Paddlers Hunter, Hickey of Kamloops to represent Canada at world championships

Hunter will also represent Canada in the under-23 division at the Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships, which are scheduled to run from July 1 to 5 in Halifax.

He will cross paths at that event with his KCKC teammate Hickey, an 18-year-old kayaker who will compete in the junior division.

“I’m stoked, especially because it’s in Halifax,” Hickey said. “It’s at home. I’m going to be racing on Canada Day. It doesn’t get better than that – in front of a home crowd. So, I’m really excited.”

Hunter said he is the youngest member of the senior men’s national team, earning his spot on the back of recent strong performances, including two second-place finishes this year at national team trials.

He placed second in the open men’s K1 500-metre (1:47.803) at Canoe Kayak Canada National Team Trials No. 1 on March 31 in Chula Vista, Calif., and second in the senior men’s K2 500m (1:30.410, with teammate Alex Erith-Ellwood) at National Trials No. 2 on June 14 in Montreal.

Hunter also won gold in the men’s U18 K1 200m, silver in the U18 men’s K2 500m and bronze in the men’s U18 K1 500m at the Canoe Kayak Canada Sprint National Championships last summer in Regina.

“Definitely a big jump in performance,” said Hunter, who lives in Halifax and trains at the national team centre. “A lot more time spent on the water and in the weight room definitely helped me. The coaches here definitely helped me out a lot to jump up and get ready for the senior level here.”

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Hickey also fared well at National Trials No. 2 in Montreal, with results in U18 singles action – including a fifth-place finish in the men’s K1 500m (1:47.214) on June 14 – that secured his place on the national team at junior worlds.

Hunter said he is positioned well to learn from older members of the senior national team, some of whom have competed in the Olympics.

“I wouldn’t say it’s rare to see, but you don’t see an 18-year-old every day on these teams,” he said. “I’m just trying to absorb as much information as I can from these older guys. They’re looking close to retirement. They’ve got to pass the torch soon and, hopefully, we’ll see some of the younger guys step into those bigger boats and there’s a whole bunch of us ’07s and we’re just ready to do some damage internationally.”

Hunter is aiming to land on the Canadian team for the 2028 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles.

“I’m not exactly sure I know how it [Olympic qualification] works myself, but basically we just have to do our absolute best at these next coming races and try and qualify some points for Team Canada,” he said. “And, if we do end up qualifying a spot, then Team Canada builds the boat when 2028 rolls around.”

Hickey hopes to follow Hunter and make his way onto the senior national team.

“I definitely see this as a beginning,” Hickey said of qualifying for junior worlds. “I intend to continue with it after high school. There is so much more I’m capable of. The ultimate goal would be the Olympics. I’d probably be closer to 2032, just based on the talent we have in Canada and the time it takes to develop in our sport.”

Both paddlers praised the KCKC and its coaches for spurring their development.

“We couldn’t have done it without so many sacrifices from so many people,” Hunter said. “It means absolutely everything to come from that club.”

The South Kam bus driver got his flowers, too.

“When I was in high school, we used to make the bus driver drop us off at the lake and that meant so much to us,” he said. “It was a bit of a trek out to the lake on that bus… I wouldn’t be anywhere without those little things.”

by Marty Hastings

Paddlers Hunter, Hickey of Kamloops to represent Canada at world championships

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