Volunteers and the Future of the Great Muskoka Paddling Experience

The GMPE has become THE wrap up Event for Paddling Season in Ontario over the last decade (excepting the Covid gap, of course). It has drawn as many as 290+ paddlers. We have aimed at providing an Event that followed our tagline - "A fun racing experience for canoes, kayaks & SUP's for all levels of participants". Organizing and holding the Event has required a base of dedicated folks that start preparing for it from January and a large group (50+) of volunteers near and on Race Day. The last three years has seen us lose our base of volunteers. Some have found other interests during the Covid "break", some moved or moved on and - let's be honest - most folks who put in the work at these Events are Seniors and some don't feel they're up to it anymore. We're sure that many similar Events are going through the same thing.
So - what does all this mean ? The Great Muskoka Paddling Experience needs help. We are looking for a few people to help out when they can over the three race days for this year's Virtual Race, but we're also looking for some long term help to get the GMPE back to it's previous format for next year. The GMPE has proven to be a fund-raising event over the years and possibly there is a group out there that would be interested in taking it on as their fund raiser.

How can you help ?
1/ This year we want to put at least 2 motorboats on the water for Saturday afternoon between 12:00pm and 4:30pm. If you have a valid Transport Canada Boater's license or perhaps are comfortable with basic First Aid and would like to crew one of the boats, please let us know.
2/ Any help at the Star/Finish line especially for Saturday would be appreciated.

Now the Big Ones:
3/ If you are interested in becoming a long-term volunteer and willing to help with some of the tasks that lead up to the Event, we REALLY want to hear from you.
4/ If you belong to an organization that is looking for a new fund raising Event and are interested in adopting the GMPE, we would be glad to talk to you.

​Please contact us here for any further information.