All of the time and effort that the Steering Committee and its many volunteers have invested over the last year finally paid off this weekend with the successful presentation of the 2014 Great Canadian Kayak Challenge and Festival.
With an unexpected change in weather near the end of last week, it was apparent that Mother Nature on their side.
The Great Canadian Kayak Challenge and Festival was able to forward with warm, sunny weather, allowing the paddlers, spectators and tourists a more enjoyable weekend all around.
Paddlers and spectators came from around the province came to Timmins for the races as well as to see and participate in the other attractions of the weekend, some of whom spent considerable sums of money at local businesses in addition to their planned food and accommodation purchases.
Throughout the day on Saturday, the Mountjoy Historical Conservation Park and the Mattagami River were host to nine separate kayak races with male and female divisions for each race.
The paddlers competing in Saturday’s races were able to show their commitment and intensity of their training, with the following results being posted by the end of the day.
Elite Challenge Kayak Race (35km) - Male
1st Place: Richard Demers (3:15:09)
2nd Place: Daniel Mallete (3:15:13)
3rd Place: Mark Steep (3:52:03)
Elite Challenge Kayak Race (35km) - Female
1st Place: Michelle Twinning (4:09:14)
Elite Recreational Challenge (16km) - Male
1st Place: Sam Wyss (1:35:42)
2nd Place: Pierre Lemire (1:36:03)
3rd Place: Jozef Nycz (1:49:54)
Elite Recreational Challenge (16km) - Female
1st Place: Jessica Demers (1:55:09)
2nd Place: Lisa Dubeau (2:03:37)
3rd Place: Lynne Schwertfeger (2:30:15)
Recreational Challenge (16km) - Male
1st Place: Patrick Boily (1:55:30)
2nd Place: Fred Lefort (1:56:33)
3rd Place: Joell Steep (1:57:52)
Recreational Challenge (16km) - Female
1st Place: Janet Riopel (2:04:13)
2nd Place: Carmen Lefort (2:07:34)
3rd Place: Carole DeLarosbil (2:10:41)
Open Challenge (6.5km) - Male
1st Place: Richard Demers (36:45)
2nd Place: Daniel Mallete (36:54)
3rd Place: Sam Wyss (36:56)
Open Challenge (6.5km) - Female
1st Place: Jessica Demers (43:23)
2nd Place: Cheryl Allard (46:53)
3rd Place: Kelly Baker (48:53)
Seniors Masters Elite Challenge (6.5km) - Male
1st Place: Sam Wyss (39:59)
2nd Place: Jim Blair (49:49)
3rd Place: Robert Wing (50:56)
Seniors Masters Elite Challenge (6.5km) - Female
1st Place: Francoise Bellehumeur (54:39)
2nd Place: Jeri-Lynn Catton (57:29)
Seniors Masters Recreational Challenge (5km) - Male
1st Place: John Liversage (35:26:24)
2nd Place: Arv Senkus (36:54:40)
3rd Place: Fred Lefort (39:18:08)
Seniors Masters Recreational Challenge (5km) - Female
1st Place: Gail Bailey (37:39:29)
2nd Place: Noella Thibault (41:27)
3rd Place: Joan Locke (44:59)
Novice Challenge (5km) - Male
1st Place: Patrick Boily (35:04)
2nd Place: John Liversage (35:15)
3rd Place: Joel Lambert (36:00)
Novice Challenge (5km) - Female
1st Place: Samantha Demers (38:25)
2nd Place: Gail Bailey (38:30)
3rd Place: Sydney Boileau (42:29)
Youth Challenge (3km) - Male
1st Place: Theo Mallet (26:04)
2nd Place: Tyler Whelan (27:22:06)
3rd Place: Grayson Catton (50:08)
Youth Challenge (3km) - Female
1st Place: Andraya Johnstone (26:46)
2nd Place: Tegan McColeman (42:33)
3rd Place: Jenna Belle Tessier (50:49)
Celebrity Challenge (3km)
1st Place: Steve Arthurs (24:17:04)
2nd Place: André Grzela (26:24:39)
3rd Place: Steve Black (28:09:15)
(PHOTO Paddlers power off the start line for the Open Division Male and Female races. Dave Kramer/ TimminsToday)
