I met Russ at my girlfriend’s son’s second wedding.
My friend, who had six kids, was already distressed and said to me, “If all my kids marry twice, I’ll have to go to twelve weddings.” She begged me to come along to this one in Tweed and honestly, that’s how it all began.
Russ was the uncle and the photographer at the wedding, his niece was the bride. No one on either side was particularly thrilled about the match at the time. But in the middle of it all, Russ and I met… and fell in love.
We were married in 1985, the same year as the first World Masters Games in Toronto.
Ken Lane was competing in canoeing and Jim Mossman in squash for Balmy Beach. Russ decided to form a war canoe crew, pulling together a mix of old paddlers and new. None of us were in shape, but we were enthusiastic!
Russ took attendance at every practice with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. We practiced out at the Island, because no one could stay upright in the boat in front of the club on the lake. We were truly terrible at first. But by the end of the summer, under the guidance of our cox, Tommy Hodgson, we became a real crew, and competed in the very first World Masters Games in Toronto.
After the Games, Jim Mossman had some money left over, which he gave to Russ. Russ got the list of everyone who had competed and we contacted every person to ask if they’d be interested in continuing a Masters program year after year.
The response was phenomenal. We were off and running.
The first three Masters Games were held in Toronto, but Russ was determined that Masters paddling should be part of the canoeing family and travel with Sprint Nationals each year. Russ attended countless meetings and worked incredibly hard to convince the “powers that be” that this would be a powerful asset to the then CCA (now CKC). So many paddlers had been forced to stop after their twenties simply because there was nowhere left to compete.
There was plenty of resistance at first, but over time, that idea took hold. Today, Masters paddling is an integral part of the canoeing family.
And to think… it all started at a wedding no one was too thrilled about!
Written and submitted by Barb Dunn, with edits by CKC.