It wasn't that bad a day for the Yorkton Canoe and Kayak Club as they hosted their 2010 Yorkton Developmental Regatta, at York Lake, on Aug. 14 featuring sprint canoe and kayak paddlers with a year or less of training under their belts.
"Because the kids are so young, they don't get to race much here. That's what's so important about our regatta," states YCKC commodore Doug Riley.
The day included trips to the podium for some competitors with official medal presentationsAthletes race 200m, 500m, and 1000m in single (K1 or C1), two-person (K2 or C2), four-person (K4 or C4) canoe and kayak races. Riley almost had mixed feelings about the day, due to "dangerous weather conditions that threatened twice during the eight-hour day.
"You never know with this Saskatchewan weather," he said with a bit of a laugh.
He did say it "went well" noting that none of the paddlers' spirits were dampened in any way due to the dangerous weather conditions, which forced club coach Jessica Riley to altar the race route, as well as a decision to delay the proceedings and call a time-out twice due to heavy, heavy winds, says Doug Riley.
"It was wet, windy and cold," he said, sounding a little regrettable, yet still pleased that so many young paddlers who otherwise wouldn't have gotten the chance to get out and have some fun.
"It was miserable and wet. The paddlers didn't care."
The developmental regatta included groups from Regina Wascana Club, Saskatoon and of course, the locals.
He added that several from as far away as Manitoba and a handful from Moose Jaw were hoping to make it to Yorkton for the day but for various reasons, could not attend.
Weather forecasts, he said, was the biggest reason they couldn't make it, noting that strong winds are the worst conditions a kayaker could face.
"For us, of course, it's the wind."
"The rain's not an issue."
The wind played such a part, it says Commodore Riley, that coach Riley had to make a pretty big decision to delay the races, then chance the route around a little bit.
"We couldn't use the course they set up because of the wind. We couldn't keep the lines straight. We eventually did do okay."
The winds also put a limitation on how far the kayakers could go out away from the shore."They couldn't go more than 100 metres out into the water. It's extremely dangerous."
The regatta began around 9 a.m., but for coach Riley it started around 7 a.m., with a water check.Altogether, she held 33 races and was done by about 5:30 p.m.
"It's so much fun," closed Commodore Riley.
He said some of the paddlers from Regina arrived in Yorkton the night before and stayed at a local hotel. Jessica Riley stayed overnight on the clubhouse grounds.
"It was a really good experience."
They topped off the day with a medal ceremony, including presentations of gold, silver and bronze medals.
"Much like the Olympics!" claims Commodore Riley.
Next up for the YCKC will be two paddlers, Rikki-Lee Hort and Rebecca McLaren heading to Queen City to represent Yorkton at the nationals in two weeks.
