Boat building contest set for Canada Day
June 19, 2009 by Bram Rossman
Filed under BC government, Business, Columbia Valley, Invermere, Local government, Local news, Recreation
Columbia Valley RCMP officers Derek Balderston and Christine Steffler will be riding 1,000 km in September to raise money for children facing serious illnesses. (Photo by Bram Rossman)
They can save lives, arrest criminals, put out fires and pry you out of a crashed car —but can they build boats? If it sounds like an intriguing question you’d like to see put to the test, be sure to head down to Kinsmen Beach on Canada Day.
As part of fundraising efforts for a Cops for Kids bike ride this summer, in which two local RCMP officers will be embarking on a 1,000 km bike ride, local emergency services will be competing against each other in a head-to-head boat building contest on July 1.
Working with $100 of Home Hardware building materials using only hand tools, local police, fire and ambulance service workers will be given four hours to build a boat capable of floating teams of three. The finished product will be raced around a course in Taynton Bay that afternoon.
The event will support Columbia Valley RCMP constables Derek Balderston and Christine Steffler, who will both be riding in the ten-day trek, which finishes in the central Okanagon city of Kelowna.
Balderston explained that each RCMP member must raise a minimum of $2,000 to take part in the ride.
“The boat building contest was started to support this fundraising as well as encourage inter-agency camaraderie,” he advised.
Indeed, with six structural fire department, one police department, an ambulance station, ministry of forests fire fighters and Parks Canada crews, there’s a large group of emergency service personal to draw from and plenty of inter-agency competition.
Not surprisingly there is a number of crossovers in staff between the agencies, which will make loyalties difficult to choose. But in support of a good cause, the rivalries should be fairly friendly.
“I hope it will be an annual event,” said Balderston, who rode in the charity last year. This will be Christine’s first time.
More detailed information about Cops for Kids, which supports children with serious or terminal illnesses, can be found at www.copsforkids.org. Anyone wishing to donate to the charity can drop by the Columbia Valley RCMP detachment or donate online at the website.
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