It was a successful host regatta for the Yorkton Canoe and Kayak Club as their three competitors, Makayla Douglas, Reece Cyr and Jessica Burgess, combined for a total of 18 medals on Saturday at YCKC's annual Developmental Regatta.
Douglas led the way with nine medals including two gold, five silver and a pair of bronze while Cyr was right behind her with two gold, five silver and a bronze. "They did excellent. I was very happy with their finishes," offered YCKC head coach Jessica Riley on her two paddlers, adding that 'because it's developmental and they have some experience they raced up a category'.
One other YCKC paddler, Jessica Burgess, also found the podium in her only race of the day, walking away with a silver medal in the Under-15 female K2 500m race with her partner Douglas.
Dragon Boats
Canoe and kayak races weren't the only races being held at York Lake on Saturday.
YCKC introduced Yorkton to Dragon Boat racing as five teams combined for some thrilling races with team Kung Foolery out of Melville edging the Saskatoon Racing Canoe Club in the finals to become the first ever YCKC Dragon Boat champions.
Go Green finished in third place while P.M.S. (Paddling Mighty Sisters) finished fourth. The Wascana Racing Canoe Club rounded out the standings in last place.
And while 2014 was the first year that YCKC offered Dragon Boat races, the success of the event and the talk generated from it has made sure that it will not be the last year with Riley suggesting that, next year, the Dragon Boat races will most likely have their own set date. "Absolutely it (Dragon Boating) was very successful," said Riley, continuing, "We know now that we have to have it a little bit spaced out more and treat it a little bit more like a festival as a part of the competition.
"Have it on the same weekend, but definitely on its own day so we can have more races and have more chances for teams to compete against each other as opposed to a single elimination tournament."
