Some pretty nice kayaks were on display on Saturday
NEGAUNEE, MI –On a windy Saturday morning on the shores of beautiful Teal Lake in Negaunee, the Negaunee Lions brought the lake & paddlers alive with the inaugural Teal Lake Paddle!
With registration at 9am, the racers had plenty of time to prepare themselves for a fun and exciting day on the water. Throughout the length of the event, there were three events:
A 1.5 mile “sprint” race
A 3 mile endurance race
And a treasure hunt that featured gift certificates and more for anybody who participated.
With over 20 paddlers showing up to the TLP, event coordinator Neil Lynch & other Lions Club members felt that the day was a success.
Lions Club member Cody Scanlon had this to say about the event:
All of the participants from the 1.5 mile race in the kayak division.
“It’s tough to get people out here the first time around, especially with the 4th of July being yesterday. 20-25 people is about what we expected, and we are thrilled that we met our mark. Hopefully people will see how much fun it was and want to give it a try next year. Who knows, with some positive word of mouth maybe the number of competitors jumps up to 50 or more people next year!”
Most of the competitors came out with kayaks, while some chose the stand-up-paddle board as their main mode of transportation, and there was even a canoe team that hopped into the three-mile race.
With the weather cooperating, a good turn-out of people, and a great friendly atmosphere, the Teal Lake Paddle is the perfect kind of event for anybody to join.
For more information about the Negaunee Lions Club, be sure to check out their website! Be sure to come out next year!
There was some pretty sweet merchandise to take home too!
The tent where all the magic happened.
The Lions Club of Negaunee had a pretty good set up on the Lake on Saturday
The starting line was marked by two beautiful sail boats on Teal Lake on Saturday July 5th
The racers make their way to the starting line.
The only proper way to start off a race.
The start of the 1.5 mile race.
Tina Lynch Crosses the Finish Line!
The very first winner of the very first race of the very first Teal Lake Paddle! Leslie Hurst
Leslie celebrates her win in the 1.5 mile race
And coming in second place….Katie Tinknell!
Leslie Hurst (Right) and Katie Tinknell (Left) were your 1st & 2nd place winners in the 1.5 mile race!
Tina Lynch took third in the 1.5 mile race
Sisters Lydia & Elizabeth Kurin jokeying for position at the end of the race.
Some friendly foul play almost made its way into the race.
In the end, neither Lydia or Elizabeth were able to gain an edge.
Tim Polomaki crosses the finish line, but not for the last time that day.
All of the participants from the 1.5 mile race in the kayak division.
All participants walked away with a pretty nice souvenir.
Lions member Cody Scanlon was dishing out some pretty good tunes at Saturday’s event
After doing the 1.5 mile race at 10, Tim did the 3 mile race at 11!
The overall winners of the 3-mile race: Mark Churchill (left) and Greg Nelson (right) with a time of 11 minutes and 24 seconds
Fresh off of their win in the three mile race!
The winning canoe for the 3-mile race.
Chris Lynch (Green) and Erica Beal (Yellow) coming down the stretch in the kayak division of the 3-mile race.
Chris gains a slight edge to take first in the kayak division over Erica
Megan Kaiser crosses the finish line after a lengthy SUP Board jaunt.
Chris Lynch of Negaunee
Winner of the 1.5 & 3 mile races in the SUP Division: Tim Palomaki
Megan Kaiser won the women’s division of the SUP board division in the Teal Lake Paddle 3 mile race
Erica Beal after the 3-mile race
All participants from the 3-mile race in all divisions.
Preparing for the treasure hunt
And they’re off!
Some pretty nice kayaks were on display on Saturday
The Teal Lake Paddle drew some spectators for a fun day on the water.
President of the Negaunee Lions Gary Rasmussen
The treasure hunt begins!
Neil Lynch’s Boat the “Irish Ayes” marked the starting point for each race
Team Scanlon was a strong representative at the Teal Lake Paddle
Chris & Erica get prepared for the treasure hunt
Mrs. Scanlon preparing herself for the treasure hunt.
The treasure hunters commence!
Teal Lake Paddle organizer Neil Lynch (left) along with Gary Perala (Right) of the Negaunee Lions
Neil Lynch (left) shakes Tim Palomaki’s hand (right) after he completed both sets of races at the Teal Lake Paddle
All of the proud sponsors of the inaugural Teal Lake Paddleinna
Event coordinator Neil Lynch strikes a triumphant pose as the day went off without a hitch!
