Who are those crazy fast paddlers in those skinny boats? If you’ve strolled anywhere around the Petaluma River in the past eight years, you may well have asked yourself this question. Many of us have been in kayaks of various sorts, competitively or casually, or in other people-powered watercraft, but most of us have not tried these challenging boats in which a single is 17-feet long and weighs about 25 pounds. And yet the sport of sprint kayaking was formally introduced into the Summer Olympics in 1936 in Berlin.
So, who are these Petaluma River paddlers?
They are members of River Town Racers a young club of 20 youth athletes supported by a large volunteer crew of adults. Although it held its very first recruiting summer camp in 2013, RTR is already celebrating the selection of three current members and one former member to Team USA. The chosen athletes are: former (and founding) RTR paddler and Petaluma native Jasper Caddell, 19; Kasen Taylor, (18) and Philip Majumdar (18), also of Petaluma; and Petri Alva (17) of Rohnert Park.
From Sept. 3 to Sept. 6, all four will be in Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal, where Caddell, now training in Gig Harbor, Washington, will participate in the under-23 Kayak Sprint World Championships, and the others will compete in the Junior World Championships. Shortly thereafter, (Sept. 10 to Sept. 12) Alva will compete at the Olympic Hopes Regatta in Racice, Czech Republic.
Both Alva and Majumdar hope to make the finals, if not the podium. Majumdar, who Taylor notes is “probably the fastest paddler in the United States in his age group right now,” will be paddling in a double with the one paddler who can keep up with him, Sean Talbert of Hawai’i, in the Junior under-23 championships. The K2 is a new event for his age group, so the pair have had to base their goal (1:35) on the times achieved two years ago by senior men (20-35 years old).
Taylor, who will go on to Washington to train for the Olympics (a long road paved with the Pan-American Games and the World Cup) with Coach Dan Henderson says the challenges against the team that trains here in a gravel-yard facility dotted with shipping containers and somewhat ratty land-training equipment “have helped us get better and stronger.
“Realizing that we’re the only people training in this area, at first it felt like we were getting the raw end of the deal, but we’ve done well compared with clubs with more money,” he said. “Now I feel we can push ourselves harder. My teammates have shown me what is possible -- it’s a blessing and a gift. River Town Racers has been a driving force of love and compassion.”
Alva notes that Petaluma is not known for paddling, and “When we started getting recognition, we had to tell people where we were, ‘kind of near San Francisco!’ Now we’re a small hot spot in California.”
The sport itself, which has a very limited college scholarship path, is also getting a little more recognition. Alva says, “I saw sprint canoe on sports TV recently. The sport could use more attention and funding.”
These superstars are just the leading edge at RTR. In late August (21-24) a baker’s dozen of RTR members, aged 11 and older, will be in Oklahoma City representing their club in four age categories at the USA Kayak Sprint National Championships.
Ariel Bryant and Leah Ahmed of Petaluma, both 15, will be competing for sure in singles, in the 200, 500 and 1000-meter races. Who will fill out the doubles and fours is not decided yet. Some members will also compete in the longstanding (since 2004) human-powered boat race known as the Petaluma River Marathon/Half-Marathon on Sept, 5. River Town Racers will also compete at the Sonoma Coast Surfrider Blue Water Paddle Race on Oct. 9 at Doran Beach and in San Rafael on Octt. 16.
Of course, paddling isn’t the only thing in these athletes’ lives. After returning from Portugal, Caddell and Majumdar will head to University of San Diego. Racing Team member Dylan Anacleto-Black is going to UC Berkeley and Kai Leon will be off to University of Puget Sound.
In order to assure superb coaching and continuity within the team, RTR accepts new kayak racers once a year after a week-long introductory clinic each June that prepares the kids for racing in the tippy boats during the fall and winter.
As a rower since moving to Petaluma in 2008 and a supporter of river access for all, I’ve been fortunate enough to witness this club form, gain traction, and then renown, and now every year I look forward to those June camps when I can watch the new paddlers, first supported in training boats but “graduating,” after just a week by playing catch with a beach ball and handing celebratory cake around with tongs from boat to boat.
To see the athletes in action without going abroad, visit the turning basin or the riverside via the path on the Waterfront Apartments at First and D streets, or the street-end pocket parks of C, G, or H Streets. any weekday evening between 4:30 and 6 p.m., or on Saturday mornings from 10 to 11 a.m.
A note from the team: River Town Racers loves donations! They have a designated fund for travel assistance for athletes racing overseas, and also appreciate gifts to help athletes racing domestically. To make a donation, Paypal to rivertownracers@gmail.org or mail a check to: P.O. Box 316, Petaluma, Caliifornia 94953-0316. Please include a note if you wish to designate funds for either of these purposes. River Town Racers is a 501(c)(3) non profit. All donations are tax-deductible.
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