The Eagle Point Classic includes a top prize of $300 for the longest race. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

canoe races

Eagle Point Classic open to all paddlers this Saturday

Aug 25, 2021 | 12:03 PM

Organizers are hopeful up to 30 racers will compete in the 27^th annual Eagle Point Classic this Saturday.

Pimiskatan Canoe Club member Warren Kelly expects the event will even lure some racers from Southern Saskatchewan. There are two competitions people can enter including an 18-kilometre race that goes through Downton Lake to Nut Portage, and then back to Eagle Point via McGibbon Bay. That race involves three portages.

The second seven-kilometre race goes down McGibbon Bay for three and a half kilometres, before going around a small islet and then back. That race involves no portages.

“The winners usually come in under two hours and they start at 10 a.m.,” Kelly said. “The short race starts at 11 a.m. and usually the 11 a.m. people will just start coming in before the fastest long racers. If people want to see it and, if they come down around 11:30 a.m., they’ll catch the people starting to come in.”

Registration begins at 9 a.m. and there is no limit to the number of races in each event. The main 18-kilometre race includes $600 in prize money with $300 for first. The cost of entry is $15 per adult and $10 per person under 18.

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The canoe club will have canoes and lifejackets available for community members wanting to participate.

Pimiskatan Canoe Club is hosting the Eagle Point Classic this weekend. (Facebook/Pimiskatan Canoe Club)

“It’s sort of nice to get back on track,” Kelly said. “We didn’t have that many participants last year because of COVID. We are hoping to get a few more. COVID is still around, and it might sort of impact a few people, but I am hoping to get a good number out for the race.”

The Eagle Point Classic is the last major event of the season for the canoe club, but members will continue to paddle until the weather permits. Throughout the summer, events such as weekly races on Wednesdays occurred, as well as recreational paddling and lessons on Thursdays.

“This is the only official marathon race in Northern Saskatchewan,” Kelly said. “A lot of people canoe around here, but if they want a chance to see what marathon paddling is like and really challenge themselves, this Saturday is the time to come out.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @saskjourno