It was all about the numbers at the 2013 Canadian Open
Suzanne Lanthier
April 19, 2013
Toronto, ON
“Don’t worry Suzanne, you know paddlers – they are flexible and just love the game and don’t care about the weather!” These were the calming words of Region IV President Mark Kebe as we pulled away from the Toronto Airport on Friday morning and listened to weather forecasts for Saturday.
Rain, rain showers, periods of rain, intermittent rain (really…how many ways can you say it’s going to rain?!), wet snow, sleet, windy – a tournament director’s dream! Sunday was going to be great! Sunny, warm – what we call in Canada a “patio day.” Awesome for cold beers on an outdoor patio. But for Saturday, things looked grim, to say the least.
Well, Mark was right. Despite some really ugly weather forecasts that turned into reality, not one of the paddlers at the 2013 Canadian Open uttered a peep of negativity (not to my face anyway).
Here’s how those numbers played out; they will tell the story on their own.
| 2 | Two incredible sponsors: McAuslan Breweries and Paddleplayer.com. Thank you! We appreciate your generosity that allowed us to put more money to support our charity rather than pay for balls, beer and really helped with our favors! |
| 82 | A record number of paddlers for this event. The clubhouse was crowded with the poor outdoor conditions but no one once complained about having to do the worm to get from one end of the hut to the other. |
| 11 | Record number of Cleveland paddlers who came to the T-dot. Loved it! Thanks to the Millers for their heavy duty promo. We can’t wait to host you all again. |
| 8 | Total number of cities represented at this year’s event, another record for us and we loved it. Cleveland, Cincy, Long Island, Rochester, Detroit, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Toronto |
| 2000 | The total dollars raised to support Bereaved Families of Ontario – Trees of Light program. This program is so special to so many of our members – those that live here in Toronto and also in the U.S. We are so proud to be able to hand over this contribution on your behalf. Thank you players. |
| 1 | Incredible email received late on Friday from Stef Pilancinski that read: “Suzanne, I’m free tomorrow if you need help in the kitchen.” Better than a trip to Disneyworld! |
| 0 | The number of raffle tickets left after the hard sell push by Sara Lanthier. She pushed them – but you bought them. Thank you again. |
| 456 | Total number of beers consumed by the crew. When the keg runs dry before the semi-finals, you know it’s been a good day and you have a ton of Americans trying their best to put on their Canadian game faces. |
| 2+2 | Two Stulacs playing (Joan and Danny) + two Stulacs contributing beyond expectation.This is my chance to thank both Paul for his time and talent in managing the draws and schedule and Mike for his support financially and morally from afar. We missed you both in the draw, boys. |
| 3 | The number of times Kebe was at the Longest Yard over a span of less than 48 hours. Thanks, Mark, for all your help on Friday and for coming from Cincy to support the event. |
| 22 | Total winning teams. See below for names and congratulations to all. |
| 13.5 | Hours: First match on at 8 AM – last match off at 9:30 PM. |
| 1 | One incredible tournament. |
My thanks again to: Paul Stulac, Barry Pletch, Maurice Sanchez.
Sara/Jane/Anna/Connie/Jane/Steph/Sovo/Joan/Toni - (my incredible bakers)
Mark Kebe, Jane and Ian Watson, Mike Stulac, Sara Lanthier, Nan and Eric Miller and the B&R Club.
And special shout-outs to all those that travelled to come up to Toronto.
Congratulations to all the winners and finalists!
| Women's A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Main: | Bother/Odenbach | def. | Erskine/Russell |
| Quarter Reprieve: | Banji/Taft | def. | Lanthier Sara/Sinet |
| Consolation: | Dupak/Dupak | def. | Fauquier/Girvan |
| Last Chance: | Greenaway/Maitland | def. | Vojnov/Paolasini |
| Men's A | |||
| Main: | McFaden/Miller | def. | Odenbach/Pike |
| Quarter Reprieve: | Tkachuk/Ryan | def. | Luce/Morris |
| Consolation: | Cobbs/Kladstrup | def. | Otterbein/Ross |
| Last Chance: | Beckett/Kebe | def. | Hassell/McLernon |
| Men's B | |||
| Main: | Lis/Stitski | def. | Schookus/Jentsch |
| Consolation: | Alday/Ross | def. | Page/Watson |
| Last Chance: | Staunton/Cooke | def. | Lanthier/Tikkinen (def.) |
