Balmy Beach Canoe Club members win numerous medals at recent international competition

By JESSICA SHACKLETON

Last month, 11 local paddlers from the Balmy Beach Canoe Club were at the 2026 International Canoe Federation (ICF) Masters Canoe Sprint World Championships on Lake Banook in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

The competition put Balmy Beach paddlers against athletes from 22 countries, including Argentina, Poland, and Mauritius, in one of the biggest and toughest Masters Canoe Kayak events in the world. It ran from June 25 to 27.

It was the first in a series of events put on by the ICF, which is based in Switzerland and runs the event, while Canada hosts.

Afterwards, still on Lake Banook, the Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships started on Canada Day.

Finally, the Olympic Basin in Montreal hosted the Pan American Canoe Sprint Championships and ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Cup in July.

At the World Cup in Montreal, Balmy Beach paddler Nick Matveev took home two gold medals and a silver medal in the event, which was a qualifier for the 2028 Olympic Games.

BBCC Commodore Eleanor McIntyre said that this year is a big one for the sport in Canada given the number of international competitions behing hosted.

“It’s unprecedented how many international events are being hosted in Canada this year. We’ve never had four big ones in one given year,” she said.

The events are held in close succession because of how far athletes have travelled, she explained.

The Masters World Championships for Canoe Kayak used to be part of the World Masters Games, which is a multi-sport event that gets put on every four years, until the ICF started its own version in 2019.

“It’s a relatively new event, and this is the first time it’s been held in Canada. It’ll be back in Europe next year. So, it’s an opportunity for Canadian athletes to be able to compete at this level without having to incur huge travel expenses,” said McIntyre.

Masters paddling is for those over the age of 35, and is separated by five- and 10-year age increments.

“These games were put together to meet the demands of older athletes and the expansion of national Masters programs worldwide. Adults are more active now, and lots of people used to end their paddling careers when they reached their peak competitive years in their early thirties, and then there was no further competition for them,” said McIntyre.

“Setting up Masters programs has become quite prevalent in countries that do this sport. The whole idea was to foster international camaraderie and competition and to encourage sustained physical activity beyond peak competitive years.”

Balmy Beach Canoe Club, under the Canadian flag, took home a total of 18 gold medals, eight silver medals, and one bronze medal across three days of competition in multiple events.

The paddlers from Balmy Beach representing Canada in Nova Scotia were Andrea Stoddart, Anne Buckley, Brett Stein, Chris Helyar, Dave Moore, Ellen Fergusson, Kevin Sendyk, Mari Ellery, Sam Roworth, Vered Phillips, and Warren Hastings.

The competition saw 225 athletes, 121 of them from Canada. The range of Balmy Beach paddlers was between 35 and 70, and the oldest competitor was 83-year-old Bob Kay from Ottawa.

McIntyre, who also sits on the board of Canoe Kayak Canada, was in Nova Scotia for both events before heading to Montreal. 

 For more on the Balmy Beach Canoe Club, please visit https://www.balmybeachcanoe.com/