Regatta Summary 2017
This has been a summer of pesky bugs, too much rain, and cool temperatures. But very little seems to deter the diehard regatta participants and their cheering friends and family each year, and this year was no exception! Despite the skies opening up just a few minutes before the start of the swim and canoe races (with sailboats already out in above average regatta day winds), enthusiasm was not curbed. Strangers huddled together under communal shelters but within 10 minutes, the show went on. Sean, Mik and Russ were returned to the dock to officiate the first races. Jason and Michel continued to stoke the barbeque and threw on more hotdogs. Lynne and Vince resumed taking membership monies, and Lisa and Heather lined up the ribbons in anticipation of the first participants coming to claim their participation and placement ribbons. Kerra and Cindy headed out into the lake to hold the finish line in chilly waters (later to be replaced by Andrew and John who remained for the balance of the day, claiming they weren’t that cold). John pulled out the camera and resumed capturing the day’s highlights, having already caught some fantastic shots of the sailboats heading out at 11AM. It was business as usual!
With a cooler day comes a few less swimmers, but a lot more canoe enthusiasts. Though there appeared to be no dry advantage to canoeing this year, with a large proportion of canoes and their paddlers taking a dip! One stand up canoe participant said he turned back to find he’d lost his wing man, and gained another from the adjacent canoe, so they kept on going! No canoe race was a sure thing, with first place positioned canoes losing in the final moments of the race due to tips, crashes and the usual amounts of cheating. It appears that all is fair at the KAPOA regatta!
With the swim races less eagerly attended, the women’s and men’s swim races for the 15+ age category were combined. Sara Hansen was a great sport to compete with the men, with no one to challenge her in that age group. By the end of the day, Sara secured the Women’s Overall Swim Trophy along with Alaina Ralph, who was undefeated in the 11-14 age category. Both are returning swim champs from last year. The men’s swim trophy was shared by returning champion Ian Cox (15+), and new trophy winner, Grayden Bilous (10 and under). A few young men gave Ian a challenge, but fell just slightly short of the reigning champ, which is no small task. Both Ian and Sara very graciously sent the swim trophies home with the younger winners, many thanks to you both.
The overall best competitor trophy goes to the single participant from the day’s swimming and canoeing events that holds the highest score from both events. This year’s winner was a new name to the regatta hall of fame, Kyle Dempsey (11-14). Congratulations Kyle for joining the ranks of winners that span from well before you were born to present day! All of the trophies have winners dating back to the early 1970’s, and for that reason, all of the trophies have had additions made to them in the past few years to allow for yet another 10+ years of winners. Thank you to the Hansen family and John Craig (sailing) for making these additions for KAPOA in recent years.
By mid afternoon, news came back of the sailing competition results, but we were very sorry to hear that 1 boat went down in the lake due to the exceptionally high winds. Attempts were made to rescue it, but it could not be saved during the race. There was much discussion by folks who would be heading out to help on Sunday, and I’m confident that the enthusiasm resulted in the boat being floated. Congratulations to John & Marie Craig for their 1st place sailing finish among a strong contingent of boats this year, and the very challenging conditions!
The day finished with a few rounds of junior and senior tug-of-war, which is always a challenge to organize on the spot and late in the day, a 50/50 draw (congratulations Manon Trudel), sand castle certificates spanning a variety of categories for every participant, and lots of thanks to volunteers who make the day possible and special. Big thanks were given and are acknowledged again here to our sponsors who make the regatta financially feasible: Cathy Pitts Re/Max Country Classics, Yuill’s ValueMart, SandBay Camp (Wes & Irene Oram) and the Pyz family!!
Well that’s a wrap for 2017 – see you next year. Let’s hope for fewer bugs, more warm days, less rain, and yet another fantastic and well attended regatta!
Kerra Wylie, Lynne MacLean
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Another year of great photos courtesy of John Michalecki. Thanks John!
