Christopher Mehak has joined the Balmy Beach Canoe Club as Assistant Head Coach.
Mehak will be in charge of supporting tenured Head Coach Peter Martinek in developing training and performance programs for age group, development and high-level athletes, para-athletes and adult paddlers at the club.
“I am thrilled to welcome Chris to the Balmy Beach Canoe Club coaching team,” said Martinek in a press release.
“He is well positioned to help maintain the strong growth trajectory that we have seen over the last few years across all our paddling divisions. His experience paddling internationally, paired with his work in achieving results for marquee sports and community organizations, will bring a fresh new perspective to our paddler development.”
Mehak spent six years with the Canadian national team and competed in a number of international events including World Championships and World Cup Regattas.
Mehak, who grew up in the Beach, holds a Bachelor in Physical Health and Education from the University of Toronto.
He began his paddling career at the Balmy Beach Sports Camp in 1998 and continued on to become a member of the Balmy Beach Canoe Club’s high performance group from 2002-2004. He spent the next 11 years of his paddling career at the Burloak Canoe Club.
Since graduating from U of T in 2014, Mehak has been involved in a variety of sports and community organizations including Camp Oochigeas (for children with and affected by childhood cancers), Canoe Kayak Canada and Special Olympics Canada where he oversaw the development of school and youth programs across Ontario.
“It’s an honour and a great pleasure to come back to the paddling club I started and grew up with, and to have the opportunity to continue to improve sports and community in the Beach,” said Mehak.
“I am extremely passionate about working with youth in paddling and I look forward to contributing to the positive culture at the Balmy Beach Canoe Club.”
Since the Balmy Beach Club opened in 1905, the paddling section has been a beacon of the club’s sports and community programs. It has developed dozens of national, international and Olympic paddling champions, and the Balmy Beach Canoe Club continues to support amateur athletes at all levels with dedicated age-group programing year after year.
For more information on the Balmy Beach Canoe Club, please visit www.balmybeachcanoe.com
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