Looking for a summer camp that will have your kids socializing with new friends, being active outdoors, and developing crucial life skills like leadership and teamwork?
All of this and more is what they will find through the youth sprint camps led by the Peterborough Canoe & Kayak Club — and there are programs for adults, too!
Established in 2017, the Peterborough Canoe & Kayak Club is a not-for-profit organization committed to engaging paddlers in the sport of sprint canoeing and kayaking through camps and programs delivered on Little Lake. The club also promotes inclusion and paddling for everyone with its Special Olympics program, one of the most successful of its kind in the province.
Whether they are just getting on the water or are already experienced, paddlers aged seven through 13 are invited to learn the basics, practice their solo skills, and work in a team. In addition to on-water training and off-water games and activities, there will be opportunities to participate in developmental regattas designed for first-timers to compete in a friendly and fun environment.
This year, the youth sprint camps will be double the fun as they switch to a full-day format, running from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. Five-day camps begin on July 6, 13, 20, 27, with a four-day camp beginning on August 4.
“No matter what their experience level is coming in, we’ve got a way to challenge them to develop further in the sport,” says club commodore Sherra Fam. “We tailor the camp to the kids that we’ve got that week and get them active and having fun on the water.”
Registration is also open for a high-performance training program for youth ages 10 to 18. Designed for paddlers who are keen to race, the program is being delivered in a new format that’s focused on conditioning.
This will also make it beneficial for skiers, hockey players, and other young winter athletes looking to remain active and in shape by engaging in a full-body activity throughout their off-season. The training runs from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for seven weeks beginning Monday, July 6.
“People often think it’s just shoulders and arms being used in sprint, but it’s very heavy with the core and you use your legs for paddling quite a bit, both in canoe and kayaking,” Fam says. “It really challenges balance and core strength.”
All new this year, there’s also an opportunity to join the new Youth Dragon Boat program, developed in partnership with Peterborough 4-H Association. Beginning with spring training in April, the youth team will train in preparation for Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival, an annual fundraiser for cancer care at Peterborough Regional Health Centre taking place on Little Lake on Saturday, June 13.
The high-performance training, youth dragon boat, and on-water sessions for the summer camps will be led by sprint canoeist and head coach Zoe Bergeron. Also a personal trainer, the Cobourg native has competed at three Canadian National Championships and represented Team Canada internationally multiple times, including in two World Championships.
For the young at heart interested in taking up sprint paddling, the Peterborough Canoe & Kayak Club has also opened registration for their adult programming. There will be a flexible community program for those looking to set their own pace, an extended-season competitive program for those wanting to race, and a weekly adult dragon boat team for the perfect combination of fast and fun.
The Peterborough Canoe & Kayak Club has boats that are suitable for paddlers with balance or mobility challenges, and boats that will help paddlers progress toward racing-style boats.
Split payments are available to families who register early. For more information and to register, visit pckc.ca/programs.
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