OTTAWA, ONTARIO (July 7, 2017) – Elite international, national and provincial level paddlers are in Shawinigan, Quebec this weekend for the Sprint Canada Cup #2 Regatta. The competition brings together teams from Canada, Mexico, Australia and the United States, Provincial teams from Quebec, Nova Scotia and Ontario, alongside club teams from across Ontario and Quebec.

After last weekend’s intense matchup between Canada and Mexico in the Men’s Canoe competition at Canada Cup Regatta #1 in Ottawa, this event provides another opportunity for these crews to go head-to-head again. Canada’s Senior Men’s Kayak team will also be in tough, competing against crews from Mexico and Australia.

The event will showcase a beautiful racecourse on the Saint-Maurice River. After hosting the Canada Cup in 2016, the community of Shawinigan is excited to cheer on the Canadian athletes.

“Along side the international competition, this is also an important regatta for the provincial crews from Ontario, Nova Scotia and Quebec, ” said Ian Mortimer, Director of Development for Canoe Kayak Canada and a former national team canoe athlete and coach. “It’s their final tune-up before the Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg in August. This is an excellent opportunity to test their readiness for this competition.”

Complete event results can be found here.

About Canoe Kayak Canada

Canoe Kayak Canada is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada, one of Canada’s top performing summer sports with a total of 24 Olympic medals, and a leader in the Paralympic movement. Canoe Kayak Canada is a member-based organization that includes an intricate network of clubs as well as provincial, territorial and divisional paddling associations. Elite National Team athletes proudly represent Canada at various competitions around the globe – most notably the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games, ICF World Cups as well as Junior, Under 23 and Senior World Championships. Follow Canoe Kayak Canada on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

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For more information:
Ian Mortimer
Director of Development
(O) 613.260.1818 ext 2201
(M) 613.323.2264

OTTAWA, ONTARIO (July 3, 2017) – The Canada Day weekend featured an outstanding canoe kayak competition as elite paddlers converged on the nation’s capital for the Sprint Canada Cup 1 Regatta, a two-day event hosted by the Rideau Canoe Club. The competition brought together top crews from the United States, Mexico, Australia and the United States, alongside junior and senior club teams from across Ontario and Quebec.

Among the many highlights was a remarkable performance by 14-year-old Evie McDonald (Carleton Place, ON) of Team Ontario, who dominated both the U16 and U18 Women’s Canoe divisions, winning six gold medals in the six races she entered.

At the senior level, spectators were treated to an epic battle between Canada and Mexico in the Men’s Canoe competition. In the C-1 1000m final, former World Champion Jose Everado Cristobal Quirino of Mexico pushed past both Craig Spence (Dartmouth, NS) and Olympic and World Championship medalist, Mark Oldershaw (Burlington, ON).

But, Team Canada roared back to sweep the podium in the Men’s C-2 1000m with the crew of Drew Hodges (Ottawa, ON) and Craig Spence (Dartmouth, NS) taking gold, Mark Oldershaw and Roland Varga (Richmond Hill, ON) winning silver, and Connor Fitzpatrick (Dartmouth, NS) and Tom Hall (Waverly, NS) completing the Canadian sweep.

In Men’s Kayak, the K-4 500m – added as a new event to the program for the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo – lived up to the pre-race hype, with the Mexican crew edging out Australia and a tenacious Team Ontario.

In the U16 Women’s K-4 500m final, the hometown crowd had something special to cheer for, as crews from the host Rideau Canoe Club took both the gold and the silver.

Complete event results can be found here.

The Canada Cup continues next weekend with Canada Cup #2 in Shawinigan, QC.

More info here: http://canoekayak.wpengine.com/event/sprint-canada-cup-2/

About Canoe Kayak Canada

Canoe Kayak Canada is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada, one of Canada’s top performing summer sports with a total of 24 Olympic medals, and a leader in the Paralympic movement. Canoe Kayak Canada is a member-based organization that includes an intricate network of clubs as well as provincial, territorial and divisional paddling associations. Elite National Team athletes proudly represent Canada at various competitions around the globe – most notably the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games, ICF World Cups as well as Junior, Under 23 and Senior World Championships. Follow Canoe Kayak Canada on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

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For more information:
Ian Mortimer
Director of Development
(O) 613.260.1818 ext 2201
(M) 613.323.2264

MARKLEEBERG, GERMANY (June 30, 2017) – On the International Canoe Federation (ICF) World Cup circuit, Haley Daniels (Calgary, AB) has earned her first semi-final berth of the season, and Cameron Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) has qualified for the semi-finals for the third time in three races this month.

Daniels, 26, paddled into the women’s C1 semi-final after placing 29^th in the qualification heats with a time of 140.97 seconds. Spain’s Nuria Vilarrubla set the standard with a time of 109.53 seconds.

“I’m thrilled to make my first semi-final of the season,” said Daniels after the race. “It was a very difficult course but I made it through to the next stage. I’m super excited and proud to be racing on Canada’s 150^th birthday weekend.”

The technically demanding race course on Leipzig’s Kanupark features 17 downstream gates and 6 upstream gates. A total of seven Canadian athletes took to the start line looking for a semi-final spot.

