Flatwater spring paddling has only been in Yukon for a few years, but don’t tell that to other clubs at the B.C. Championships/Pacific Cup.
Paddlers from the Yukon Canoe and Kayak Club raced in 16 finals with some fourth place finishes at the CanoeKayak B.C. sanctioned event last weekend in Maple Ridge on Whonnock Lake.
“It went really, really well. I think the kids were pleasantly surprised with how well they faired against the other kids from the other clubs and it gave them a lot of confidence and a lot of energy and will to continue on with paddling,” said YCKC flatwater coach Daniel Girouard.
Julianne Girouard was a standout for the YCKC team of five. She placed fourth out of 32 paddlers in the U12 women’s K-1 200-metre, less than four seconds behind the bronze medalist.
“She’s pretty happy with that,” said Daniel. “Julianne also competed in U13 and U14 categories and faired very well in the K-1.”
Julianne placed eighth out of 35 in the U13 women’s K-1 200-metre and ninth out of 28 in the U14 race.
She also teamed up with a paddler from Vancouver and took another fourth place finish out of 13 teams in the U14/U15 women’s K-2 200-metre. Julianne also took ninth in the U14/15 women’s K-4 500-metre with paddlers from other clubs.
Julianne didn’t only team up with Outside paddlers. She and Yukon teammate Danni Wilkie-Hobus took fifth out of 24 teams in the U13 women’s K-2 500-metre and seventh out of 21 teams in the U12/U13 women’s K-2 200-metre.
Wilkie-Hobus and Julianne, along with two paddlers from other clubs, also placed fourth out of eight teams in the U13 women’s K-4 500-metre.
On her own, Wilkie-Hobus raced to 14th in the U12 women’s K-1 200-metre and 27th place after the heats for the U13 women’s K-1 200-metre.
Teammate Rogan Parry also sped into single digits. Parry notched a ninth place finish out of 36 in the U11 men’s K-1 200-metre. He also took sixth, with paddlers from other clubs, in the U11 men’s K-4 200-metre. He cracked the top half of the field with 18th out of 40 in the U12 men’s K-1 200-metre.
Joel Girouard helped put another fourth-place finish on the board for Yukon. With three American paddlers Joel took fourth in the U11 men’s K-4 200-metre.
He also took 10th out of 36 in the U11 men’s K-1 200-metre and 26th out of 40 in the U12 men’s K-1 200-metre.
Together Parry and Joel claimed seventh out of 34 teams in the U11 open K-2 200-metre.
Yukon’s Cole Wilkie-Hobus almost reached top 10 in the biggest field at the championship, taking 12th out of 44 paddlers in the U13 men’s K-1 200-metre. He also finished 18th out of 26 in the U14 men’s K-1 200-metre. Partnered up with a paddler from Calgary, Cole took sixth in the U13 men’s K-2 500-metre.
Cole and Parry also teamed up for a 10th place finish out of 25 in the U12/U13 men’s K-2 200-metre.
The flatwater team will wrap up the on-water season with the Autumn Classic races this Sunday before starting winter training to continue to build on the team’s current momentum.
“I don’t want to over-tire them, but just to keep that team energy, team feeling,” said Daniel.
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com