Davis and Allegra Neudorf won medals during a kayaking race at the Alberta Summer Games last month, after kayaking for the first time only one month prior to the event.
They started taking kayaking lessons in June and had just eight lessons under their belt before qualifying for the event, which was held in Airdrie on July 25, 26 and 27.
They each won a silver medal for participating in a team race together and Davis won a bronze medal for participating in a solo race.
Davis, 14, and Allegra, 11, say they are proud of their accomplishments. They give credit to their kayaking instructor Jim McAllister.
“It's a fun sport,” said Davis, adding he also enjoys playing football, soccer and guitar.
“Right now I'd like to keep on practising for next time,” he said.
Allegra enjoys playing basketball and riding horses, along with kayaking.
“It's fun and the only sport I'm good at,” she said, adding she enjoyed meeting people and making new friends at the event.
They live with their family in Bergen and are home-schooled.
Four other members of the Sundre Paddling Club participated in the games, including Megan, Amber and Samanta Neudorf, as well as Destanie Smeets.
The members who participated in the games are between the ages of 11 and 17, and McAllister said they are all beginners who joined the club this year.
The team qualified for Zone 2 canoe and kayak team, along with a few people from Canmore. There are eight zones in the province. Zone 2 covers north to Olds and extends south to High River, provincial border to provincial border. Qualification trials took place in June.
“We went down there knowing that the competition would be very hard and there would be some very good paddlers to compete with us and we came away with an outstanding performance,” said McAllister.
“We were competing against paddlers who have got five years experience and we were just getting started with our kayaking experience ourselves. So if I could change anything it would be we would have started earlier and had more time to prepare.”
The Sundre Paddling Club was established in 1974. McAllister has been coaching since 1981.
The club is most active during the summer months and involves people of all ages. It offers instructions for canoeing and kayaking, and has an assortment of canoes and kayaks available to the members.
For more information, McAllister can be reached at 403-638-3898.
