YORKTON - The season opener regatta kicked off Yorkton Canoe & Kayak Club competitive season with four athletes (Nathan Whitney [13], Lily Whitney [11], Brecklyn Baluk [10], and Brayden Schellenbaum [10]) competing in Regina May 27.
This one-day event featured three distances: 1000m, 500m, and 200m.
Nathan Whitney was first to race with the 1000m. He dominated the event with a 15 second lead. He held a strong lead and finished first in his other two distances.
Lily Whitney raced up a full age category and placed third in her events.
Brayden Schellenbaum and Brecklyn Baluk raced in the U10 Mixed category. Schellenbaum placed first in the 1000m with Baluk placing a close second. In the 500m, the placings were reversed. In their final event of the day, they had a close finish with each other having to look at the race times to see who won. Baluk took first with 76 milliseconds on Schellenbaum.
“The season opener is a great way to set goals for the year,” said Jessica Riley, YCKC head coach. “We get to have discussions on the races and see what went well and the areas we need to improve. These guys just got on the water last week so they maybe have paddled 15km in total so far. I’m looking forward to August and for them to look back and see how far they have come.”
The athletes and other members of the YCKC Racing Program head to Saskatoon in a couple weeks for their next event.
“We are always looking for new paddlers,” commented Riley. “Paddling is an excellent cross training sport and a fantastic way to stay fit over the summer.”
The racing program starts in mid-May and ends mid-September with programs running Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the summer.
More information on programming at YCKC can be found on their website: www.yorktoncanoekayakclub.com
Paddling for the Public opens June 1. Follow YCKC on Facebook for updates.
