For 16-year-old Ladysmith Secondary School student Maleah Harris it was also the summer of a lifetime on the water almost half a world away.
A member of the Rainbow Canoe Club (also known as the Salish Warrior Canoe Club) Harris, of the Stz'uminus First Nation, is a canoe paddler who has been on the water for five years.
This past August, Harris, along with the other members of her canoe team, had the opportunity to travel to Brazil where they competed in the International Va’A Federation (IVF) World Distance Championships. The event is a 16 kilometre outrigger canoe race on the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil.
“It wasn’t really 16 kilometres as one, we had to paddle on an eight kilometre course twice around,” Harris said.
The team stayed in the city of Niterói located across the Guanabara Bay from Rio de Janeiro.
Harris is the only member of the team from Stz’uminus, the other members of the Junior 16 paddlers are from Cowichan and one from the Fraser Valley. She said there were five teams, in their category including Brazil, USA, New Zealand, Tahiti and Canada.
Harris got into paddling because she loves to be on the water.
"It's just fun. Being part of a team is great and then there’s the intensity of the work as a member,” she said.
Harris usually starts practicing in March and does it almost daily until the end of September.
Harris said the team heard about the Brazil competition through their parents.
"They brought it up and we talked about it. We had to win the tryouts first, we had to qualify,” she said.
The locals were selected as the Canadian rep team in Brazil.
The event the team participated in was outriggers races, which is not what the team paddles at home, though Harris's mother said outriggers are becoming more common now and the local community are starting to race them.
“It's becoming more common that our people are racing," Harris said. "If you look up Island Brave, they are quite followed, they even had the media with them.”
Island Brave was the men’s team that represented Canada at the International event.
Paddling in the Atlantic was a challenge.
“The waves were different. Some were quite big, they weren’t hard but they seemed bigger than here, but it was really a cool experience,” Harris said.
Getting to spend some time in Brazil was a boon.
"It was really cool and it was such an experience. It was so much fun... One of the seven wonders of the world, the Redeemer statue over looking Brazil and going up to see it. The view was crazy,” she said.
The canoes used by the team were supplied by the IVF.
Harris's mother Stephanie said they did lots of fundraising the cover the costs of the trip.
“There was fundraising done for family members who were going to accompany the team and then there was actual fundraising for the team. We almost raised enough to cover a majority of the costs with all the expenses with Airbnb, flights, and car rentals, etc,” Stephanie said.
There were also fees to participate and the team needed uniforms. They credit the community and community organizations with raising the money.
"There's talk about us travelling more, but it's not a for sure thing. There's a race again in Singapore. It's the world sprints, though, so it's not distance,” Harris said. She said the whole experience would not have been possible without the local support she received.
“I had great sponsors including the Stz’uminus council and the community really came forward, it really made me feel proud. I not only represented Canada, but I represented my community and to me that was important,” she added.
“I would like to thank the sponsors, too, that did contribute to making the opportunity and experience possible for her," echoed Stephanie. "First and foremost Stz’uminus First Nation, the First Nation’s Health Authority. The Ladysmith Eagles along with Leland Contracting. Native Northwest Clothing Design were also great support for the team. The family support was really great, our family and our friends and the community all of their support was beyond belief. The support and love will be remembered forever and we are truly grateful for the opportunity it gave Maleah.”
