The clouds broke over Schwatka Lake Saturday morning and gave way to the sun – perfect timing for the fifth annual Flatwater North Yukon Championships.

Given the times of COVID-19, the regatta followed certain protocols to keep the athletes and the few onlookers safe. Helen Ann Girouard, president of Flatwater North, said the club received permission from the chief medical officer’s office to host the Yukon Championships.

Hand sanitizer was available around the Schwatka Lake Day Use Area. After every use, boats and paddles were sprayed down and the competition did not feature any two-person categories.

The usual barbecue after the races was not held, so Flatwater could ensure proper physical distancing was applied.

Still, despite the changes, Girouard said it was great to be able to host an event for the kids.

“Some of them have been dry-land training all winter,” she said from her emcee post.

“All the Outside competitions have been cancelled so we wanted to give the kids a way to compete safely in a fun atmosphere.”

Rogan Parry and Joel Girouard, two of the senior paddlers at Flatwater, said it was great to be back on the water in a competitive setting.

“It’s so nice,” said Parry. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for this for a little while now – to actually get a chance to do some races and test what we’ve been practicing on for the last X-number of months.”

“It’s pretty fun when you get to compete against each other and see who is getting better and better every year,” said Joel.

The two paddlers haven’t taken time away from the water during the pandemic, still practicing five-times a week. Even though they’ve remained in their boats, they said there was still some rust to shake off.

“Races are different than practice,” said Parry. “Just the mentality of going all out and a lot of the time we are dying halfway through and finishing the race on fumes.

“Even if you are trying your best in practice, you go in a race and I think nerves get to you too.”

“We do six-kilometre time-trials and 100-metres, 500-metres for practices,” said Joel.

“That’s not the same thing, you don’t have other people to try and keep up with.”

In a season where the Outside competitions have been cancelled, Parry and Joel said it was still important for them to continue practicing and competing. They remain hopeful that next year’s regattas and Canada Summer Games in Niagara will be a go.

The regatta was open to all skill levels and had paddlers competing with a variety of boats; canoes, kayaks and stand up paddle boards.