OTTAWA, ON (November 28, 2016) – Three Canadians have maintained their positions on the International Canoe Federation’s Board of Directors following elections at the ICF’s Extra Ordinary Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan, under a newly accepted ICF Governance structure.
Frank Garner was re-elected from a competitive field of four candidates as the Chair of Canoe Sprint. Garner has held this position since 2008 and has been a member of the Canoe Sprint committee since 1995. The result of Friday’s election means he will serve another four-year term and now sits of the ICF Executive Committee.
Garner, of Waverley, NS, has been a long-time paddling volunteer, a past national team coach and was Chief Official at multiple Olympic Games including Rio 2016. As Chair of Canoe Sprint he has lead the proposal for an Olympic program with gender equity for 2020. He has made strides in making canoe sprint a more universal sport and has been working to improve the sports presentation aspect of competitions while maintaining the sport in its pure form.
John Edwards has earned another four-year term as the ICF’s Paracanoe Chair. Edwards, of Carleton Place, ON, has played a lead role internationally in making paddling accessible to everyone. He helped to steer Paracanoe towards inclusion in the 2016 Paralympic Games for the first time ever. Edwards was Canoe Kayak Canada’s Domestic Development Director for sixteen years and has recently been named a finalist for the World Paddling Awards under the Lifetime Achievement category.
Dr. Don McKenzie will continue as Chair of the ICF’s Medical and Anti-Doping Committee. McKenzie has been a strong advocate for clean sport. He has been the Chief Physician for the Canadian paddling team for many years and also sits on the board for the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. Through his research he has lead the international Abreast In A Boat movement in which he has enabled thousands of breast cancer survivors to enjoy healthy and active lifestyles but involving them in dragon boating.
“We are proud of to have these three highly respected Canadians serving in such influential roles at the international level,” said Peter Giles, President of Canoe Kayak Canada. “Each of them has made tremendous contributions to the sport and we are pleased that they will continue to lead the way forward.”
About Canoe Kayak Canada
Canoe Kayak Canada is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada. Canoe Kayak Canada has been one of Canada’s top performing summer sports having won an impressive count of 24 Olympic medals. Canoe Kayak Canada is a member-based organization which 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 Miller
Communications and Marketing Officer, Canoe Kayak Canada
613.314.1352
imiller@canoekayak.ca