Sydenham Lake Canoe Club hosts O Cup #4 Fall Classic

Sep 17, 2014

Over 90 paddlers from across the province endured the less than ideal weather conditions at the Ontario Canoe Kayak Sprint Racing Affiliation’s (OCSRA) O Cup Fall Classic event, which took place at the Point in Sydenham on an unseasonably cold and rainy September 13. The classic was hosted by the Sydenham Lake Canoe Club (SLCC) and 92 paddlers competed in a number of 200 metre canoe and kayak races as well as open and masters events. The event also included a 6000 metre team pursuit race open to paddlers of all ages.

The fall classic was the fourth race in the OCSRA's Ontario Cup series and it was a chance for paddlers to gain points that could lead to their joining the Ontario paddling team. The SLCC to date has 60 members, and thanks to a grant from the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation that the club received in November 2013, it also now has a nationally sanctioned regatta course, which menas that major paddling events can now take place on Sydenham Lake.

Five paddlers from the SLCC competed on Saturday. Sebastien L’Abbe placed fourth in his heat in the 200metre K1 under 14 event. In the same event Ian Ramzy tipped his kayak and unfortunately was disqualified. Twin brothers Nicholas and Mathieu Symons, who competed in the under 12-200metre K1 event, placed fifth and sixth in their heats respectively. George Willes placed 2nd in his heat in the Boys K1 200m

Helen Parfitt, SLCC vice-commodore, explained that for the SLCC paddlers the event is not really about winning or even placing since the majority of the paddlers are quite a bit younger than many of their competitors. “The benefit of this event for our younger paddlers was to have the opportunity to compete on “home turf” and to have one additional opportunity to compete with paddlers from all across Ontario. Our young paddlers have had only one All-Ontario competition to date so our aim was to see how they fare ‘racing up’ with older paddlers in the U15 events”.

That being said, one Sydenham paddler, Genevieve L'Abbe, who is currently a member of the Ontario Team and who competed on Saturday as a member of the Ottawa River Canoe Club, placed first in the U 17 women's K200 event and her result will go towards her Ontario team's ranking status. Genevieve also raced in the 6000m team pursuit event and though her team did not place in the top three, it looks as though L'Abbe as a solo paddler is poised to make waves.

The seven clubs who participated on Saturday were Balmy Beach, Richmond Hill, Cobourg, Gananoque, Carleton Place, Ottawa River, and Sydenham.

One of the primary concerns of those competing, coaching, officiating and observing on Saturday was trying to stay warm. Prior to their races the Symons brothers chose to paddle around in their boats in an effort to keep their muscles from tensing up. One coach told me that wearing the right clothing is key. “It's all about layers and choosing the right kinds of fabrics. Wool is good, cotton is a no-no,” one coach said.

This year’s Ontario Cup was won by the Balmy Beach Canoe Club of Toronto, who took home the highest number of points overall. Saturday’s event attracted over 160 visitors to Sydenham and organizers wish to thank the many generous local sponsors and volunteers. For more information visit www.sydenhamlakecanoeclub.com