North Bay Canoe Club athletes of all ages shone brightly in blue this summer.
This season, NBCC's competitive Sprint Team grew to 28 athletes – up from 17 in 2021. Under Head Coach Mihail Oghina’s guidance, the club sent a record number of athletes to the Ontario Summer Games, EODs, Ontario Championships, and Nationals, competing in U12, U14, U16, and Masters categories.
Four NBCC athletes qualified for the 2022 Ontario Summer Games in Welland, the largest representation for North Bay at the Summer Games in over a decade. Kayaker Oscar Graves raced his way to a bronze medal in K4, while Haley Sebesta, Nathaniel Suppa and Wes Clouthier all put on impressive performances competing against paddlers 3+ years their senior.
The Ontario Championships took place at the Rideau Canoe Club in August and welcomed 23 NBCC athletes – many of them in their first year on the NBCC Sprint team, and several years younger than their competitors.
Notable finishes included:
Haley Sebesta – Gold in U14 Girls C1 500m Final B
Oscar Graves – Gold in U16 Men's K1 500m Final B
Haley Sebesta, Mylee Evans – Gold in U14 Girls C2 500m Final B
Addison Knight, Cammie Masse, Erika Hewgill, Haley Sebesta – Gold in U14 Girls K4 500m Final B
Jacob Dehaas-Lebel, William Gomoll, Eddie Masse, Thomas Gomoll – Gold in U12 Boys C4 500m Final B
Wes Clouthier, Carson Vierich, Nathaniel Suppa, Eddie Masse – Bronze in U14 Boys C4 500m Final
Haley Sebesta – Bronze in U14 Girls K1 500m Final B
Lilly McLelland – Bronze in U14 Girls K1 500m Final B
The club had 11 athletes qualify for Nationals in Shawinigan, Quebec this year, all of them achieving personal best times. These athletes were also 3 years younger than their fellow U16 competitors, giving them a healthy challenge and showing clubs across Canada that NBCC is a team to watch!
The last competition of the season was the Ontario Long Distance Championships in Carleton Place. Four NBCC athletes competed in 10 km and 5 km races in challenging conditions. Ellie McClelland took a 10th place finish in K1; Nathaniel Suppa and Haley Sebesta both took 5th place in their respective C1 races and our C2 team of Sebesta and Mylee Evans placed an impressive 2nd .
None of this would have been possible without the incredible effort and commitment of our Head Coach Mihail Oghina. “I am proud to see the growth and improvement of these young athletes. They raced this season with heart and determination. Our NBCC Sprint team has incredible potential.”
In 2021, we were able to use our Quest for Gold provincial funding to hire Mihail, a high-performance sprint canoeist who comes from the Republic of Moldova and has competed in several European championships, World Cups and multiple international regattas. Mihail has a master’s degree in physical education and 6 years of high-performance coaching experience including four years of experience at the High -Performance Centre in Mexico and two years at the Rideau Canoe Club in Ottawa.
"With over 20 athletes now training year-round (double our 2021 numbers), we’re setting up very well for a great 2023 season. It's an exciting story given the club’s history in the community, and we were really proud to represent North Bay at the provincial and national level this season. Canoe Kayak is such an incredible sport, and its wonderful to see our kids learning the value of commitment, perseverance and teamwork – all the while making new friends and memories that will last a lifetime" says Oghina, beaming with pride.
On behalf of the athletes and families who trained, volunteered and cheered as we all went on this amazing ride, thank you.
Find a full list of NBCC programs at www.northbaycanoeclub.ca
