Paddle UAPS

Register for the Grande Cache River Rendezvous happening this weekend, June 26 - June 29. Make the journey and experience some of Alberta's best whitewater paddling not to mention the welcoming community of paddlers that bring this event to life! $30 includes your camping for the weekend and swimming on sunday night!

The Rendezvous is generously supported by the Cache Hotel and hosted by UAPS! If you are staying at the hotel call (780) 827-3377 and ask for the sport rate when booking. Make sure to register everyone in your family for the Sunday evening pool bash (included with registration fees) from 6-8pm so we have numbers for the lifeguards.

Most people will paddle Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Sheep Creek is currently at 4.5' at the Bridge Gauge, and the Muskeg is at 70cms.

Register now: https://www.albertawhitewater.ca/form/grande-cache-river-rendezvous-26

Don't forget to register for the Brierlies Whoop-up this weekend! June 20 & 21

https://paddlingmaps.com/event/Brierley%27s-Whoop-up

These guys are THE BEST to learn and play with! Come out and play!

For spectators, there will be a canoe shuttle over to the island to take in the tunes and high flyin’ acts! So fun.
🌊 ☀️ 😎

The opening ceremony (media launch) of the new Adaptive Launch at Rundle Pond is this Monday June 15th at 6:30PM!

Hon. Searle Turton, Minister of Children and Family Services is pleased to attend on behalf of Hon Tanya Fir, Minister of Arts, Culture and Status of Women.

The Mayor and media has also been invited!

This is a great opportunity to show the city the how big the paddling community is, and how we support all kinds of paddling.

Come see what the finished adaptive launch is and how it works.

Huge shoutout to EWP - Edmonton Whitewater Paddlers, Chris Goss, Edmonton Paddling Centres Association, Kathryn Zimmermann, Lori Davis, Alberta Whitewater Association, Paddle Alberta Society, Mark Lund, and everyone missed who made this project happen!

The Grande Cache River Rendezvous is back for 2026! June 26 - June 29.

Make the journey and experience some of Alberta's best whitewater paddling not to mention the welcoming community of paddlers that bring this event to life!

The Rendezvous is generously supported by the Grande Cache Hotel and hosted by UAPS! If you are staying at the hotel call (780) 827-3377 and ask for the sport rate when booking. Make sure to register everyone in your family for the Sunday evening pool bash (included with registration fees) from 6-8pm so we have numbers for the lifeguards.

Most people will paddle Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Registration and details here: https://www.albertawhitewater.ca/grande-cache-river-rendezvous-2026

Register for 3 Rivers Rendezvous paddle festival on May Long! You dont want to miss out! Come join in the fun and help UAPS with breakfast duty on Sunday morning.

Wise words from Chuck below:

Hey Everyone,

The weather forecast looks terrific for the next 2 weeks and the snow profile in SW Alberta's headwaters is way above average for this time of year. Everything is looking fantastic for the May Long Weekend, May 15-18. Maybe - just maybe, paddles crossed we will get that golden May weekend with hot weather and high water.

Now we just need to get all of you to register, so that we can make the appropriate plans for the 3 Rivers Rendezvous. here is the link
https://www.pinchocrowcreekers.com/3-rivers-rendezvous

I am excited to host everyone down here at the Castle River Rodeo Campground to paddle all of our local rivers. Lessons available for Beginner to Intermediate paddlers along with demo gear and lots of prizes and fun.

Registration rates go up on May 6th. If you register right away, you will get an extra draw ticket in your package. This is the club's big fundraiser for our youth kayaking programs and your attendance helps us to bring awareness to our sport down here.

Last chance to register for Kanfest before prices go up!

Good news! We've delayed the early-bird deadline on KanFest passes. Prices now go up on May 9th! Get your passes at the reduced rate before then at www.kanfest.ca


AQ Outdoors

Big shoutout to the incredible women at the United Alberta Paddling Society! Thanks to support from InMotion Network Promoting Physical Activity for Girls and Women, 2025 was a year of growth, certifications, and inspiring returns to the water. From instructor training and leadership development to moms conquering new challenges, these women prove that paddling is for everyone.

