Paddling pioneers - Women canoers gaining acceptanceFriday, July 26, 2002 Paddling pioneers Women canoers gaining acceptance By DAN WASHBURN The Times GAINESVILLE The photograph is 40 years old and grainy, but if you squint you can make it out: two women are paddling a sprint canoe, back then referred to as a Canadian boat. It’s a scene that even today is rather uncommon. Scribbled on the photograph is the question, “Will women ever race in Canadian boats?” Debby Page was 14 years old when she posed that question, 14 years old when she posed for that photo with Francine Fox (who, by the way, went on to win an Olympic silver medal for double kayak in 1964). Forty years later, Page finally has her answer. For the first time ever, female canoe events are officially recognized in the USA Canoe/Kayak Sprint National Championships, which conclude Saturday at the Clarks Bridge Park Olympic venue on Lake Lanier. Not too long ago, Page e-mailed a copy of that old, grainy photo to fellow Washington Canoe Club member Pam Boteler, currently the fastest female canoeist in the United States. “I just thought it was the coolest picture,” Boteler, 34, said. “I said, ‘Debby, how cool would it be? You took this picture 40 years ago. And now we have the first nationals with women’s canoe events. Let’s do the C-2 together.’” And this afternoon, that’s just what this duo will do. The two woman warriors will blaze an historic trail to the finish line, leaving years of struggle and discrimination in their wake. But the U.S. nationals are just the first step. Last November, USA Canoe/Kayak, the governing body of the sport in the United States, submitted a proposal to the International Canoe Federation asking that all canoe events currently offered to men be offered to women, as well. The ICF congress will vote on the proposal this September in Seville, Spain, following the sprint world championships. Boteler and two other advocates for female canoe, Heather McNie and Sheila Kuyper of the Canadian organization WomenCan, will be in Seville during the world championships to lobby the delegates. The ICF is expected to vote the proposal down, citing financial concerns. Critics of the proposal say the addition of female canoe events would create the need for additional funds for new coaches and new boats. They also contend that it would dilute the talent pool for female Olympic kayak events. McNie admitted that a yes vote is “highly unlikely.” More realistic, she said, is the addition of exhibition female canoe events at the 2003 ICF Sprint World Championships on Lake Lanier. “The money issue will probably be the big one,” said McNie, of Kingston, Ontario. “That, and change. They don’t like change. It’s a man’s world over there.” McNie said that Canada, which added female canoe to its national championships six years ago, has not seen female canoe to be the great burden that the ICF fears it will be. “Nobody’s complaining about the coaches not having enough time and none of the clubs are finding that they have to hire more coaches,” McNie said. “They just slot them in with the guys, and out they go.” Page believes the primary reason female canoe faces an “uphill battle” internationally is prejudice. “It’s the same mentality that said women shouldn’t race marathons,” Page said. “They thought that it would destroy our reproductive capabilities or something. “I remember a couple of years ago a Hungarian Canadian said to me, ‘What are you doing in Canadian boat? You should be in kayak. Or, even better, you should be in kitchen.’ The mentality that women shouldn’t do this is a shame.” Page said that as a young girl, she always felt more natural paddling Canadian boats with a single blade from the high-kneel position. “It never made any sense to me that they didn’t have the events for women,” said Page, who went on to kayak for the U.S. national team. Boteler was a burned out kayaker when she first gave canoe a try at the age of 31. “I was just excited about it, and I hadn’t been excited about a sport in years,” Boteler said. “So I said, ‘Who cares if I can’t go straight? Let’s go for it.’” Boteler had always been an athlete. At Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, she won a national championship in basketball and was a regional All-American in cross country. Boteler liked the challenge presented by paddling a sprint canoe, one of the toughest tasks in all of sport. It’s hard enough to keep the boat upright, let alone make it go anywhere. “You really have to want to paddle a Canadian boat,” Page said. “It’s got a learning curve on it that’s really tough. There’s no instant gratification in that boat. You have to accept the challenge and want to do it.” At the 2000 nationals on Lake Lanier, women were permitted to race in men’s intermediate canoe events. Boteler won a bronze in the 1,000-meter single. She then teamed with McNie to take the gold - yes, gold - in the 500-meter double. “The guys we beat were good sports about it,” Boteler said with a wide smile. At last year’s nationals in Rancho Cordova, Calif., Boteler teamed with three men from Seattle to win a gold in the 1,000-meter C-4. She also earned two silvers at the Pan American Championships in Mexico. Her fastest times are now on par with those of Canadian female paddlers her age. With her chiseled physique and cover girl good looks, Boteler may be just the spokesperson sprint paddling needs in its race for gender equity. In its September issue, “Sports Illustrated for Women” is slated to dedicate a six-page spread to the paddling pioneer. “If I can get someone else to want to try something new because of something I’m doing,” Boteler said, “I’d feel like I can hang things up and be really happy with what I’ve done.” Boteler’s efforts appear to be paying off. Twenty-three female canoeists are entered in events this week. Twelve-year-old Laura Demby, a member of the Lanier Canoe & Kayak Club, took up sprint canoe a year and a half ago. “I like canoeing better than kayaking,” Demby said. “Kayaking wasn’t that much of a challenge and everybody that was canoeing said it was more of a challenge. I like challenges, so I just went for it.” When Boteler’s finally ready to pass her torch, looks like several hands will be reaching to grab it. E-mail: dwashburn@gainesvilletimes.com Canoe/kayak 2002 Sprint National Championships What: top 300 paddlers in the United States competing for national titles When: through Saturday; racing starts 8 a.m. daily Where: Olympic venue at Clarks Bridge Park, Lake Lanier Admission: free; VIP passes, with air-conditioned seats, $15/day Boat ramp: Clarks Bridge Park boat ramp closed today-Saturday. Boaters asked to avoid race area during competition. Contact: (770) 287-7888 Web site: www.lckc.org Photo caption: Pam Boteler, left, and Debby Page from the Washington Canoe Club are paddling together in the women’s double canoe this afternoon, the first time events of its kind have been officially recognized in the USA Canoe/Kayak Sprint National Championships. (Scott Rogers The Times) -------------------------------- Copyright 2002 The Gainesville Times site design by GetAGeek, Inc.