YORKTON – Three Yorkton athletes from Yorkton Canoe and Kayak Clube competed June 25 in Saskatoon.
Nathan Whitney, Lily Whitney and Zisu Yang represented YCKC at the provincial event.
Nathan Whitney and Lily Whitney won all of their events (Single/K1 500 & 1000m).
Zisu Yang received Bronze in her K1 500m event.
The trio teamed up with a Saskatoon athlete for a fun relay race to finish off the day. They won the event by a course length.
“I was very proud of the athletes and their performance this weekend. It’s been busy with school and activities wrapping up so for them to be able to stay focused and race and place as well as they did, is awesome!” Said Elia Bolme, YCKC Racing Program Coach.
This event is the first of three Developmental Regattas that will be happening in the province this summer. Developmental Regattas are competitions designed to introduce and support beginner and young athletes.
“This was the first time in over ten years that Saskatoon has hosted the event on the River,” said Canoe Kayak Saskatchewan Paddling Development Director, Jessica Riley, “many of the athletes, parents and even coaches had never been to the facilities. The athletes got to race in different conditions than they are used to and got to learn a bit more about a club they typically race against. It also was great to be able to use the new dock.”
The three clubs that share the dock area (Saskatoon Rowing Club, Saskatoon Canoe Club, and Saskatoon Racing Canoe Club) joined together in fundraising efforts over the last couple of years to install a dock. The dock is low maintenance and can be expanded as needed.
Canada Cup West
Seven athletes from Yorkton Canoe Kayak Club raced July 8 and 9 in Regina.
Zisu Yang, Brecklyn Baluk, Vaida Kuntz, Lily Whitney, Brayden Schellenbaum, Nathan Whitney, and Elia Bolme raced hard over the two-day event against competitors from Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, Yukon, and two teams from the United States.
Saturday races began with a 2000m distance for the Under 12s (U12). L. Whitney took home gold, with Kuntz getting bronze. Baluk and Yang finished 4th and 7th, respectively. Schellenbaum finished 4th in his 2000m event.
L. Whitney and Kuntz raced up a category together in the U14 Women K2 500m where they finished with a Bronze medal.
In the U12 Women K2 500m, teams of Baluk/Kuntz and L. Whitney/Yang won gold and silver, respectively.
N. Whitney started his competition weekend with a team boat, working with athletes from Regina to race the U14 Men K4 500m Final. The crew finished 4th overall. Soon after, N. Whitney won his U14 Men K1 1000m Heat and later finished 3rd in the Final later that day.
Schellenbaum teamed up with athletes from the other clubs to race the U12 Men K4 500m Final, where they finished second.
The July 9 event also saw no shortage of medals and great placements.
Schellenbaum/L. Whitney/N. Whitney joined a paddler from another club to race the U14 Mixed K4 500m, where they finished 3rd.
Schellenbaum joined a Saskatoon athlete and won silver in the U12 Men K2 500m Final. Schellenbaum later placed 6th in the U12 Men K1 200m.
N. Whitney placed second in his U14 Men K1 200m Heat and advanced to the Final where he won silver. He also raced up an age category in the U16 Men K1 500m event where he finished 8th overall.
All four YCKC U12 female athletes worked well together to win the U12 Women K4 500m Final with a solid seven-second lead. They later raced in the U14 Women K4 500m event and took home Bronze.
L. Whitney, at just 11 years of age, competed against 10 other competitors and placed 4th overall in the U14 Women K1 200m event. She also placed 4th in the U14 Women K1 1000m event.
Yang, Kuntz, and Baluk raced in the U12 Women K1 200m with Kuntz taking home the gold, Baluk with the bronze and Yang finishing 8th overall.
N. Whitney teamed up with his 11 year old teammate Schellenbaum to race in the U14 Men K2 200m where they finished 5th and placed 6th in the U14 Men K2 500m. N. Whitney then raced with a Manitoba paddler in the U16 Men K2 500m event and placed 5th.
L.Whitney & Baluk worked well together and raced up a category in the U14 Women K2 200m and took home Bronze.
Athletes also had an opportunity to race in 10-person Dragon Boat events. This event has not previously been included in this competition, but it was held to begin the promotional recruitment and lead up to Regina hosting the ICF Dragon Boat World Championships in 2026.
“It was a great weekend and the athletes performed very well,” said Elia Bolme, Racing Program Coach, “we loved seeing their times improve and participating in the Dragon Boat events”.
Bolme not only coached during the regatta, she also competed. She placed second in her U18 Women K1 1000m Final, Bronze in the U18 Women K1 500m, and joined a crew and raced OPEN Women K4 200m achieving Bronze.
Athletes are training for three more competitions this season, the last being the Yorkton Developmental Regatta on August 19th that the club will host for the province. Competitions aren’t mandatory and the Racing program is always looking for new recruits. For more information on the summer programming at YCKC, please visit their website.
