The Seattle Canoe and Kayak Club (SCKC) is hosting an international regatta at the south end of Green Lake this weekend (Saturday, June 4 and Sunday June 5, 2011).
Athletes from the Puget Sound region, Western Canada and Hawaii will compete in Olympic-style flat water canoeing and kayaking at the 32nd Annual Ted Houk Memorial Regatta.
Everyone is welcome to watch the event, but racing is limited to paddling clubs and their members. Races start at 8 a.m. on Saturday.
“National and International level paddlers, in some cases Olympic hopefuls,” will compete, according to former SCKC head coach and current club President Dave Fort.
The Ted Houk Memorial Regatta will be the first major event of the season for four SCKC members who were named to the US Junior Sprint Team earlier this month. They will go on to train at the Olympic facility in Lake Placid, NY this summer and will then compete in Europe.
The regatta is named after Dr. Theodore “Ted” Houk who, according to club historian Dr. Eric Hughes, founded what became SCKC in 1969.
Dr. Theodore “Ted” Houk
Hughes says Dr. Houk had a dream to get area youth involved in the “little league of water sports” and to develop healthy young minds and bodies through competitive paddling. His ultimate goal was to place paddlers on the Olympic team.
The club is now home to members of all ages and skill levels, including former Olympic athletes and hopefuls.
