Canoe Club team leaves for Australia

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On Aug. 7, four men from the Squamish Nation and members of the North Vancouver Canoe Club boarded a plane heading to Townsville, located in northeastern Australia close to the Great Barrier Reef, to compete in the Australian Outrigger Canoe Racing Association's ninth World Sprint Titles.

The team races outrigger canoes and includes Reno Natrell, Ian Billy, Cory Lewis, and Tony Nahanee.

"The outrigger canoe is different than our traditional canoes. They are heavier and are equipped with a stabilizer. The kinds of canoes that the people in Hawaii use," said Nahanee. "The group got hooked on using the outrigger canoes after they first used them in Washington and came in first," he said.

The canoe club, which began racing war canoes in the early sixties, has won numerous championships. The North Vancouver Canoe Club has raced the outrigger canoes for the past 10 years.

So far, the Nahanee's group has taken part in several competitions, including a long distance race in Catalina, Calif., the World sprints in Sacramento, Calif., competition in western Samoa, a 20-mile outrigger sprint in Gibson, and races in B.C's lower mainland and in Washington state.

In Australia, the canoeists will face cooler temperatures than in Vancouver.

"The weather there is cooler this time of year," said Jim Nahanee, former club member. "Typhoon season, lots of wind and rain and stuff," he said.

The team, which begins to train from early February, maintains strict diets with absolutely no alcohol, smoking or drugs. The canoe racing circuit begins in May and ends in August.

"It takes communication with other canoe clubs all over and lots of travelling. I've since retired from racing and I'm glad to see that they are carrying on the tradition. I think that it is an inspiration for the younger generation to follow," said Jim.

A dinner in the group's honor was held at the club on Aug. 6. The dinner consisted of salmon, salads and desserts and was attended by close friends and family.

"In the late 50s, the sport of canoeing sort of died when other sports such as soccer, baseball and lacrosse started up," said Jim. "I'm glad to see that it is slowly being revived again. In the early 1900s, the Coast Salish people really took the sport of canoeing seriously. It was not uncommon then to see 30 to 40 canoes entering a race," he said.

"I feel great about going, nervous and excited," said Tony Nahanee. "I'm looking forward to the trip," he said.