessica Riley.
"As a group, we focused on goal setting and to have the paddlers achieve their goals at this point in season has been a truly rewarding feeling as a coach."
Assistant Coach Sabrina Izzard reflects, "It has been tremendous to see the paddlers grow as individuals in this sport. They all held their own and made the club proud, especially at the Canada Day Regatta and Divisionals where they were competing against paddlers from B.C., Alberta, Sask. and Manitoba!"
