Community Sports

On the water with some of the nation’s best canoe and kayak racers

It was mid-January in Gig Harbor. Pockets of snow still survived on downtown streets and a brisk wind whipped across the harbor waters. But I was bundled and ready as I approached Ancich Waterfront Park to meet the Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Racing Team’s head coach, Alyson Mrozinski.

Mrozinski was about to take me on a boat ride alongside of some of the nation’s best speed canoe and speed kayak racers, who train in Gig Harbor. Drawn to the intricacies of different sports, I was excited to learn more about the sport and the athletes that I had noticed speeding by me while on the decks at the Tides or 7 Seas last summer.

The sports of sprint canoe and sprint kayak racing require precise timing, explosive strength and plenty of endurance, especially if you have an eye toward a possible Olympic medal and are determined to represent your country one day, like some of these local racers do.

Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Racing Team head coach Alyson Mrozinski. Photo by Dennis Browne

Golden dreams

Those may seem like lofty expectations for a Gig Harbor club. But Nevin Harrison, a former GHCKRT member, already won an Olympic Gold medal in 200-meter single sprint canoe at the Tokyo Games in 2021. She narrowly missed another gold in Paris last summer, when she earned a silver medal.

Several other former members have also achieved success and are at the top of their sport. Kenny Kasperbauer of Gig Harbor is currently a member of the American men’s team in sprint canoe and Elena Wolgamot of Gig Harbor competes in several sprint kayak categories for the U.S.A.

Other standouts include Jonathan Grady, who won the senior U.S. Trials last year; Benjamin Blanck, a previous member of the U.S. U-21 Worlds team; and Emma Albrecht, a Gig Harbor alumni and current member of the U.S. U-23 team.

Sprint kayak racers are seated and use a paddle with a blade at each end to move with synchronized strokes that keep the kayak traveling in a straight line. They race in one-, two- or four-person boats over various lengths.

Former Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Racing Team member Nevin Harrison competes at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she won a silver medal after winning gold in the sprint canoe category at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Photo courtesy of the GHCKRT

Sprint canoe events in singles, doubles and four person are characterized by a single bladed paddle with a handle on one end. Racers paddle from the powerful knee-high position, resting their back shin in a holder attached to the canoe’s floor. Their other leg is stretched forward with their knee in the air and their front foot planted to generate power.

Competition vessels from each discipline are designed to glide through the water with minimum drag and optimum speed. The best canoes and kayaks are made with durable, lightweight materials and can cost around $5,000.

But it costs much less to get started in a canoe or kayak. The club strives to keep costs controlled, typically charging only a little over $200 a month for membership, which makes it more affordable than many other club sport offerings around town.

Local club dominates at national level

The GHCKRT has paid its dues to be recognized as one of the top clubs in the country. It has dominated the club scene with 10 national championships, most recently in 2023. The club was the vision of Alan Anderson, who founded, developed and poured his heart and soul into the popular club that he still oversees today.

Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Racing Team founder Alan Anderson pictured winning one of several national championships.

The club won its national titles in a format that involves accumulating points for how many members participated in and placed in their events. The large club — Mrozinski says it is the biggest in the country — travels each year for the national championships.

As I walked past the canoe and kayak storage building at Ancich Dock, I met the club’s fourth-fastest female sprint canoer, Kate Powell. She’s a 16-year-old sophomore at Gig Harbor High who usually trains eight times per week in the winter.

When asked what drew her to the sport she said: “It’s a really cool and unique sport that has giving me a lot of opportunities, like traveling internationally. Our last trip was to Hungary. Overall, it has a really great community and we have some of the best coaches in America. Joining this club has definitely changed my life.”

Down at the dock, tandem sprint canoers Johanna Payne and Ashley Platt, who won the national event with two others in the C4 category, paddled in with perfect synchronicity as they finished their training session.

Ashley Platt (left) and Johanna Payne are one of the top sprint canoe tandems in the country. Photo by Dennis Browne

“I like the challenging aspect of the sport. You can never really master it but there’s always something that you can do to get better and the coaches are really committed to helping us improve,” Payne said.

Platt explained: “My favorite part is the uniqueness of the sport. I am so glad that we get to do this.”

