Hat, Hat Regatta this weekend

By Mo Cranker on September 24, 2018.

mcranker@medicinehatnews.com @MHNmocranker

The Medicine Hat Paddling Club is making one final call for its largest event of the year.

The Hat, Hat Regatta is Saturday and has been running for seven years in the city — it encourages paddlers of any skill to get out on the water one last time for the year.

“The Hat, Hat Regatta is a really fun event for us,” said club president Rick Redmond. “For a number of years we’ve gathered as many paddlers as we can from Medicine Hat and the surrounding area to run the river one last time.

“It takes two to four hours depending on someone’s skill level.”

The group will be meeting at the Echo Dale boat launch with the hopes of getting boats in the water at 11:30 a.m. and taking off at noon. The final destination is Strathcona Island Park.

“We call it the Hat, Hat Regatta because we encourage everyone to wear their favourite hat to the event,” said Redmond. “There’s no strict rules and people aren’t required to wear a hat but it just adds another element of fun to the paddle.

“Some people wear normal hats, others wear Santa hats — it’s all personal preference.”

Redmond says it is going to be the biggest year the event has seen.

“We’re looking at over 100 people, for sure,” he said. “In the last year we’ve really grown the club — it’s been a great year for us.

“The weather is looking like it’ll be a great afternoon Saturday.”

Redmond says there won’t be a ready supply of extra boats and supplies Saturday and that people usually organize a ride back to their vehicle after the paddle.

“If people reach out to our Facebook page we can try and help them to get a boat and tag along,” he said. “People usually have a ride back to their car once we get to Strathcona. Again, if they message us we’ll make sure they can get a ride back to Echo Dale.”

More information can be found on the club’s Facebook page facebook.com/medicinehatpaddlingclub

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