Fort McMurray Rowing Club
Club Description
The Fort McMurray Rowing club is situated on "The Snye", a small inlet
of the Clearwater River. The boatshed houses some fours, doubles, and
singles, and is shared with a kayak group. Most rowing at Fort McMurray
is recreational, however, the club is always eager to produce at least
few competative members, whether it be Masters or Youth. The club is 100%
volunteer run and even the coaches have to pay their full membership fees!
The Learn To Row programs starts out on the Snye, where there is no current,
and the area is fairly sheltered. Once rowers develop their confidence
they will venture out onto a Untied Nation's Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organiztion'a (UNESCO) recognized river, the Clearwater.
If you're in Fort McMurray and looking for a bit of sculling, please
contact the club contact (below). Of course, the FMRC is WAY north, and
we have a short rowing season so if you turn up in early May, you'll most
likely be able to skate on the Snye. Book your hotel ahead of time too!
We usually get going after the May long weekend.
More on our venue... excerpt from:
http://www.greatcanadianrivers.com/rivers/clearriver/clear-home.html
Wild and remote, the Clearwater River flows 295 kilometres from its headwaters
at Broach Lake in northern Saskatchewan to its confluence with the Athabasca
River at Fort McMurray, Alberta. [ That's us!] Its upper
banks are raw and rugged, towering over a narrow streambed punctuated
with boulder strewn rapids, rocky ledges and dramatic waterfalls. Downstream,
the river calms and widens, as it leaves the Precambrian Shield on its
way to the Interior Plains. Though it originally heads southeast, the
Clearwater makes a sharp turn to the west, halfway along its Saskatchewan
course. It is this abrupt change of direction that defined the river's
legendary role in the development of the western fur trade. For an entire
century, an army of voyageurs, traders, explorers and adventurers followed
the Methye Portage across the continental divide to the westward-flowing
Clearwater and its link with the Arctic waterways. The traffic of trade
has subsided, but the spectacular beauty and natural abundance of this
Canadian Heritage River remains, a delight to canoeists, rafters, naturalists
and eco-tourists [and Rowers!] seeking a genuine wilderness
experience
May
Newsletter
Club Administration
Membership Fees and Programs
Driving Directions Map
Coming from the South:
Enter the city on highway 63 that will eventually become Memorial Dr.
Continue on Memorial Dr. and turn R on Morrison St., continue straight
for a few blocks then turn right on Morimoto Dr., Borealis Park will be
on the left once you make the turn. The boat house is just down the street
on the right hand side just after the S turn.
Coming from the North/West:
The directions are same as above, except you will turn left onto Morrison
St from Memorial Dr.
GPS users: Head for N 56D43'55.5", W 111D22'36.6".
This will put you in front of the FMRC boathouse across the street from
the Snye, or pretty much on the tip of the arrow in the picture above.
Year Founded
1985
Number of Members
45
Contact Information
Jane Hetfleis, President
Fort McMurray Rowing Club
P.O. Box 5931 Station Main
Fort McMurray, Alberta T9H 4V9
Club Ph: 780-714-7188
mcmurrayrowing@yahoo.ca
http://www.albertarowing.ca/clubs/fortMcmurray.asp
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