Paddling Club hosting one more on-water event for the year

Medicine Hat’s Paddling Club is holding its fifth annual Hat Regatta on the South Saskatchewan River starting at noon on Saturday, billed as the final organized paddle of the year in Canada.

All they ask is for participants to bring a personal flotation device and a funny hat to the Strathcona Island Park, where the paddle begins.

“There’s an abundance of water here and we’re trying to get the public out to more and more on-water events,” said Paddling Club president Rick Redmond, who explained the event’s genesis.

“At the end of the season, we all tend to wear toques of some sort around water. From a water safety perspective, you wear a toque just to keep your head warm and that way your whole body stays warm.

“We figured we’d have everybody wear a funny hat and kind of just went from there,” said Redmond.

He noted that southeast Alberta has “one of the latest paddling seasons in all of Canada.”

Redmond encouraged the public to take their last opportunity to explore the river this year.

“Most of the people never get to see Medicine Hat from the river,” he said. “A lot of folks are somewhat timid about the river, but there’s nothing to be timid about.”

There will be qualified paddlers from the club present to guarantee everyone stays safe.

“Members of the Medicine Hat Paddling Club will be on the water to ensure your safety,” said Redmond. “Regardless of the pace you’re going at, we’ll have members of the club there to keep an eye on everybody.

“The river water is low. Everyone says, ‘The lower the better,’ but nah, there’s a few more gravel bars exposed and a few more rocks exposed through the river valley,” he cautioned.

“We can point out the safe passages through the lower water.”

Redmond said the best part of the event is that nobody is rushed.

“Everybody just goes at their own pace,” he said. “That’s the fun thing. Everybody just goes at the pace they’re comfortable with.”