The Rideau Canoe Club (RCC) is a

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

club located on the

Rideau River The Rideau River (, ) is a river in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The river flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at the Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is . As explained in a writing by Samuel de Champl ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The club is located at Mooney's Bay, where the

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal is a 202-kilometre long canal that links the Ottawa River at Ottawa with the Cataraqui River and Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its 46 Lock (water navigation), locks raise boats from the Ottawa River 83 metres (272 ...

splits away from the river prior to joining up with the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (, ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word "to trade", as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...

History

The club was founded in 1902 as the Rideau Aquatic Club with a clubhouse on the

near the Exhibition Grounds designed by

Moses Chamberlain Edey Moses Chamberlain Edey (1845–1919) was an Ottawa architect who designed the Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne Park, a National Historic Site and the Daly Building (1905–1992), which was Ottawa's first department store. His architectural styl ...

in 1904–5. A memorial brass plaque on a flag pole is dedicated to the memory of the members who fell during the First World War. In 1981, this memorial was rededicated to include the members of the Club who fell during the Second World War. The clubhouse was on the canal at Fifth Avenue in

the Glebe The Glebe is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located just south of Downtown Ottawa in the Capital Ward. As of 2016, the neighbourhood had a population of 13,055. The Glebe is bounded on the north by the Queensway, on the e ...

until the 1940s, when it was destroyed by winter ice. In 1946, the club reorganized as the Rideau Canoe Club and in the following year, relocated to its current location at Mooney's Bay. Club facilities include a clubhouse with five boat bays and a repair shop, and two 'annex' boat storage buildings set somewhat back from the water. The club is directly adjacent to a set of locks on the Rideau Canal. A book on the history of the club has been written by lifetime member Mike Scott. In June 2009, it was announced that the RCC was to receive funding for an expansion project. The governments of Canada, Ontario and Ottawa each contributed up to $594,000. Additional funding was raised by the club for a total project cost of more than $2.3 million. The current facility officially opened on September 3, 2010, accommodating more programming for educational and day-camp operations and training for athletes from beginners to Olympians. The facility is also fully accessible to visitors and athletes with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

. The new lounge in the club house was named the Mike Scott Lounge after his extensive community service and extraordinary community service record.

Programs

Traditional events include K-1, K-2, K-4, C-1, C-2, C-4 (Canadian and International) and C-15 (

War Canoe A war canoe is a watercraft of the canoe type designed and outfitted for warfare, and which is found in various forms in many world cultures. In modern times, such designs have become adapted as a sport, and "war canoe" can mean a type of flatwa ...

), where a K-2 is a 2-person kayak and C-4 is a 4-person canoe, etc. Several programs are offered, encompassing children and teenagers of varying experience and skill levels, high-performance paddlers, and Masters paddlers (age 25 and up). Rideau traditionally hosts a

Canada Day Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A Public holidays in Canada, federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the B ...

regatta, drawing high-performance athletes from across Canada and the United States.

Dragon Boat A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family of t ...

practices are frequently held at the club and the Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival is held on the club's course, with visiting teams setting up across the river. The club also offers courses in more conventional recreational canoes, kayaks and stand up paddle boards, and is the venue for the Head of the Rideau

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wa ...

, held annually in late September by the Ottawa Rowing Club.

Notable successes

The club has won the overall Canadian Championship eleven times: 1923, 1925, 1927, 1973, 1985, 2002, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. Canada's Sprint Canoe Clubs: Rideau Canoe Club http://cfly.ca/canoe/Rideau.htm Eight Olympians have come from Rideau, including

Frank Amyot Francis Amyot (September 14, 1904 – November 21, 1962) was a Canadian sprint canoeist who competed in the 1930s. He won Canada's only gold medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Biography Amyot was born in Thornhill, Ontario. On June 18, 1933 ...

Claudia Hunt Claudia Hunt (born March 12, 1950, in Montreal) is a Canadian sprint canoer who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, she was eliminated in the semifinals of the K-2 500 m event in both 1968 and 1972 ...

Sue Holloway Susan Holloway (born May 19, 1955) is a Canadian retired cross-country skier and sprint canoeist. In 1976, Holloway became the first woman and first Canadian to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in the same year, competing in c ...

Karen Tippett Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding white woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand * House of Karen, a historic ...

Renn Crichlow Renn Crichlow (born May 9, 1968) is a Canadian sprint kayaker who competed from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. He won a complete set of medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with gold (K-1 500 m: 1991), a silver (K-1 500 m ...

Angus Mortimer Angus Mortimer (born September 4, 1985) is a Canadian former sprint kayaker. He represented Canada at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, finishing ninth in the K-4 1000 m event. He won a gold medal in the 2007 Pan American Games K-1 1000m. ...

Rhys Hill Rhys Hill (born February 8, 1986) is a Canadian sprint kayaker who competed in the late 2000s. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With m ...

Kristin Gauthier Kristin Ann Gauthier (born February 16, 1981) is a Canadian sprint kayaker who competed in the late 2000s. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of ...

, and

Madeline Schmidt Madeline Schmidt (born May 5, 1995) is a Canadian sprint kayaker. Career In 2018, as part of the K-4 boat, Schmidt finished in 9th place at the 2018 World Championships. In 2019, Schmidt finished 24th overall in the K-1 500 event at the 2019 ...

. The Rideau Canoe Club has seen much success on the international stage, including at the Olympic Games, the ICF Junior and U23 World Championships, ICF Senior World Championships, World Cups, and Olympic Hopes regattas.

References

External links

The Rideau Canoe Clubthe Canadian Canoe AssociationCollections Canada images of the Rideau Canoe Club
{{Canoeing and kayaking Canoe clubs in Canada 1902 establishments in Ontario Sport in Ottawa

History

Programs

Notable successes

Further reading

References

External links