Community Education Sports
Canoe and Kayak Racing Team has a Special paddle planned for this weekend
The Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Racing Team expects to welcome about 20 Gig Harbor Special Olympics athletes to Skansie Brothers Park from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 5. The group will have an opportunity to try out a few of the team’s practice boats.
“We’re introducing them to our sport, and the bay, and we’re really excited about it,” team founder Alan Anderson said. “This will be run mostly by kids on our team. I think it’s cool that we’re getting together with them, and it’s healthy for all of us.”
Cara Cantonwine, a volunteer team administrator, said team members will introduce the visiting athletes to the sport through beginner canoes and kayaks.
The team uses a variety of canoes and kayaks in training. They start out in short, wide vessels; as athletes gain more stability in the boat, they graduate into longer, skinnier racers, she said.
Possible Special Olympics paddling team
Through a grant from the Names Family Foundation, the canoe and kayak team is exploring a para-athlete program. That same grant could be used to work with Special Olympics, Cantonwine said.
No Special Olympics canoe and kayak racing teams operate in the state. Cantonwine said it’s possible that the two organizations could form one.
Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Racing Team members practice in the harbor. A group of Gig Harbor Special Olympics athletes will have a chance to try the sport on Oct. 5 Photo courtesy of Cara Cantonwine
Sandy Bowen, the coordinator for the Gig Harbor Special Olympics, said developing a team would be a long process. For now, this upcoming day on the bay is just a way for the Special Olympics team to explore a new sport.
“Several of our athletes do have experience, and go out on the water with their parents,” Bowen said. “Some are more capable physically, and some just want to ride. This is an opportunity to engage with the community, and also give our athletes another experience to see if they want to try it.”
On the water
Cantonwine said that all of the visiting athletes will have a chance to get out on the water in one of the canoes.
“The goal is to help provide access to the water in a human-powered watercraft, and have a positive experience,” Cantonwine said. “This is one avenue to partner with them.”
The canoe and kayak racing team uses boats that are different from crew boats. Crew racing boats are moved by rowing backwards, and while the local team uses paddling boats, which are paddled by racers facing forward.
Paddlers kneel on one knee and paddle on one side, with each team member holding a specific responsibility based on their seat position in the sprint canoes.
Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Racing Team members practice in the OC 6, an outrigger canoe that seats six. This canoe is one that visiting Special Olympics athletes will use during a day on the water with the GHCKRT on Oct. 5. Photo courtesy of Cara Cantonwine
National champs … again
This sport is primarily a lake sport, but the Gig Harbor team practices in the bay. The team won its 11th national championship at the 2025 Canoe/Kayak Sprint National Championships in Seattle in August.
“Our team is one of the largest teams in the country for sprint kayak and sprint canoe,” Cantonwine said.