“It was so nice to attend a full regatta,” said Head Coach Jessica Riley, “For our new athletes it was a great chance to see the sport in a larger capacity. They got to see how they ranked against other kids their age across our division and know that their training has paid off.”
The Canoe/Kayak Prairie Division consists of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Yukon. This was the first Division regatta since 2019 due to COVID restrictions. The regatta serves as a qualifier for the Canoe/Kayak Sprint Championships which will be held in Ottawa later this month.
Competition kicked off with the U12 Women’s K1 1000m event and with a finish by a full boat length, 9 year old Lily Whitney took home the gold. Her gold streak continued to her U12 Women's K1 500m event where she again battled and prevailed. Whitney then teamed up with Kuntz and Baluk and a Regina paddler to race in the U12 Womens K4 events placing 3rd in the 500m event and 2nd in the 200m event. Baluk and Whitney paddled the U12 Women’s K2 500m event and finished 4th in the Division. Kuntz and Whitney paddled the U12 Women’s 200m event where they finished 2nd overall in the Division.
In their regatta debut, Vaida Kuntz and Brecklyn Baluk had solid races throughout their distances. 8 year old Kuntz missed the podium by mere milliseconds in the U10 Women’s K1 500m event and placed 6th overall in the Division in the U12 Women’s 200m. Kuntz and Baluk teamed up for the U12 Women’s 1000m event where they placed 5th overall. Baluk finished with new personal bests in each single event and showcased her budding skills with her teammates in the K4 races.
Also achieving some personal goals this weekend was fifteen year old Ewen Hutzul. Though just shy of making the finals, he competed well in all his U16 Men’s events and was a steady and inspirational support for the younger athletes.
Seth Quiring teamed up with Edmonton paddlers in the U12 Men’s K4 events, winning both the 1000m and 200m distances and placing second in the 500m. Quiring advanced to finals in the U14 Men’s K1 200m event, placed 9th in the division in the 1000m, and got Bronze in the K1 500m. Quiring raced with teammate Nathan Whitney in the K2 1000m, 500m and 200m events where they placed 4th, 5th, and 6th respectively.
Nathan Whitney came into the regatta with the plan to win, and win he did. In a clean sweep, Whitney secured gold in all his K1 (single) heats and finals. He had a 20 second lead in the 1000m event and in his other events finished with seconds to spare. He is currently ranked 1st in the Division in the U12 category.
A great performance by veteran paddler Elia Bolme who won her 500m heat, advanced to finals in all of her events (1000m, 500m, 200m), and finished the competition with a 4th place ranking in the Division. Elia's focus throughout the competition paid off as she earned invitations to race all three events at the Sprint Championships in Ottawa.
“I’m incredibly proud of how our team performed this weekend,” said Coach Riley. “Sometimes they have a goal of winning, sometimes it’s to beat their previous times, sometimes it’s to execute a race plan and figure out what we need to fix in the coming practices. Regardless of their goals, it’s always awesome as a coach to see paddlers achieve them.”
Training continues as paddlers get ready for the Yorkton Developmental Regatta which YCKC will host on Saturday, Aug. 14.
