What a ride! Homeward-bound drama aside (Irene played havoc with some of our travel routes coming back from Welland through New York and Vermont), we had a fantastic showing at Nationals, with many of our more-than 40 Maskwa athletes going head to head with the very best in the country. Maskwa crews made more than 30 finals and of those who made finals, 18 placed in the top five! That's the top five in Canada! Here, in no particular order, are our top finishers:
1. Juvenile Men K-4 1000 (Matt Beaver, Ben Kendall, Nathan McKinnon and Jesse Scott) - 3rd
2. Midget Men C-4 1000 (Matt Coutts, Robin Kendall, Alex Scott and David Webster) - 5th
3. Midget Men K-2 1000 (Robin Kendall/Jacob Steele) - 1st
4. Junior Men K-1 500 (Jessop) - 1st
5. Open Women K-4 200 (Ciara Jerrett, Jillian Steele, Natalie Miller, Alexa Irvin) - 5th
6. Senior Men K-2 1000 (Jessop/Ian Miller) - 5th
7. Juvenile Men K-2 1000 (Matt Beaver/Ben Kendall) - 5th
8. Junior Women K-2 500 (Alexa Irvin/Natalie Miller) - 1st
9. Juvenile Women K-2 500 (Ciara Jerrett/Jillian Steele) - 5th
10. Midget Men K-1 1000 (Jacob Steele) - 4th
11. Senior Women K-2 1000 (Natalie Miller/Alexa Irvin) - 4th
12. Junior Women K-4 500 (Ciara Jerrett/Jill Steele/Natalie Miller/Alexa Irvin) - 1st (and a new Canadian Record)
13. Midget Women War Canoe (C-15) coxed by Chad - 3rd
14. Midget Men C-15 (Coxed by Jordan) - 5th
15. Junior Women K-1 1000 (Alexa Irvin) - 1st
16. Junior Women K-1 1000 (Natalie Miller) - 4th
17. Junior Men K-1 1000 (Andrew Jessop) - 4th
18. Midget Men K-4 1000 (Matt Coutts, Nathan Haley, Robin Kendall & Jacob Steele) - 1st
Congratulations to all of our athletes and to their coaches (Head Coach Chad, Jordan and Pam), whose hard work and dedication has paid off big-time. Some of the athletes have been training twice a day, year round, often in harsh weather, so it's great to see them reap the reward for their efforts.
Congratulations also to Maskwa's Masters paddlers who took part in the CANMAS regatta immediately following the Nationals. The Masters paddlers did Maskwa proud in what was a windy day of competition on the Welland canal.
Maskwa set a goal this year to join the ranks of the top 10 clubs in the country and we succeeded - coming 10th out of 42 teams competing! And the terrific results didn't end there. Maskwa's Midget men came second place in overall points and our Junior women came third overall. The work and dedication of all the athletes, their coaches and all the parents is to be heartily commended.
Given that this was the largest Maskwa contingent we've ever sent to Nationals, you will all agree that it was a huge undertaking to coordinate and for that we owe Mike Haley, our Nationals Coordinator, an enormous bouquet. Bet you didn't realize it would be a full-time job when you signed up, Mike! In fact, without Mike and his smooth-talking skills, we would never have been able to field the Midget and Juvi war canoes, never mind kept things running as smoothly as they did. Special thanks as well to Janet Steele who stepped up to organize the fundraising campaign which covered a significant portion of the club's fees for boat transport, coaching and other club costs. Kudos also to our many parent-chaperones/drivers/meal-makers, who ensured that the athletes made it safely to and from the course and had plenty of fluids and snacks. Wendy Haley, Carol Coutts, Anne Webster, Janet Steele, Sally Campbell, Jackie Hoar and Margaret MacDonell did a fabulous job of looking after the team.
And finally, a shout-out (literally!) to our Maskwa cheering section, featuring the dulcet tones of Wendy (Go-Maskwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa) Haley and her side-kicks Mike, Blair and myself. Let's just say that if the national paddling community didn't know Maskwa before, they sure know who we are now!
Ian Scott
Maskwa Commodore
