Dowco Sponsorship: Kristin Bauder (Kayak)

When we opened our Whonnock office 6 years ago, we gave Maple Ridge Community Association free use of our facilities in the evenings. Since then, every night in the week our gym is used by different groups in the community. One such group is the Maple Ridge Canoe Club, who use it for dry land training. We never imagined then that one of our own would become involved with the club.

Our granddaughter Kristin Bauder has been a member of Fort Langley Canoe Club for 4 years, but because she qualified for Team BC as a High Performance athlete, she also trains with the BC Team Coach stationed in Maple Ridge.

Kristin has had a busy summer traveling and training, which included regattas in Regina, Montreal, Seattle, Lake Placid (NY), Nanaimo and other local venues as well as training in Ottawa. As a result of her performances, Kristin is one of four kayakers recently selected by Canoe-Kayak Canada to compete in the Junior Women’s Kayak division at the Pan American Games in Mexico City, September 15-17th, 2006 in the K2 and K4 events. (The venue for the race is the same one that raised controversy at the last Olympics in Mexico, because of the detrimental effect of its high altitude on visiting athletes.) Kristin was selected as a result of her finishes at the National Team Trials held in Montreal in July. The three others selected for the Canadian team are Marie-Pier Langlois of Lac-Beauport, Que., Trista Neilly of Loon Lake, Sask., and Erika Taras of Waverley, NS.

Kristin’s busy season ended in August at Wascana Lake, Regina, where she won Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at the Canadian Canoe and Kayak Championships.

While other athletes now enjoy a three week break from training, Kristin, who is entering Grade 12 this year, continues to paddle daily in preparation for the Pan Games upcoming. She hopes to qualify for the Worlds in Perth, Australia in 2007, and to be ready at age 24 for the Olympics in 2012 in London, England.