Saturday May 13th was a record day for the sport of paddling at Penticton.
The newly formed Penticton Paddle Sports Association, a coalition of the local Dragon Boat Festival Society and the Racing Canoe Club, welcomed 33 teams to Skaha Lake for the 23rd Annual Duel in the Desert.
Before Saturday, there had never been more than 27 canoe teams at the event.
“It was a lot of work, but it’s so exciting to see all the teams here,” said the association’s Launa Maundrell. “We’ve all been racing together for a long time.”
Groups of six from Victoria and Calgary competed in a series of three heats up to 10 miles on Saturday.
On Sunday, hundreds of participants from the weekend event will compete simultaneously in a 10K race.
The mass start is at 10 a.m., says Maundrell.
Latitude 48 Canoe Team from Victoria. (Logan Lockhart – Western News)
“They will be in what are called small boats and there will be about 40 to 50 canoes at the starting line.”
Penticton’s Dragon Boat Festival Society and Racing Canoe Club merged in March 2023. This weekend’s event marks the association’s first collaboration.
Now under one roof, the above two groups share resources while developing their respective sports locally.
“It’s growing well,” said Maundrell.
“And to see all the teams here today is just amazing. Penticton is definitely a favorite for many.”
Of the 33 teams competing on Saturday, a trio were from Alberta.
Regionally, teams from Vernon and Kelowna were also present.
(Logan Lockhart – Western News)
(Logan Lockhart – Western News)
@lgllockhart
logan.lockhart@pentictonwesternnews.com
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