We are working on the details of this year’s event. We will be updating our website shortly.

On behalf of the Steering Committee, we want to extend a heartfelt thanks to the many generous event sponsors, donors, and volunteers. Without their unselfish contributions there would be no festival. We also want to thank the participants both on and off the water, and the public at large for coming out and encouraging both the paddlers and the vendors.

We also extend a “special” thank you to the media, print, radio, broadcast and online for assisting us with the task of building our Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival  brand and helping us create “top of mind” awareness of this end of summer festival. Your support has gone a long way at ensuring the event’s success and we truly appreciate it.

The Steering Committee will be meeting shortly to de-brief this year’s festival and to start planning the 4^th Annual Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival.  It is our hope that we can continue enhancing the festival by incorporating new and exciting activities while maintaining our unofficial reputation of being North America’s  ” best in class” paddling festival.

Sincerely,

Guy Lamarche

Jack Watson

1st – Gail Lively

2nd – Shelley Boucher

3rd – Terry Snyder

Mystery – Sydney Thibarug

Download the 2011 Great Canadian Kayak Challenge and Festival Survey.

• Kayak Challenge: $9,975
• 3-Person 200 m Sprint: $2,650
• Rubber Duck Race: $5,000
• Total Payout: $17,625

Download the complete 2011 Great Canadian Kayak Challenge Prize Payout spread.

Welcome to the Third Annual Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival. We hope that this year’s event meets with your expectations and that your participation in the challenge will be a memorable experience.

As you can appreciate, an event of this scope requires countless hours of planning and hopefully we have crossed all “Ts” and dotted all “Is to ensure a seamless event for you and the many spectators attending the festival to cheer you on.

We hope that you will join us for the many other activities happening throughout the park, Saturday and Sunday. A listing of all activities including race start times are posted in various locations of the venue.

You will also find a survey in your Welcome Kit. Please take the time to complete and return to us. Your input is valued and will be considered as we continue to plan future events that hopefully will be bigger and better then the last.

As promised in the registration information, an event T-shirt will be provided to you. This year to ensure that the shirts fit the participants, we asked for your shirt size. Shirts will be ordered shortly after the festival ends and these will be mailed to you.

A number of water based events are planned for Sunday. For the Kayak Clinic contact Timmins Adventure Tours located west of the registration tent. For the 5km Guided Family Leisure Paddle and Shore Lunch or the 200m 3 person sprint Kayak for the Heart of It evenyt, contact the registration personnel and ask for Guy Lamarche.

On behalf of the many corporate sponsors who have supported the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival welcome, and enjoy your time with us.

Sincerely,

Guy Lamarche
Event Co-Chair

Jack Watson
Event Co-Chair

Tom Laughren
Mayor

Also new this year is the addition of the Reel Paddling Film Festival World Tour. A number of paddling destination films will be featured throughout Saturday & Sunday. Admission to the Film Festival is set at $5.00 or a comparable non perishable food item. The Film Festival is being lead by the Timmins Food Bank and all proceeds will support the not for profit organization.

Children activities have been enhanced this year to include two full days of free programming.
“The generous support received from the Timmins Porcupine Kiwanis Club and Eastlink TV has allowed us to greatly enhance the children program. Activities will include inflatables, rock climbing, gyro, pony rides, face painting and a visit by the Science North Blue Coat scientists. Furthermore, the Kiwanis Club will provide all visiting children with free candy floss” continued Lamarche.

The schedule of daytime performing arts has also been enhanced to include two full days of live music, karaoke and various demonstrations from a number of groups to include the Northern Ontario School of Scottish Dance, the Timmins Taoist Tai Chi Society and Good Life Fitness Club. Furthermore, Pontoon Tours of the Mattagami River will be available with two scheduled departures: Saturday 7pm and Sunday 3pm.

Art in Park and Community booths will be plentiful again this year with some 50 exhibitors on hand selling original works of art or providing information on various community programs.

Finally, Saturday activities will end with a free outdoor concert featuring local favorites Sledgehammer, The Shaftmen, Jack and the Rippers and North Bay’s Jake and the Fundamentals, the featured headliner band.

According to Lamarche, well known author and television personality “Kevin Callan will be joining the festival on Saturday to compete in the Celebrity Challenge. Kevin is the author of 12 books including the best selling “The Happy Camper”, the incredibly popular series of paddling guides and his latest Wilderness Pleasures: A Practical Guide to Camping Bliss. Kevin presents across North America, and Europe and has been a keynote speaker at all major canoe events for over 20 years. Callan is also a frequent guest on radio and television, and field editor for Explore Magazine. He is a winner of four National Magazine Awards and three film awards and to have him register in the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival is exciting news to say the least.”

