A SHORT HISTORY OF CANOES AND RACING

Although the canoe endures as a SYMBOL perhaps of a wild age full of romance and practicality, thousands of us moderns still own and use them for many reasons.  Mostly we drift across the lake enjoying the quiet or the fishing.  A lesser number paddle wilderness rivers or shoot whitewater.  A smaller group yet have slim, sharp, light boats, and race very quickly through the water for either short sprints or marathon distances.  The canoe, then, in all its uses and manifestations, is a LIVING, EVOLVING SYMBOL combining history and modern times.

The antecedents of Marathon Canoe Racing reside half hidden in the ancient lore of Aboriginals and the trade of Voyageurs.  The native paddlers who ranged for millennia over the continent, and their more recent partners in the fur trade, developed the physical stamina and applied techniques that enabled them to paddle for days or weeks with the intensity that weather, season and commerce would dictate.

Many habitations in this land would have known for many years no vehicle for transportation other than the canoe. The sport today is a reflection of this evolving heritage.  Marathon racers use the natural lakes and rivers of the land.  They paddle long hours at high tempo, contending with whatever conditions of weather and water prevail.  However, they have re-orchestrated the old song by applying the new science of materials and design to boats and of endurance athletics to paddlers. Tests on elite paddlers have confirmed a degree of physical development the equal of any sport.

Indeed, few activities demand strength and stamina of the entire body as marathon paddling does.  Yet there is a wonderful ethic to the sport that sets it apart and often converts the weekend floater into a fanatic.  This dimension involves blending the elements and the senses, a harmonizing of the natural world with human action.  It balances the great strength in the body with a feel for rhythm and grace.  Invariably, the portrait of the canoeist is aesthetic and unique.  The art of paddling pre-empts competition.  It becomes a way of life.