Rafting team raises $3k through 10-hour ‘paddle-a-thon’ for Bosnia championship

A group of rafting pros, two of whom live in Fernie, braved the chilly weather on Tuesday (March 22) to spend about 10 hours on-raft in Revelstoke for a ‘paddle-a-thon’ to raise money to get to a championship taking place in Bosnia in May.

The Canadian Women’s Rafting Team brought in $3,000 through the event, and have brought in around $5,000 total so far of their $8,000 trip-funding goal.

Erin Webber, who is a teacher at Fernie Secondary School and a member of the team, said the event was more successful than they anticipated, and that it was “boat loads of fun.”

Every $20 donated meant another 15 minutes of paddling, and Webber said there were lots of people chatting them up through the event. As the day went on, she said, engagement increased and donations started pouring in. They even had friends bring them hot drinks and snacks, “which was a game changer as it was really chilly,” Webber said.

“I’m so proud of the girls, I did not anticipate it being so successful. It really got us pumped for the competition in Bosnia, as we were able to make some solid headway in our whitewater training.”

The Canadian Women’s Rafting Team is made up of Webber, Ali Preece (also of Fernie), Maris Fraser, Hannah Brown and Kailee Marland.

The original team came together somewhat unexpectedly for a national championship that took place on the Ottawa River in 2019, and won, qualifying them for the World Rafting Championships taking place in Bosnia from May 25 to June 1. There will be 65 teams competing at the event representing 22 countries.

Aside from the paddle-a-thon, the young athletes are putting on a silent auction with items donated from Fernie and Revelstoke businesses, and have done other fundraising events since November, like volunteering as security for a Ghostriders playoff game.

Webber said that getting to Bosnia would not be possible without the support “from our local mountain town communities,” adding that Fernie and Revelstoke have been “unbelievably supportive.”

“The networks of Fernie and Revelstoke have been essentially the reason why we’re able pull this together to go. It’s really cool to be part of a community that’s supportive in that way,” said Webber.

She also said that it was invigorating to be back on the water, and that it is “kind of surreal”, as they weren’t sure the Bosnia event would take place.

“It’s really cool to see it come to fruition,” she said, pointing to the chance-scenario that brought them together in the first place in Ottawa.

“We just mostly want to have a great experience going out there, and then whatever we can accomplish from that is going to be above and beyond.”

A GoFundMe page is set up for the team with the title ‘Canadian Raft Team Goes to World Championships.’

- With files from Josh Piercey

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