Competitors from around the province were able to gather in Burnaby to compete in the Provincial Championships and BC Cup 2, and local athletes put in a strong showing.
Fort Canoe and Kayak Club athletes took home multiple medals and several have qualified for the Nationals in Ottawa at the end of August.
Canoers and kayakers from all over the province enthusiastically competed, making up for the cancellation of Provincials and all BC Cup events last year, said club commodore Kristen Charlesworth.
The club had athletes from 11 to 80 years old participating. Athletes 15 years old and over were competing for a spot at National Championships.
Coach Aaron Rublee is extremely pleased with FCKC’s current standings, with athletes consistently performing well in their age groups.
“The effort you put in is so important,” Rublee commented. “You are always racing and bettering yourself. Our high-performance athletes have been enthusiastically training through COVID, six days a week, twice a day. Our masters group are such fantastic role models for the kids, competing and mentoring the kids. I am so happy with the commitment of all these athletes.”
Athletes headed to Ottawa for the Nationals Aug. 23 to 29
Masters: Matt Smith, Brian Kitson, Mario DeSantis
U16: Jeffrey Sun, Alex Smith, Sophie Drover, Brenna Nott, Kaleb Aubey
U17: Charlie Toth
U16 & U18: Brenna Nott, Landon McQuarrie, Abby Charlesworth
U18: Quinn Thomson
Athlete coaches and volunteers: James Dafoe, Rachel Santos, Alex Smith, Jeffrey Sun, Sophie Drover, Quinn Thomson, Charlie Toth, Abby Charlesworth, Noah Said, Liam McQuarrie, Kaleb Aubey
Fort Canoe and Kayak Club also commends the group of young coaches and athlete volunteers this year, Charlesworth said.
They have been proactively pursuing online coaching courses, in-person first aid training, and mentoring younger athletes and summer camp kids. FCKC is pleased to see motivated role models that take the initiative to help, she added.
FCKC is excited to see how well our athletes do at Nationals and can’t wait to see their successes later in life, Charlesworth said.
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