The annual Sydenham River Canoe and Kayak Race, organized by the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority Foundation, has been cancelled this year due to unanticipated changes to the insurance requirements.
General Manager Ken Phillips said there are different standards that need to be met now, such as the need to have people stationed along the route to ensure participant safety.
Typically, the race begins on Mosside Line in Dawn-Euphemia and finishes in the Shetland Conservation area.
"Normally what we've done is we have a boat that follows the kayakers down -- like a rescue boat, for a lack of a better expression. Now, what they require is for people to physically be on-site to see if someone is in danger to get people to them as quickly as possible," said Phillips. "That requires us to enter into a lot of agreements with property owners and things that we just hadn't anticipated having to do."
Phillips said the other challenge with stationing people along the route, is limited staffing resources.
This year would have marked the race's 51st year.
Phillips said foundation committee members will review their options for hosting the race, hopefully, next year.
"Do we look at moving the event somewhere else? Do we look a changing the scale of what it is and what it does because we still would like to do an event that involves public participation, such as the canoe race," he said. "It's just a matter of finding the right fit that we can meet all standards in order to ensure the event goes off smoothly."
Phillips said they expect to have a decision about the race's future by this fall.
The fundraising event usually raises around $3,000 for the conservation authority's education programs. Phillips said they'll look a other potential funding sources this year such as grants and donations.
While the springtime event attracts 70 to 100 paddlers, it is at the mercy of Mother Nature in most cases. In recent years, the race has been cancelled because of rainy weather conditions, high water levels, and the COVID-19 pandemic.