'Like a passion project': Sask. coach receives national award for canoe kayak excellence
A Saskatchewan coach has received the 2022 Club Developer Award from Canoe Kayak Canada (CKC) for her efforts in providing inclusive, competitive and recreational opportunities in her community.
When Jessica Riley became head coach of the Yorkton Canoe and Kayak Club (YCKC) 15 years ago, there were only four members, now there are 500 participants each year.
“I was 18 and didn’t know what I was doing, and putting myself through university, and that’s where it started and it hasn’t really stopped,” Riley said in an interview with CTV News.
She said, with the help of her family and a solid volunteer group, they were able to rebuild the YCKC.
“I always considered my club to have been like a passion project.”
“When the going gets tough, you come back to those core reasons of why got involved in the first place,” she said.
Riley was honoured for her dedication at the CKC annual summit, and it’s well deserved according to some of her athletes.
“Without her, there would be no YCKC,” Raya Cuthill, former athlete with YCKC, said in an interview with CTV News.
“She’s helped me with more than just paddling, she helped me with lots of different aspects of my life.”
“She was basically like a mom to me,” Cuthill added.
“I think it’s been a long time coming, and I’m glad Jessica got an award to show what she’s been doing over these past years,” Ewen Hutzul, a member of the YCKC, told CTV News.
Riley is also a paddling development director with Canoe Kayak Saskatchewan, where she likes to focus on helping other grassroots clubs develop programs.
“The cool part is, I get to take all the things that I’ve learned for the past 15 years, and help other clubs get off the ground,” Riley said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.