A new floating dock on the North Saskatchewan River is giving Prince Albert paddlers safer access to the water, but members of the local paddling club believe its impact could eventually reach much further.
The Kistahpinanihk Paddling Club held a recognition event Wednesday evening to thank the Northern Lights Community Development Corporation for helping fund the new dock system at the club’s River Street West location.
Club instructor and coach Dwight Bergstrom described the dock as the club’s “gateway” to the river.
Without a dock, he said getting canoes and kayaks into the North Saskatchewan can mean dealing with mud and difficult shoreline conditions.
“It’s a clean way to get the canoes and kayaks in and out, and our members, and a safe way to access the river,” Bergstrom said.
The floating design also allows the dock to rise and fall with the river.
That became particularly important this year when Bergstrom said water levels rose about six feet over a matter of days. The club had to adjust the dock as both water levels and river flow changed.
Elder Liz Settee, Kistahpinanihk Paddling Club president Ron Horn, instructor and coach Dwight Bergstrom, Prince Albert Mayor Bill Powalinsky and Northern Lights Community Development Corporation general manager Geoff Despins pose with a ceremonial cheque during a recognition event Wednesday.
The conditions became strong enough that the club lost nearly a month of paddling on the river and moved some programming to Christopher Lake and other locations. The dock itself made it through the high water without being damaged or swept downstream.
Wednesday’s event opened with remarks from Kistahpinanihk Paddling Club president Ron Horn before Elder Liz Settee led a smudging ceremony and prayer.
Settee spoke about the North Saskatchewan River’s historic role as a travel route and its connection to the land before praying for the club and the young people taking part in its programs.
She asked that the club continue helping people “physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally” and continue giving young people opportunities through paddling.
Youth programming has become a major part of the club’s work.
Bergstrom told those gathered that the club has worked with roughly 500 children over the past several years, primarily through partnerships involving First Nations youth programs.
In a separate interview, he said the club has had as many as about 125 members, with youth making up roughly half of that number in some years.
Young paddlers are normally introduced to the sport on nearby lakes before moving onto the river once instructors are confident they can safely handle the current.
Northern Lights Community Development Corporation general manager Geoff Despins said seeing the project take shape was particularly meaningful because he grew up in the area.
“It’s a huge accomplishment for Prince Albert,” Despins said. “It’s exciting for our youth, and let’s keep it active down here.”
Mayor Bill Powalinsky said the dock adds another recreational asset to the riverfront and makes it easier for people to access the water.
He also pointed to the importance of partnerships between organizations at a time when resources are limited.
“The whole is greater than the sum of the parts,” Powalinsky said.
Arjun Pillai/Daily Herald
A canoe rests alongside the new floating dock on the North Saskatchewan River in Prince Albert. The dock provides safer access to the river for paddlers and club programming.
Both Powalinsky and Bergstrom also see room for Prince Albert to make greater recreational use of the North Saskatchewan River.
Powalinsky pointed to dragon boat racing in Saskatoon when discussing what could be possible in Prince Albert.
Bergstrom said the new dock could also support racing because competition canoes and kayaks are more fragile and benefit from a proper launch rather than being dragged over rocks or shoreline.
He said there have also been discussions with Prince Albert tourism and museum representatives about potentially using the club’s two 25-foot canoes for visitor experiences on the river.
Asked whether Prince Albert could someday host a larger canoe or paddling competition attracting teams from elsewhere in Saskatchewan, Bergstrom said there was no reason it could not.
Sprint canoe and kayak racing is generally better suited to lakes because river currents can affect competition, he said, but the North Saskatchewan could work well for marathon canoe racing.
“In that case, then the river is ideal for that,” Bergstrom said.
For Bergstrom, that potential builds on a much older relationship between Prince Albert and the waterway.
He said rivers once served as the major transportation routes across Saskatchewan, carrying people, freight and trade long before modern roads became the primary way of moving through the province.
The new dock, he said, gives today’s paddlers another way to keep using that same river.
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