Smedley, 26, finished 23^rd overall in the men’s C1 qualification round and will compete in the semifinal on Sunday morning. He recorded a fast second run with a time of 99.73 seconds with no penalties, just over two seconds behind leader, Franz Anton of Germany, who had a very strong run at 97.67 seconds. Fellow Canadian, Spencer Pomeroy (Ottawa, ON) finished 44^th overall and did not qualify for the semi-finals.

“I was happy with how I raced today,” Smedley said. “My first run went well but a penalty kept me from qualifying on that run. Second run, I kept to a similar race plan and I put down a good run time. The semifinals course looks quite technical so I’m excited to race it on Sunday.”

None of the Canadian kayakers have advanced through to the semi-finals: Keenan Simpson of Ottawa (64th), Finley Capstick of Chilliwack, BC (66th), and Darius Ramrattan of Innisfail, Alberta (DNF 2nd run). The young trio now sets their sights on the Junior and Under 23 World Championships in mid-July.

Florence Maheu (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC) missed the top 30 cut needed to advance, finishing 36^th overall after producing a penalty free second run. Mallory Franklin of Great Britain led the women’s qualification round with a time of 101.38 seconds.

Sunday’s finals will be webcast on CBC’s digital platforms. CBC Sports is the Official Broadcast Partner of Canoe Kayak Canada.

CBC webcast times – watch online at cbcsports.ca or via the CBC Sports app.

• Saturday at 1:30 p.m. EST
• Sunday at 1:30 p.m. EST

Results

Summary of Results

About Canoe Kayak Canada

Canoe Kayak Canada is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada, one of Canada’s top performing summer sports with a total of 24 Olympic medals, and a leader in the Paralympic movement. Canoe Kayak Canada is a member-based organization that includes an intricate network of clubs as well as provincial, territorial and divisional paddling associations. Elite National Team athletes proudly represent Canada at various competitions around the globe – most notably the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games, ICF World Cups as well as Junior, Under 23 and Senior World Championships. Follow Canoe Kayak Canada on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

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For more information:

James Cartwright
High Performance Manager
613.715 0727
jcartwright@canoekayak.ca

OTTAWA, ONTARIO (June 30, 2017) — On the eve of Canada’s sesquicentennial, thousands of people across the country are gearing up to mark the occasion in a uniquely Canadian way – on lakes and rivers in canoes and kayaks.

“The paddling community is celebrating Canada 150 the way we know best – on the water,” said Ian Mortimer, Director of Development for Canoe Kayak Canada and a former national team canoe athlete and coach. “This weekend, some are competing against each other; others are enjoying relaxed family paddles; we’re bridging distance and culture on voyageur expeditions; we’re contributing to community celebrations; and we’re sporting the maple leaf in a World Cup regatta. It’s all part of a uniquely Canadian way to celebrate our country’s 150^th birthday.”

On the west coast, marathon racers will compete in Prince George, BC in the Northern Hardware Canoe Race, where competitors will paddle up to 67.5 kilometres along the beautiful Nechako River.

From the heights of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, the grueling Voyageurs Canoe Race will see participants travel more than 1,600 kilometres across the Prairies in 23 days along the North Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Rivers to The Pas, Manitoba.

In the North, it’s a grueling physical and mental challenge as hearty canoers take on the Peel River from Fort McPherson to Aklavik in the Race the Peel event.

On Lake Wascana in Regina, the annual Canada Day Regatta brings together teams from across Western Canada and the Western Untied States.

In the Nation’s Capital, the epicentre of Canada 150 celebrations, you’ll find Canadian paddlers all over the water. The Rideau Canoe Club plays host to the Canada Cup Regatta, drawing elite teams from Canada, Mexico, the US, and Australia, along with club teams from across Ontario and Quebec. Results will be available on the imediaC app and online.

Ottawa will also be the site of the meeting of the Four Winds Canoe Brigades Voyageur Canoe expedition. These four brigades set out from Kingston, Kitigan Zibi, Mattawa and Montreal along traditional canoe routes, and are meeting on Victoria Island, in the shadow of Parliament Hill. There, they will receive a welcome from members of the local Algonquin community.

Liz Elton of the South Wind Brigade, who is en route from Kingston, describes it as a truly unique experience: “Traditionally, voyeur canoes carried cargos of furs and trade goods, but these canoes will carry a different kind of payload – ideas, hopes and dreams.”

“You’ll find paddlers on dry land too,” added Mortimer. “On the East Coast, Sackawa Canoe Club has a special reason to celebrate, with two of its members, James McPhee and Tyler Laidlaw, serving as Grand Marshalls in the Canada Day Parade in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia.”

Overseas, Canada’s National Slalom Team will don the maple leaf at World Cup #3 in Markkleeberg Germany. Follow their progress here.

About Canoe Kayak Canada

Canoe Kayak Canada is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada, one of Canada’s top performing summer sports with a total of 24 Olympic medals, and a leader in the Paralympic movement. Canoe Kayak Canada is a member-based organization that includes an intricate network of clubs as well as provincial, territorial and divisional paddling associations. Elite National Team athletes proudly represent Canada at various competitions around the globe – most notably the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games, ICF World Cups as well as Junior, Under 23 and Senior World Championships. Follow Canoe Kayak Canada on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

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For more information:

Ian Mortimer
Director of Development
(O) 613.260.1818 ext 2201
(M) 613.323.2264
imortimer@canoekayak.ca