Over 73 athletes, coaches, officials, and supportive parents will begin traveling to Oklahoma City in early August for the U.S. National Club Championships. Twelve of the athletes will arrive early to compete in the U.S. Junior Trials. Those athletes making time standards will secure a spot on the U.S. Team headed to Russia in early September to compete at the Pre-World Junior Championships.

The Lanier Canoe & Kayak Club sent 12 athletes to Lake Placid earlier this summer to train for two weeks at the Olympic Training Center and compete in two regattas as members of the U.S. Junior National Team. LCKC had 12 of 25 athletes on the U.S Team, which indicates that something good is going on in Gainesville, GA!

Competition begins on Tuesday, August 5 for the Bantam, Juvenile, Junior and Senior athletes and ends on Saturday August 9th with the Master’s competition events.

Oklahoma City has embraced the sport of Canoe/Kayak hosting the U.S. Olympic Team Trials earlier this year and now the U.S. National Club Championships. The City, elected officials, the Chesapeak Boathouse venue and all the volunteers did an awesome job of making athletes feel welcome in April and will sure to do so again during the upcoming competition.

The Lanier Canoe & Kayak Club hopes to make a bid to host this event again in the future as it would bring the spotlight back to one of the best natural flatwater courses in the world.

There are a number of programs available to paddlers of all ages at the venue located on Clark’s Bridge Road. The Richardson Racing League is one such program that begins in early fall for six weeks and introduces Elementary and Middle School aged kids to the great sport of canoeing and kayaking.

Learn more about all the programs offered at LCKC and to find out how they do in Oklahoma City at www.lckc.org.