Lamarche reminds all interested paddlers that registration for this year’s challenge closes earlier then previous years. “In order to provide members of the Steering Committee an adequate window to download registration information to race sheets, pre-assign race penny’s and carry out other administrative duties, registrations will close on Thursday August 25 at 4pm instead of closing on Friday at 12 noon as in previous years. There will be exceptions” added Lamarche.

For more information on the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival visit www.thegreatcanadiankayakchallenge.ca

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Guy Lamarche
Manager Tourism, Events & Communications
City of Timmins 705-360-2600 ext. 2404
guy.lamarche@timmins.ca
www.timmins.ca

Background:

The Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival has entered into an agreement with Ministry of Health under the Healthy Communities Fund. This partnership will provide the City with an opportunity to support a key priority identified in the Statement of Priorities,promote a Health Conscious Community. The guiding principle for this priority is simple. Timmins will become Ontario’s healthiest community for people of all ages. To this end, the City will play a leadership role in promoting health – consciousness and public health among the Timmins population. To achieve the stated objective, the City will:

• Encourage participation in recreation programs
• Use City communications to emphasize the importance of healthy lifestyles
• Expand the concept of the Mayor’s walk
• Develop programs that encourage and monitor levels of activity and healthy lifestyles in the City including fitness participation, support quit smoking campaigns and establish an Active Lifestyle Steering Committee

To this end, a committee was formed and the promotion of kayaking through the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival was developed . The paddling festival has no doubt increased the momentum and buy-in for the sport of kayaking. The exponential growth of kayak clinics supports the increased popularity of this sport and promotes safe boating practices, and healthy lifestyles.

Objective:

In order to grow the participation rate associated with paddling we have teamed up with Timmins Adventure Tours to develop and deliver a program that is of interest to newcomers and experienced paddlers. The program will be deivered by certified guides who have the experience and skill to teach beginners the basics and help advanced paddlers refine their technique. The target group should include youth, seniors, and existing paddlers with a focus on growing the sport of kayaking. Promotion of clinics will be done though YMCA, Kid Sports, Senior Citizen Community Centre and local media.

Beginner synopsis:

Get to know kayaks and paddling gear. Understand different kayak hulls and features. Review safety equipment; learn to carry your kayak. Safely enter and exit your kayak.

Intro to following strokes: front stroke, side stroke, back stroke, low brace, low brace turns Opportunities may exist for new paddlers to demo different boats.

Intermediate 1 Synopsis:

Review basic paddle strokes which include:
front stroke, side stroke, back stroke, low brace and low brace turns Introduction to high brace and high brace turns on both left and right side of kayak. Kayak rescues, kayak wet exits and scrambles.

Intermediate 2 Synopsis:

Review recovery strokes which include high and low braces.
Review rescues and become comfortable
in overturned kayak. Introduction to sculling.
Introduction to basic roll

Methodology:

Timmins Adventure Tours in partnership with the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival, and the Ministry of Health Promotions will provide complimentary clinics as follows. Eligible participants will be provided with a “Certificate” of completion once training has been carried out successfully. The Certificate will allow participants to redeem it towards a free registration in a division of his / her choice during the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival 2011. Deadline for kayak challenge registrations is 4pm Thursday August 25, 2011.

Dates of Program:

Wed evenings 6:00 p.m till 8:45 p.m
Wed July 27
Wed Aug 3
Wed Aug 10th
Wed Aug 17th
Wed Aug 24th

Sat mornings 9:00 until 11:45 a.m
Sat July 30th
Sat Aug 6th
Sat Aug 13th
Sat Aug 20th

To register in a kayak clinic, contact:
Timmins Adventure Tours
567 Pavillion Dr.
Timmins, On
705-360-0142

Or

Pro Tackle
19 Father Costello Dr
Schumacher, ON
705-268-8069

705-365-6856 cell

Note:
Instructor Shawn Johnstone is a certified Level 1 Sea kayak Instructor with Paddle Canada (Log onto www.paddlecanada.com and go into instructors for hire section).

All participants in clinics must register and pay registration fee 48 hrs in advance of kayak clinic. This will ensure that all participants are insured and registered for clinics. Clinics will proceed as planned in rainy or inclement weather. Timmins Adventure Tours/Pro tackle Co. has the right to postpone a clinic because of lightning. Timmins Adventure Tours will issue a receipt to participants and participants will be reimbursed by the City of Timmins for the cost of the clinic and kayak rental if applicable. Participants will be provided with one complimentary registration of his / her choice to the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival, Aug 27 2011. Visit www.thegreatcanadiankayakchallenge.ca for more information on paddling divisions. Participants must supply own kayak and safety equipment for participation in challenge.

For more information contact Guy Lamarche Co-Chair, the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge 705-360-2600 ext 2404 guy.lamarche@timmins.ca
www.thegreatcanadiankayakchallenge.ca