Sydenham kayaker chosen for Women’s World Junior Championships Team

Sydenham Lake Canoe Club | Jun 24, 2015

Genevieve L’Abbe, a 17-year-old Sydenham Lake Canoe Club sprint paddler and Junior National Team Member, successfully competed in Montreal at the National Team Trials regatta last weekend for one of five positions on the Junior World’s Women’s Kayaking Team.

L’Abbe will be on her way to Portugal this summer to compete in the ICF Canoe Sprint Junior & U23 World Championships Regatta, which will be held in Montemor-O-Velho, Portugal on July 24-26.

“I feel very fortunate to have made the team as it was a real battle to make the 5th spot on the team. When the points were added up after the National Team Trial qualifying event last Saturday, I ended up beating my competitor by one point. It was my faster time in the 500m race that got me on the World Junior Team”.

It is going to be a busy summer for L’Abbe. who will be graduating from Grade 12 this week. She will be spending a month in Montreal training with her new five teammates who are all from different regions of Canada. “I am looking forward to getting to know them and learning to work as a team” says L’Abbe. An Ottawa paddler will compete in the individual K1 races and K2 races, and she, and her other three teammates, will compete in the K4 events”.

“My family and friends have been very supportive in helping me get to this level. If my family hadn’t become involved in the Sydenham Lake Canoe Club, I wouldn’t have been introduced to the wonderful sport of sprint kayaking. Knowing previous Olympian, George Jones, from the Canoe Club for the last seven years really helped me keep my eye my goal. I had heard him tell stories about the comradery that he had experienced paddling back in the 80’s and it made me think that I wanted to do that too. I guess, for lack of a better word, you could call him my hero. My biggest challenge in the next month will be the cost of traveling to Portugal as Canoe Kayak Canada only partially covers the fees. I may have to pass around the hat this summer and ask for a bit of help. I feel fortunate that I am a part of a good community”.