The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
As their paddles repeatedly dig into Amisk Lake, the teens are propelled forward, their canoe cutting through the calm waters like a hot knife through butter. Spectators watching from the shore are proud and amazed at how far this young team has come after just a couple of weeks of training. But there is still plenty of practice ahead for this energetic group of aboriginal paddlers as they prepare to represent Denare Beach in the upcoming Troy's Youth Canoe Quest. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing," says Katie Merasty, 17, one of the paddlers. Her team is one of 15 expected to compete in the Canoe Quest, a four-year-old annual event held throughout Northern Saskatchewan. This will mark Denare Beach's first time as both a host community and as a participant. Aboriginal paddlers from as far away as Pelican Narrows and Stanley Mission will converge on the village. Split into two groups, each team will leave the Main Beach and paddle their way around Missy Island Ð a roughly six-and-a-half-kilometre trek expected to last about four hours. Each team's first group will leave the morning of July 9, followed by the second group on July 10. At the end of the second day, the team with the best time will win. Undetermined cash prizes will be available to the top teams, but Jimmy Custer, who is helping train the Denare Beach entry, is not focused on the final standings. "I'm really proud of these kids, the way they've been showing up (to train)," says Custer. "I'll be happy as long as they finish the race." Custer knows the satisfaction of completing a canoe race. A lifelong paddler, he captained a team in the 2005 Saskatchewan Centennial Canoe Quest, an exhausting 1,100-kilometre journey. He was also active in races in the 1980s. "I'm hoping they'll feel proud of themselves when they finish the race, which I did in the Centennial Canoe Quest that I went on," he says. "I was pretty proud of myself and my team." Experience The young paddlers came to the team with varying degrees of experience. Merasty had only paddled a couple of times before, while Renee Morin was a complete novice. Despite her rookie status, Morin, 18, has not found the training regime too difficult. "It's fun," she says. Custer is impressed with how quickly Morin and her teammates have improved. "Every day they're doing better and better, and hopefully some day they become athletes somewhere else," he says. Custer has had plenty of help in getting the team prepared. Mike Morin has aided in the training, and Karen Morin, Maryann Olson, Mildred Custer and Norval Morin have lent support in other areas. The paddlers and volunteers are particularly grateful to the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, operator of the reserve at Denare Beach, which purchased the team's glistening white canoe. While fun and friendly competition are hallmarks of the Canoe Quest, the event is built on tragic underpinnings. The race was launched in 2007 following the suicide of Troy Dorion, a Pelican Narrows teenager with a passion for canoeing. "He liked all kinds of sports," notes Jimmy Custer. By hosting the Canoe Quest, organizers strive not only to honour Troy's memory, but also to instill in aboriginal youth a sense of pride, camaraderie and accomplishment. Custer hopes to forge an important, lasting bond with the members of his team. "I myself like to paddle and I like working with the kids," he says, "and hopefully some day they'll remember me as a friend."
