| Established: 1970 |
| Abenaki: Name of North American Indian tribe meaning "People of the Rising Sun" or "Dawn Land People" |
| Club Symbol and Colours: The club's symbol is the rising sun on a lake in colours of Green and Yellow. |
| Motto: "Recreation, Citizenship, Conservation, Through Water Activities." |
Abenaki Aquatic Club was established in response to the interests voiced at a Bel Ayr Park Homeowners Association meeting in December, 1969. A committee went to work gathering information and formalizing plans and on March 21, 1970, the Abenaki Aquatic Club was formed. Mr. Rod Sullivan was elected Commodore and a twenty member board of directors was appointed. The board was especially concerned about environmental protection and preservation, & therefore, designs for the boat house and grounds were developed accordingly. In fact the clubhouse was constructed on a previously unusable swamp area.
Abenaki's mandate for programming is to encourage family participation, and various sports and recreational activities are offered to address this goal. One of these programs is paddling instruction. The emphasis at Abenaki is on participation and then competition. Nevertheless the club competes in many of the local competitions as well as some national events. Although Abenaki is considered a "development club", our paddlers have won many medals at both local and national competitions, including a national gold in K-4.
In
1971 , when Abenaki paddlers entered their first competition, the club's only
racing boats were a fiberglass war canoe and one C-4 canoe. Through the
hard work and dedication of volunteers and supporters, by the following year the
Abenaki fleet included two C-15's, two C-4's, two C-2's, and two K-1's.
In 1984, Abenaki experienced a major expansion. A larger, second boathouse was built to accommodate a further increase in fleet size. An area of the shore line was excavated to make a beach area. As well, an enclosed swimming area was created which caters to Red Cross swimming instruction and an enthusiastic Provincial Summer Swim Team "the Abenaki Green Gators". Several provincial records have been set by Abenaki Gators over the years.
(The above information was derived from the Regional Museum of Cultural History's publication "Paddles in Time- An exhibition of canoe and kayak sprint racing in Nova Scotia")