Review of 2008
Sprint Program Report
2008 has been an excellent season for the FLCC Sprint racing program and the opening of the new boat storage facility heralds future successes.
Highlights
Over the winter, our athletes took advantage of provincial funding to attend cross-country ski training events at Cypress Mountain, Manning Park and the Olympic course in Callaghan Valley. With a little practice, our athletes have embraced skiing, and will continue skiing this year to enhance their aerobic capabilities.
FLCC athletes attended the hp training camp in San Diego, where they withstood the heat, a tough training schedule and their own cooking to log essential kilometers on the water. Also over Spring break, at the hp development camp on Mesachie Lake, FLCC athletes survived cold weather and long runs to build “kilometers in their arms.” The Spring camps were a huge success, with our athletes benefiting from excellent coaching, distance paddling and travel experience.
Our annual Paddler’s Classic Long Distance race was a welcome start to the racing season. Thanks to our dedicated and experienced volunteers, the regatta ran efficiently and safely; we had much positive feedback from the competitors regarding the upgraded site at Brae Island, our increased commitment to on-water safety and our fabulous prizes.
This past season, our paddlers competed at regattas in Saskatoon, Seattle, Regina, Kamloops and Maple Ridge, where they gained valuable racing experience, worked with teammates from other clubs, and of course, brought back many ribbons. We were fortunate to attend many regattas in Western Canada, and thanks to the generosity of BCKC and RCKC, we were able to transport our boats to the out-of-province competitions. Jane Traas and Marlene Hoyt did a fabulous helping out at the Canada Day Regatta in Regina, and the Traas, Leuba, Plankeel and Muench families were instrumental in transporting our boats to local competitions. Thanks to the dedication and energy of our parents, our athletes are able to proudly represent FLCC!
Our competition highlights included racing at the Canadian Marathon Nationals in Enderby; Elliot Hoyt representing FLCC at the Canadian Sprint Nationals in Dartmouth, NS; Jordan Traas and Josh Plankeel medaling in the K4 1000m at Nationals with members of RCKC; racing in the Cranberry Festival; Colton Muench earning the Bantam Athlete of the Year award; and six FLCC athletes earning spots on the BC High Performance and Development teams. In the past year, I have seen our core group of athletes develop immensely: attending practices consistently, putting effort and energy into each workout, acting generously and graciously to fellow competitors and supporting each other at competitions, our sprint racing athletes are well on their way to becoming champions.
Challenges
Recruitment continues to be a challenge for our sprint group, but I’m optimistic that with the return of Alex, who ran an excellent day program this summer, we will build upon our day camp success. Additionally, with the construction of our new facility, it will be easier to run a year-long training program for novice paddlers, thus feeding our sprint program. Fundraising also continues to be an issue for our sprint program. With such a small group of parents, it is difficult to find the volunteers needed to run a successful fundraising program, and such a program is essential for supporting our athletes as their travel needs increase, and for building a fleet of modern racing craft.
