Dozens of athletes took to the waters in Maple Bay this weekend to compete in the 2018 BC Summer Games reggatta in the Optimist and Youth age groups.
BC Summer Games hosts four divisions of sailing: Optimist Dinghy (which is a small pram used worldwide for young sailors to learn racing), Laser Radial and Laser Classes, and the two-person 420 Dinghy.
Representing Zone 2 out of Kelowna included Lyle Wright, 10, Tyler Rubadeau, 12, and 13-year-olds Lauren Gray and Ava Halperin.
The group of four, alongside other Zone 2 athletes compete most of the season on Okanagan Lake 含羞草研究社 a body of water that carries enough wind and waves to mirror ocean rapids.
含羞草研究社淢y favourite part about sailing is probably the speed because other sports you might not get as much,含羞草研究社 Rubadeau told Black Press Media at the Maple Bay Yacht Club.
含羞草研究社淚 like getting splashed and having the adrenaline rush before races,含羞草研究社 Wright added.
A handful of BC Games alumna have found success on the international stage, including three-time Olympian Nikola Girke and Isabella Bertold 含羞草研究社 who first tested the waters along the B.C. coastline.
But for Gray and Halperin, their love for the sport doesn含羞草研究社檛 so much depend on medaling as it does simply getting out on the water on weekend含羞草研究社檚 as sunny as this one.
含羞草研究社淵eah it was really nice out on the water, and I had fun 含羞草研究社 I always have fun,含羞草研究社 Halperin said.
Results:
Boys/Girls 420
Gold - Ilya Sharikov, Victoria
Silver - Joshua Jeffers, Nanoose Bay
Bronze - Callum McGufffin, Saltspring Island
Boys/Girls Optimist Red Fleet
Gold 含羞草研究社 Cruz Custodinho, Vancouver
Silver 含羞草研究社 Matthew Young, Vancouver
Bronze 含羞草研究社 Bryce Stanger, Vancouver
Boys/Girls Optimist Blue Fleet
Gold 含羞草研究社 Rory Walsh, Vancouver
Silver 含羞草研究社 Charles Harland, West Vancouver
Bronze 含羞草研究社 Andre Deseau, North Vancouver