For months, volunteers from throughout the municipality have been working towards one goal — to showcase Whitewater Region and Canada for the upcoming world kayaking event, which was happening in September.
And what happened?
They not only accomplished their goal — but surpassed it!
The streets were lined with people dressed in their country’s colours, some with clappers making plenty of noise and others proudly waving flags.
The noise level was quite audible along Beachburg’s main street, as the people crowded onto the sidewalks to cheer on, not only the 220-plus athletes from 29 countries, but the participants in the parade.
The sun shone down, but that didn’t stop the people from crowding onto the bleachers, waiting for the athletes to parade in during the start of the opening ceremonies.
And parade they did, some countries in groups, others walking with only the sign holder. But, each athlete, or group of athletes, received a loud cheer as they entered. Yes, Canada received the loudest, along with a standing ovation. The event is, however, in Canada, where most of the crowd is from. As a matter of fact, more than half of Team Canada are athletes from Renfrew County, many from our own municipality of Whitewater Region.
This event is costing thousands of dollars to one company — Wilderness Tours. While there are sponsors, let’s remember, for anyone who has hosted a world-class event, it’s very expensive to hold. He tried to obtain grant funding from our provincial and federal governments — but was turned down at every avenue. Why?
We should be thanking Wilderness Tours owner Joe Kowalski for bringing this event to our area — for the third time. This is a great opportunity to feature our municipality to the world.
We should be thanking Paula Troutman and her team of volunteers for working so diligently the past few months. This is an event that doesn’t happen with just a few weeks worth of planning.
And did we thank them?
We did! We showed up in droves with our noise makers and dressed in our Canadian colours. We cheered on not only our athletes, but all of those who came to compete, as they paraded by.
We showed the world that even in farming country a world-class event is possible. We showed the world that you don’t need to pay volunteers to work. We showed the world we know how to cheer on every athlete.
So, let’s remember, when you are out and about and see Mr. Kowalski, Ms. Troutman or any of the many volunteers who have spent countless hours preparing for this event, to say THANK YOU.
