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The placement seems fitting in this instance. The paddle, a symbol used by former British Olympic rowing coach David Train to bring attention to climate change, was an idea he got from school children in England. The movement he heads starts from the ground up, he says, from children like Michener up to the top, including heads of state worldwide.
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Former British olympic rowing coach David Train of Fladbury, England, holds Winona's Paddle for Life. The paddle, signed by key international figures, will be displayed at City Hall in Winona after the Paddle for Life Regatta.
(Photo by Melissa Carlo/WInona Daily News)
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“We start with the children,” Train said. “But I want it to become a symbol around the world.”
Winona will hold its first Paddle for Life Regatta today as part of continued Capital for a Day events.
Students from St. Stan’s and Bluffview Montessori will row in the regatta after they complete their own Paddle for Life designs, all with climate change themes.
On Thursday, St. Stan’s students practiced rowing techniques at Lake Winona, the site of the regatta. As Train and others yelled out encouragement, the kids learned how to handle dual canoes, combined to create stability so that even novice rowers can feel comfortable.
“It’s a boat for bringing everyone on board,” Train said.
Michener said she’s already had boating experience, canoeing and kayaking through backwaters near Fountain City, Wis. Classmates called her over to show them where her name was on the paddle. She said having her name next to Blair’s was nice, but getting in the water and rowing was the part she liked best.
“Actually being able to do it, that was the fun part,” she said.
Winona served as Minnesota’s honorary capital on May 16 as part of the state’s Sesquicentennial Celebration. The city represented the Driftless Area of southeast Minnesota and has had celebratory events throughout the year.
Train and Winona Park and Recreation’s community services director Chad Ubl hope the regatta will become an annual event and the paddle will be used as the trophy for the race’s winner. Those winners will sign the paddle, next to names like Blair, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Michener.
The area has so many resources to become a major rowing hub, train said, including the Mississippi, Lake Winona and Wenonah Canoe, that all the elements are there to grow the sport along with the event. He hoped that local universities would challenge each other to races in future regattas, all the while carrying the message of climate change firmly in tow.
“This is the starting point,” he said. “The first step out of the water.”
St. Stan's students practice for the Paddle for Life Regatta
If you go:
Paddle for Life and Capitol for a Day celebrations start at 11 a.m. today at Lake Winona. Family Art Day Extravaganza events will take place from between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Registration begins at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
David Train will introduce the Paddle for Life at 1 p.m. and will recognize the winners of a children’s paddle design contest. Crew races organized by Winona State University students will begin at 2 p.m., followed by a Liberty Boat Regatta at 3 p.m.
Nolan Rosenkrans may be reached at (507) 453-3519 or at nolan.rosenkrans@lee.net.
