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Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012 79 Paddling upstream The ongoing battle to include women's canoe as Olympic sport W multiple categories at the Olympics, there are no women's equivalents. In the past few years, however, women's canoe has gained an At the time, the information didn't bother awareness that makes its supporters hopeful Haines, then 15 years old. She wasn't aiming the Rio Games in 2016 will see the sport's for the Olympics, and there were plenty of Olympic debut. It's the final step in a long other international avenues to pursue. But, path that many paddlers have fought hard as Haines has gotten older and trained for, including some from the Burloak club. The new generation of paddlers harder, she has watched the training at clubs like Burloak Games much more closely. She's may just be the first group to disappointed the world can't see finally see the Olympic rings. what women have to offer in the It's for groups of girls like sport on this stage, but remains these that Sheila Kuyper has optimistic about it reaching long been fighting for. Olympic status someday. "These girls now that are Haines trains with all the training for CCA, there will come other paddlers at Burloak twice a a time when they'll have no idea day to be ready if and when the MARTA that there wasn't an opportunity time comes. For now, the time is at the Olympics or at the world the CanoeKayak Canada (formerIWANEK championships," says Kuyper. ly the Canadian Canoe Kuyper, an eight-event champion at the Association, or CCA) national championships, being held this week in Nova Scotia. 1997 CCA championships, was first introBut, in four years, Haines hopes there will be duced to women's canoe at the Burloak club in 1994. When she started, there was both a bigger dreams to realize. Although men's canoeing is contested in shortage of funding and a mentality that hen Burloak Canoe Club member Abby Haines wanted to make the switch from paddling kayak to canoe three years ago, she went to talk to her coach, Larry Cain. Haines knew the canoe would be a much better fit for her. The way the boat glided on the water said it all. As the two chatted, Cain told her that if she was going to make the switch, she had to know something: if she was aiming for the Olympics, women's canoe wasn't there. MARTA IWANEK / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @HALTON_PHOTOG HOPING FOR A WATERSHED MOMENT: Burloak Canoe Club paddler Taylor Potts pulls herself through the Sixteen Mile Creek water during a recent workout. Potts is one of many elite female canoeists who hope their sport will soon be approved as an Olympic event. Another hurdle for Kuyper to overcome canoe wasn't for women. She became an advocate for elevating the sport both at home was her fear of the amount of work it would and internationally, founding WomenCAN take to introduce something new. She feels it's a lot harder to change a sport that already International to promote the sport. Kuyper began asking the question, "Why exists in the Olympics than introduce a new one. "I really thought that it not women?" to give females would happen a lot sooner international and national "These girls now that are than it did," she says. competitive opportunities, training for (nationals), But there's no doubt in but most importantly giving there will come a time her mind that women can them choice when it came to paddle as well as men can, choosing paddling disci- when they'll have no or perhaps even better. plines. For years, when idea that there wasn't an Kuyper knocked on Kuyper would be promoting opportunity at the doors and talked to people women's canoe, people would Olympics or at the world during her campaign, and come up to her and ask, championships." things slowly began to "Why do you do canoe? Aren't change. In 1997, she you afraid that you're not Women's canoe advocate going to be able to have chilreceived support from the Sheila Kuyper dren?" The sport was perCCA for women to have the ceived as being hard on the opportunity to compete in body and the belief was that paddling on one all the canoe categories men competed in side would make the body develop asym- during nationals. In 2009, at the world metrically. championships in Dartmouth, N.S., there "Paddling canoe has nothing to do physi- was an exhibition for women's canoe. In ologically with whether I'll be able to have 2010, women's canoe was officially added to children or not have children," she says. See Female, page 80