Submitted by Louise Granahan.
“Hi, I’m 11.”
“Hi, I’m 61.”
That’s how Rosalie (a pseudonym) and I introduced ourselves. Rosalie is the delightful daughter of one of the amazing Vise-à-Vie paddlers that I met in Montréal at the Pan Am Club Crew Championships in July, 2025. Rosalie and I had some great conversations in the team tent, and I really enjoyed her company.
When I found out that my home team wasn’t going to attend the Pan Ams in Montréal, I was heartbroken. But determined.
I decided to join a team that was going, had an empty seat, and I was warmly welcomed onto Vise-à-Vie de Québec. Well, that was a great decision! What a wonderful team of strong, supportive women.
The beautiful city of Montréal is about a 7 hour drive from my home in Toronto. Canadians measure driving distance in hours and days.
I can’t say enough about how wonderful venue the Montréal Olympic Basin is. A 2.2km course set in Parc Jean Drapeau, it has calm, protected waters. The 2.5m depth gives consistent conditions regardless of which lane you are paddling in. It is used for paddling, rowing and even triathlons. There were 2200 paddlers from more than 180 teams from Canada, the USA, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Panama, México, Bahamas, Brazil and Argentina.
Being from Québec, my team were mainly Francophones. While I can read French, I can’t always comprehend Québecois easily, especially when I have to remove my hearing aids to paddle. I quickly learned the French commands, and soon I was in sync with the team.
Racing distances of 200m, 500m and 2000m, and the BCS teams were all very close.
We raced over 3 days, and wow, was it ever hot. On the 3rd day, when we were racing the 2000m, it was 41C with the humidex (a combination of the actual 30+C temperature and what it feels like with the humidity).
What makes an event like this successful? There were lots of volunteers. Lots! They had to juggle both small and standard boats, and there wasn’t tons of room for all of them on the docks. In addition, people who had taken the International Race Official course the week before, got real life experience by volunteering at the event as part of their course. The facilities were great – the washrooms were clean and plentiful, which is aways an issue at large events!
Meri Gibson, President of the IBCPC, was present. Meri was on the podium at the opening ceremonies and awarded the BCS 2000m medals on the final day. She met with many teams and answered questions about the IBCPC and the France festival. (Can you believe it is just over a year away?)
Ann Forbes Arndt, Secretary of the IBCPC, took the International Race Official course and worked very hard at the event.
Of course, the solidarity of the BCS teams is always heartwarming. Comptetitors on the water, but supportive and loving on land. There were lots of hugs and high fives, shouts of Bravo and Congratulations!
A fine example of this camraderie was when a BCS team approached us and asked if it would be OK if their steersperson were non-BCS, because otherwise, they would have been short of paddlers. All of the BCS teams had to agree if the organizers were going to allow this, and we all did. An amazing example of great support. We want the best for each other.
The next Pan Am Club Crew Championships will take place in Salvador, Brazil in 2027.k
