Author: Graeme Galves

Next up on the CORA Sanctioned Eastern Canada outrigger canoe events for 2025 is the Fall Classic in Ottawa on October 11, 2025 (Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend, so that you can work up an appetite for Canadian Thanksgiving dinner) hosted by Rideau Outrigger Racing Club. This event will be a small-boat 11.5KM time trial out and back race down the picturesque Rideau Canal UNESCO World Heritage site.

As a CORA Sanctioned Event and a CORA Eastern Canada CORA Cup Series Event, the Fall Classic is eligible for various CORA funding. For event / registration information, please contact Mark Singer at Rideau Outrigger Racing Club.

CORA recognized that there were many individuals who had made “Significant and Exemplary Contributions” to Canadian outrigger canoeing, but their stories had never been captured, and they had never been formally recognized. CORA spent January 2021 thru June 2025 tracking down this history, and fact-checking as best as possible the exploits of those individuals who founded CORA, who founded / nurtured CORA clubs, who inaugurated / perpetuated races, who excelled at IVF / Molokai / Catalina / Queen Liliuokalani events, and who designed / built / imported / distributed canoes to grow the sport.

As of the August 2025 CORA Board Meeting there were 8 individuals inducted into the Canadian Outrigger Hall Of Fame for 2025.

CORA appreciates that Comox has graciously agreed to organize and host a Canadian Outrigger Canoeing Hall Of Fame presentation for the 8 inductees at the Comox CORA Cup Series Championships Iron event on the September 27/28 weekend to recognize these individuals. CORA will have an online Town Hall in November of this year to recognize the inductees for 2025. CORA invites individuals who have known these Inductees to speak on their behalf at the November 2025 virtual Town Hall session.

CORA wishes to congratulate the 8 Canadian Outrigger Hall Of Fame 2025 Inductees:

• Daphne Ann Brockington (Posthumous) (Gibsons, BC)
• Jan Chavarie (Vancouver, BC)
• Melanie Conard (Victoria, BC)
• Jacinta Sheridan (Vancouver, BC)
• James Hill (Victoria, BC)
• Linda Daigle (Gabriola Island, BC)
• Helen Currey (Victoria, BC)
• Sue Milligan (Powell River, BC)

You can visit the CORA website and view the “Virtual Hall Of Fame” that has the names / headshots of the 8 individuals inducted this year and links to a 3-page PDF that has their contributions in 2-pages and a 1-page set of references on every online article that CORA could find where they were mentioned.

CORA introduced a new initiative for 2022 at the CORA 2021 Pre-AGM that was continued for 2023 and 2024 and 2025. To encourage participation by new paddlers at CORA 2025 events, a new Junior / Novice OC Paddle Draw Grant was funded. Every Junior / Novice participant at each CORA Cup Series 2025 event was given 1 entry for the end-of-season draw. It was possible for each Junior / Novice participant to have up to a maximum of 5 entries for the end-of-season draw.

This will be the 4th year that CORA has supported the OC Paddle Initiative to present 8 free OC Paddles at the CORA Cup Series Championship Event to Junior / Novice (no more than 2 years of CORA racing experience) participants. Junior / Novice participants receive 1 entry in the OC Paddle Random Draw for each CORA Cup Series Event whether they race with Novice / Junior / Open / Masters / Long Course / Short Course crews. The winners of the free OC Paddles do not need to be present at the CORA Cup Series Championship Event. However, it is important for the CORA Board and the CORA Cup Series Event organizers and the CORA Club Reps to collaborate to have all Junior / Novice participants added to the list of possible winners.

If your club has had any Junior / Novice participants that raced with Novice / Junior / Open / Masters / Long Course / Short Course at Penticton Duel In The Desert (#1), or Jericho Classic (#2), or Fort Langley Spring Run (#3), or Comox Island Iron (#4), please provide a list of those individuals to CORA or the CORA Cup Series Event Race Coordinator so that those Junior / Novice participants are added to the list of possible winners.