Check out our latest newsletter here, featuring Ashley Smith’s “Coming Back to Water”: https://mailchi.mp/fba596a674d1/uapswomen (also below).

Coming back to the water, by Ashley Smith

For a long time, I didn’t realize how much of my life could be traced back to water.

Kayaking has come in and out of my life for more than fifteen years. Sometimes it was a passion. Sometimes it disappeared entirely. And sometimes it hovered quietly in the background, waiting for me to be ready again.

My life over those years hasn’t followed a straight line. There were seasons marked by mental health struggles, physical injury, and the deep identity shift that comes with career evolutions and becoming a mother. There were times when getting through the day felt like enough—when strength meant surviving, not thriving.

During those periods, I lost pieces of myself. Or maybe I just set them down because I didn’t have the capacity to carry everything at once.

Kayaking was one of those pieces.

When I returned to it in the summer of 2025, it wasn’t accidental. It came back because I chose it. I chose to take ownership of my health again—my mental agility, my physical strength, and my sense of who I am outside of the roles I carry for others.

That return wasn’t about proving anything. It was about rebuilding trust with my body. About learning how to be uncomfortable without panicking. About moving forward even when I wasn’t sure of the outcome.

What I didn’t expect was how deeply that choice would ripple into my family.

Kayaking has shaped my husband’s life just as much as it has shaped mine. We took up the sport together as an adventure when I had blown both of my ACLs playing sports. It became something we shared—a space where we could reconnect, reset, and remember that we are partners, not just co-managers of a busy life. Over time, it has become something we have now brought our children into, carefully and intentionally.

Watching our daughter and son step into boats, hesitate, try, wobble, and try again has been one of the most grounding experiences of my life. Kayaking has become a way we teach them confidence—not the loud kind, but the quiet kind that grows when you face something that feels scary and discover you can handle it.

It’s shown them that pushing your comfort zone doesn’t mean doing reckless things. It means being in an environment that is safe, supportive, and surrounded by people who want to see you succeed.

Community has mattered more than I can fully explain.

The paddling community across North America gave me something I didn’t know I was missing: belonging without expectation. Encouragement without judgment. Space to grow without needing to explain myself.

Joining UAPS and meeting Lori has been especially meaningful moments in that journey. Their support came at a time when I was rebuilding—physically, mentally, emotionally. Sometimes support looks like coaching. Sometimes it looks like quiet reassurance. Sometimes it looks like simply not being alone. Lori and the mom community with UAPS has embodied all of that for me.

Today, kayaking is no longer just something I do. It’s part of how I live. It’s part of how I parent. It’s part of how my husband and I show up for each other.

It reminds me—and teaches my children—that strength is not fixed, that identity evolves, and that confidence grows when you’re willing to show up, even when the water feels uncertain.

Especially then.

EPCA 5th Annual Paddler’s Boat & Gear Swap
This Sunday at Totem Outdoor Outfitters

May 3 Schedule
10:15 AM - Seller Set-up
11:00 AM - Swap Opens
2:00 PM - Swap Closes/Site Cleanup

Seller Fees:
$10 - trunk load of gear
$20 - big load of gear and/or boat(s)
Seller registration: https://ceyanacanoeclub.wildapricot.org/event-6610024

All proceeds to support the Rundle Park Paddling Centre & the EPCA

A few more volunteers are needed for a shift - email [email protected] if you can help out!

Shift 1: 9:30 am to 12:00 am - HELP SET UP and manage the shoppers
Shift 2: 12:00 to 2:15 pm - HELP AT EPCA INFO TENT, manage shoppers, clean up

Shoutout to our amazing volunteer coaches for toughing out some less-than-optimal weather this past weekend at the Western Whitewater Leadership Symposium and continuing to improve their leadership and instructor skills as they prepare to lead and support our summer programming.

Skills worked on included "making kayaking more fun", rescue practice, a fantastic session about in-field repairs led by River City Repair, personal skill development, learning about the psychology of fear, working within the challenge zone, and more.

A big thank you to Alberta Whitewater Association for organizing and hosting this event!

No complaints about the weather will be accepted at summer programming this year 😂😅.