The Ottawa River Runners (ORR) is a whitewater kayak and canoe club located on the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The club is located at the

Fleet Street Pumping Station The Fleet Street Pumping Station is a historic water pumping station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is west of downtown in the LeBreton Flats area, near the new Canadian War Museum. The building was opened in 1875 as Ottawa's first pumping statio ...

tailrace, in the Lebreton Flats area of Ottawa. The whitewater course that the ORR established and maintains is called The Pumphouse. The emphasis at ORR is on whitewater slalom canoe and kayak racing, and river running. The club runs a competitive training program for slalom athletes, as well as recreational level programs. The ORR is a member of Whitewater Ontario.

History

The club has been active since the 1980s. Over time, gradual improvements have been made to the Pumphouse facility through partnerships with the

National Capital Commission The National Capital Commission (NCC; french: Commission de la capitale nationale, CCN) is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec), i ...

and the

City of Ottawa The City of Ottawa is the corporate entity of municipal government in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The corporation is responsible for provision of services to the public as well as enforcement of municipal by-laws. It is overseen by the City Manage ...

. The ORR is currently planning to have a permanent clubhouse installed at the Pumphouse site, to be designed by Barry Hobin Associate

Programs

Events in whitewater slalom include K1, C1 and C2 The slalom training group is led by head coach James Cartwright (canoeist), James Cartwright, a three time olympian.

Off-season

In the winter, the ORR runs pool sessions for members to have the opportunity to paddle indoors. The members of the slalom training group cross-country ski to cross-train, and participate in trips to other training sites where there is running water. Training camps are often held at the

Dickerson Whitewater Course The Dickerson Whitewater Course, on the Potomac River near Dickerson, Maryland, was built for use by canoe and kayak paddlers training for the 1992 Olympic Games in Spain. It was the first pump-powered artificial whitewater course built in No ...

or the

U.S. National Whitewater Center The U.S. National Whitewater Center (USNWC) is a not-for-profit outdoor recreation and athletic training facility for whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, mountain biking hiking and ice skating which opened to the public on 2006 ...

Notable successes

The club's facility is host to the Canadian National Whitewater Slalom Team. Several high-level Canadian athletes call the Ottawa River Runners their current home club, including

Cameron Smedley Cameron "Cam" Smedley (born October 9, 1990) is a Canadian slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2006. Smedley competes as a member of the Canadian National Whitewater Slalom Team. He competes in the C1 class (single ...

. National Head Coach for Whitewater Slalom in Canada, Michał Staniszewski works with National Team athletes at the Pumphouse in Ottawa.

External links

The Ottawa River RunnersWhitewater Ontario Canoe Kayak Canada

References

{{Canoeing and kayaking Canoe clubs in Canada 1980 establishments in Ontario Sports clubs established in 1980 Sport in Ottawa