Brrrr

It can’t be easy to train when its 29 degrees out, as it was the day I was there.

“We train no matter what, unless there’s lightning,” Platt said. “When it’s this cold out, 30 degrees with ice on the water, it’s more of a mental workout than physical one at that point. It’s challenging but it’s like, ‘hey, I showed up and I’m gonna paddle … it just makes you better.’ ”

The energetic Mrozinski approached, flashing a big smile and waving hello while spinning the back end of her motorized boat up to the dock like a boss. With confidence established, I jumped on to her boat and we were off to see some other top competitors.

“I’m glad you got to interview those two,” Mrozinski said as we sped away. “Ashley won several individual events at nationals, together as a team they may be the top two juvenile girls in the country.”

Mrozinski was previously a racing member of the club and trained on the same waters as a teen. She had enough speed to earn a scholarship to Oklahoma City University as a kayaker.

“I’m out on the water every day because I want to train kids to improve from a beginner to maybe even an Olympic caliber athlete one day,” Mrozinski said. “It’s so fun, it’s a joy but it’s a big commitment. I want to be known as a person that cared about the kids, my sport and helped make this club one of the best in the country.”

Kyle Peterson (left) and Ben Watters, sprint kayakers with the Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Racing team, practice in Gig Harbor. Photo by Dennis Browne

Possible future Olympians?

As we navigated to the middle of the harbor, Ben Watters and Kyle Peterson flashed by with their sprint kayaks skimming across the water. Their whirling arms and perfect oar entries were elegant and seemed almost mechanical.

They traveled at surprising speeds as we flanked them during a neck and neck race.

“I want you to emphasize your core being solid, only twisting, there is no crunching. When you move your core too much, the aftermath of your lifts aren’t as good. Keep your core solid,” Mrozinski encouraged before adding, “Finish strong boys, you’ve come this far, let’s go!”

Mrozinski said Watters is one of the top three U-16 competitors in the country and could have a chance to make an Olympic team one day.

“I love being here out on the water, it’s hard but rewarding. You’ve got to be tough. It hurt last week paddling while it snowed, but when you get off the water and had a good workout, it’s a really good feeling,” Watters said.

Watters works out on the water eight times a week and lifts weights four times a week. That matches or exceeds his Tides classmates who compete in other sports. Peterson is improving from training with Watters and finished ninth in the country last year.

“I like seeing my progress build up after the years of training. It’s very rewarding but the best is definitely race day,” Peterson said.

Another top kayaker flew by us and Mrozinski had to push the pedal to catch up.

Isabella Caine is the club’s fastest female kayaker and won a national title in sprint kayak last year. She also compiled two second-place finishes and a third in different events.

Caine loves to race and had a competitive background in downhill skiing before trading in her poles for paddles.

“It’s just the best out here,” she said. “I am so fortunate to have the support of my family, teammates and our coaches. The sport has given so much to me and it is a definite love of mine, I’d like to improve and possibly race for my country one day.”

Isabella Caine of the Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Racing Team kayak represented the U.S. at the Olympic Hopes Regatta last summer. Photo by Dennis Browne

See them in action — or join it

GHCKRT wants to improve, spread the love for their sport  and become even stronger.

They encourage more new members to join and are offering several upcoming events including their summer camps where many young members begin. Registration opens Saturday, March 15, at www.ghckrt.com.

The club’s Paddlers Cup event is April 26 and 27 in Gig Harbor. That’s one of the main ways the club connects to the community, exposes their sport to newcomers, raises funds and has some fun races for the town to watch.

Several canoe club members will be in Chula Vista, California, on April 14 and 15 for the U.S. team trials for for the Junior Worlds in Portugal later this summer. Later in the summer, the club will try for another national championship. The event will make a Northwest appearance this year, on Green Lake in Seattle, on Aug. 12-15.

Finally, the club plans to expand with the addition of a six person outrigger canoe team later in the spring. The outriggers are being housed at the north end of Gig Harbor by Anthony’s Restaurant, one of the team’s major sponsors along with Java and Clay and the Gig Harbor Downtown Waterfront Alliance.