BC SUMMER GAMES
Canoe/Kayak
At the BC Summer Games, athletes (under 16 years old) are encouraged to participate in multi-discipline paddling events. The BC Summer Games competition includes sprint races in Canoe and kayak with races in singles, doubles, and fours and slalom single in canoe and kayak races. In the spring races, the goal is to be the fastest, the athletes race in straight lines from start line to finish. Slalom races require the paddlers to pass through or around, without touching, markers and/or “gates” and still finish with the best .
As different areas (zones) of the province tend to participate in different disciplines, encouraging participation in all events not only ensures an exciting and competitive weekend, but helps to equalize the playing field between individual athletes and their skill sets per discipline. This ensures challenging experiences and engaging competitions for all.
Notable BC Games alumni include Aaron Rublee who had competed for Canada at the Senior World Championships and Alex Brent who competed for Team BC at the 2013 and 2017 Canada Summer Games..
CanoeKayak BC and the provincial clubs it represents, follow the developmental pathway of Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) and embrace Canada Sport for Life (CS4L) values, offering youth throughout BC the opportunity to learn varied paddling disciplines which engage, challenge, strengthen, and encourage Sport for Life. See www.canoekayakbc.ca for more information about their program.
Canoeing in several different cultures began as a means of transportation on long waterways or between land masses, although the origin of canoeing for sport is attributed to John MacGregor, the Scottish explorer. In 1866 he founded the Royal Canoe Club where the first canoeing competition was held. In 1924, canoeing associations from several European countries founded the early forerunner of the International Canoeing Federation (ICF) and by 1936 canoeing had became an Olympic sport. The ICF is now a worldwide canoeing organization which oversees the Olympic disciplines of Sprint and Slalom, while recognizing various other competitive and non-competitive disciplines of canoeing.
Internationally, the use of the term “canoeing” refers to canoe/kayak and varied paddle sports, although in Canada we tend to make the distinction between canoe and kayak. Despite design differences in these eclectic boats, assorted canoe/kayaks can share some confusing similarities. A noteworthy distinction in the Olympic sport of sprint canoe/kayak is that kayak competitors use a double-bladed paddle and remain seated when competing, while competitive canoers generally kneel on one leg and use a single-blade.
