Tens of thousands of people came out to Lake Banook for the 2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, chaired by Colour's own Chris Keevill. For the four days of competition, the warm weather and flat-calm water were ideal for racing. Thousands of spectators cheered on the fastest paddlers in the world as they raced on the Bell Aliant Racing Centre on Lake Banook and enjoyed the festival on Prince Albert Road.

“It really was a perfect week,” said Chris. “We’ve witnessed some phenomenal races and top-notch entertainment. We’ve taken this event to a new level and people from around the globe are very impressed by the calibre of the event we’ve hosted here in Nova Scotia.”

More than 10,000 people filled Silver’s Hill, Prince Albert Road and the grandstands for the opening ceremony on Wednesday night. The ceremony - opening remarks, a parade of flags, and entertainment - included elements of Nova Scotian culture. The night ended with a fireworks display supported by the Alexander Keith’s Natal Day Festival. On Friday night, another crowd of 10,000-plus enjoyed the Concert on the Lake, a free show featuring Dartmouth’s own Matt Mays and opening act Jon Mullane.

Festival entertainment took place daily along Prince Albert Road and was enjoyed by people of all ages, but the races were the focal point of the event. The Canadian team finished third in the point standings, behind Hungary in first and Germany in second. Enthusiastic fans loudly cheered on the home team, especially favorites such as Adam van Koeverden, who won a bronze medal in the K1 1000 metre, and the record 11 Nova Scotians on the team.

Other medals won by the Canadian team were a gold by Christine Gauthier in the women’s Paddleability K1, a bronze by Richard Dober Jr. and Andrew Willows in K2 200 metre, and a bronze by the Women’s K1 relay team of Kia Byers, Emilie Fournel, Genevieve Orton, and Karen Furneaux.

This was the first World Championships to include four women’s canoe events as demonstration races. Canada swept all four of the events. Jenna Marks and Maria Halavrezos won the C2 500 metre and 200 metre. Marks won the C1 200 metre and Nicole Hayward won the C1 500 metre.

Many spectators traveled from around the world to watch. Approximately 30 million more people from 36 countries watched the event on television. “Hosting an event like this really boosts the profile of our city internationally,” said Chris. “The immediate benefits as well as the strong legacy of this event are making a tremendous impact on our community.”

Canoe ‘09 will leave a monetary legacy of $500,000 to the paddling community. In addition to this legacy, many infrastructure upgrades took place around the lake that will be enjoyed by the community for years to come.

For more information on the 2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, visit the Canoe '09 website.

For more information on Colour's work, visit the Colour website.