OTTAWA, ONTARIO (June 4th, 2018) – Canoe Kayak Canada is proud to announce   that its long standing ‘Paddles Up’ Magazine will be re-launched as an online paddling magazine.

“We are excited to officially announce the return of the Paddles Up Magazine, ten years after its last publication”, said Casey Wade, Chief Executive Officer at Canoe Kayak Canada. “The new Paddles Up is an online magazine about canoe and kayak culture. Whether you paddle as a competitive paddler or you are more generally passionate about paddle sports, this addition to the Canoe Kayak Canada website is for you!”

Published from the 1980’s until 2008, the original “Paddles Up” was the official print publication of Canoe Kayak Canada, known then as the Canada Canoe Association. Published five times a year and distributed to the membership, Paddles Up provided organizational updates, results, announcements and first-person story telling from the community.

Canoe Kayak Canada is reviving Paddles Up in 2018 in the spirit of the original publication through a complete new platform for sharing the stories of our Canoe Kayak Canada community.

The magazine will be a complementary addition to CKC’s current website, which will be used to bring the community together by sharing stories, while the CKC website will remain the main source of news, results and documentation for our members.

“Everyone involved with Canoe Kayak Canada is passionate about paddling, canoe or kayak, and all have unique and inspiring stories to tell”, Joannie Verret, Communications Lead at Canoe Kayak Canada. “Which is why the Alumni Council and CKC decided to bring the Paddles Up back to life again and created this platform to share inspiring paddling stories, memories, athletes’ dreams, adventures, pictures, videos and way more!”

WWW.PADDLESUP.CANOEKAYAK.CA

Powered by CKC’s Alumni Council

At the 2017 Annual Summit in November, Canoe Kayak Canada was proud to announce the official launch of the Canoe Kayak Canada Alumni Council (CKCAC). Following close to 200 Alumni survey responses and many expressions of interest to join the Alumni Council, CKC named LA Dempster as Chair of the council and invited members based on geographical and discipline representation to join the CKCAC.

The CKCAC is an external volunteer group in support of the larger community of paddling alumni’s role within Canoe Kayak Canada.  The CKCAC provides counsel to the CEO and offers advice on engaging and strengthening alumni relationships and program development pertaining to the CKC Alumni program. The CKCAC seeks to increase awareness of the many services available to alumni through CKC, to encourage a larger and more diverse participation in the programs offered through CKC, and to initiate new ways to communicate and engage with CKC’s growing alumni population.

“Engaging the alumni has been an initiative that has been talked about for many years,” says LA Dempster. “I am thrilled to be a part of this very important first step and I look forward to what the future holds, working together with a great group of passionate people and a big paddling family.”

The CKCAC is composed of twelve members representing various regions and disciplines. Under the leadership of LA Dempster, the Alumni Council works to create a more meaningful and better-connected relationship with the paddling community.

Meet the CKCAC team by exploring the new edition of the Paddles Up online! Read about our Alumni, learn about inspiring stories from Canoe Kayak Canada, get to know our canoe kayak athletes from all of our eleven disciplines and share your love for paddling with the whole Canadian community!

If you are interested in becoming a Paddles Up contributor, contact us with the content you would like to submit. The Paddles Up team will get in touch with you after reviewing your submission. We can’t wait to learn more about our community and share your stories!

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 :

Joannie Verret

Communications Coordinator

jverret@canoekayak.ca

(418) 271-3785