Kenmore racers competing in international kayak and canoe events

Kenmore is now the place to find out what it takes to compete in an international event.

June 15, 2015 12:43 pm

By Doug Ritchie

Special to the Reporter

Kenmore is now the place to find out what it takes to compete in an international event. The city debuted its international paddling clubs during the Memorial Day weekend with four racers competing in Duisburg, Germany, at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup. In addition, local athletes competed in Vancouver, Canada during the 17th annual FCRCC Women’s Dragon Boat Regatta.

With the acquisition of property along the Sammamish Slough, Squires Landing Park is now bustling with learn-to-paddle programs in several disciplines.

The park, open to all hand-powered water sports, is home to two clubs; Kenmore Canoe/Kayak Club and the Seattle Flying Dragon Boat Club-Kenmore. The Kenmore Waterfront Activities Center is a non-profit organization established to oversee programs in the park. The city’s vision was to have a place where local youth could be active and experience the surrounding beauty of the area.

Stephanie Berg, Linda Ishii and Sheri Baker teamed up with 15 other women paddlers to compete in the FCRCC Women’s Regatta. The three local paddlers prepared by practicing daily either at Squires Landing Park or on South Lake Union, home of the Seattle Flying Dragon Boat Club. There were 45 teams represented competing in three 500-meter races each. The competition was extremely fierce, however, they did end the day with a second, a fourth and a first-place finish.

In Duisburg, Germany two local athletes and previous Para-Olympians prepared to compete in the ICF Para-canoe World Cup. Alana Nichols and Hannah Pennington, both disabled and dedicated athletes, are on their way to Rio and the 2016 Paralympics.

Nichols posted her personal best and had a bronze medal third-place finish in the KL1 Women’s 200-meter event. ICF officials weren’t so kind to Pennington, saying her disability wasn’t classifiable.

Also representing Kenmore on the world stage are Emmanuel Beauchard, who will be racing in the under 23 year old division at the ICF World Championships held in Milan  Italy, and, Ben Karlinsy, who earned a place on the U.S. Jr. World Team as one of the top 18 years olds in the country. Karlinsy will be competing at the Jr. World Championships in Portugal this July.

For more information visit http://kenmorewac.org/.