Sydenham Lake Canoe Club

Jun 05, 2014

Parents with children in the community of South Frontenac might not know it but they are lucky to have one of the province’s best kept paddling secrets right in their own backyard.

The Sydenham Lake Canoe Club, located on the scenic shores of Sydenham Lake right in downtown Sydenham, has a growing reputation as one of the premiere paddling clubs in the province. The not-for-profit club is located just behind Trousdale's grocery store on land that was donated by the Trousdales. It was established in 1997 by Olympic paddler George Jones, who is the club’s acting commodore. The club is run by a dedicated volunteer board who are committed to “providing recreational and competitive paddling experience to youth in the South Frontenac Community.”

The club held its first open house and registration on May 30 and this year organizers are offering up a wide range of summer programming designed for kids of all ages and skill levels, including a more casual day camp as well as paddling lessons. This year kids aged 6-13 can participate in the Canoe Kids Outdoor Skills Camp, a new multi-sports centered day camp designed to introduce youngsters to the sport of sprint canoe and kayak. The camp’s emphasis is on skills development, safety, fun and fitness. Each camper receives 2-3 hours of daily one on one paddling instruction on the water with the goal of receiving a Canoe Kids Award certificate. Older children aged 8-17 can participate in the Kids Canoe lessons where qualified staff teach the basics of sprint paddling.

New this year is a masters paddling program for adults wishing to paddle for both fun and/or fitness and for those wishing to compete in the CKC Masters events, which are held in Ontario throughout the summer season. Also new is a masters war canoe class for 18 years and older, which will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Participants in the war canoe classes will be given the opportunity to participate in three regional regattas and one provincial regatta, and will potentially have a chance to compete at the national level.

Rhiannon Murphy, 14, has been a member of the club for five years now and competes in the K1 (single person kayak) and C1 (single person canoe). She started paddling when she was 11 years old by participating first at the club’s day camp, where she learned the basic skills before moving into the sprint training program. She began racing boats four years ago and has done very well, winning medals at the local and provincial level. Rhiannon lives close by and her mother Eliza said that the club is a great resource for families with kids in the area. “The Sydenham Lake Canoe Club, though small, is well known in the paddling community both provincially and nationally due to the small ratio of coaches to racers, which allows participants a lot of individual attention,” Eliza Murphy said.

That fact has been proven true as many members of the club have won medals at the provincial and national levels, and two past members of the club are currently trying out for the provincial and national paddling teams. Cia Myles-Gonzales, who attended the club for years and will be coaching youngsters and adults this year, is currently trying out for the Ontario provincial team. Similarly long-time club member Genevieve L'Abbe is competing this weekend at the national team trials with the hopes of becoming a member of the national junior paddling team.

The club's vice commodore, Helen Parfitt, said the small club is envied by larger clubs since its home base has deep, clean water, a sheltered bay that makes for less windy conditions, and great visibility. Parfitt said that last year the club received a Frontenac Community Futures Development grant that will enable the club to install brand new certified racing lanes. This will make the course a viable location for future provincial and national races.

There will be a second open house and registration this Sat. June 7 from 10am – 1pm. Programming begins on July 7. The club is located just behind the beer store in Sydenham. For more information visit sydenhamlakecanoeclub.com, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 613-376-6613.