BARRHEAD — Despite a few unexpected hitches, the inaugural Dignity Duck Race in Barrhead Aug. 12 went fairly smoothly, according to organizer Amanda Lambert.
“We were pretty happy for our first year,” she said, adding that they would have to do a little more in terms of preparation if the event is held in the future.
As part of the fundraiser, which was hosted by Rose Garden Chapel, around 650 rubber duckies were released into the Paddle River about a kilometre upstream from Charles Yuill Park.
Prior to the fundraiser, a number of tickets had been sold to Barrhead and area residents for $10 each, and the first three duckies to reach a net set up at Charles Yuill Park netted a prize for the corresponding ticketholder. There were also two random draws held for smaller prizes.
Incidentally, the winners of the race are listed at Rose Garden Chapel’s Facebook page and have also been contacted by the staff.
The unusually high waters of the Paddle River posed a bit of a headache, as the fast current occasionally caused the duckies to get hung up on the shoreline. As well, the net that served as the finish line was also knocked down in a couple of places, requiring some hasty last-minute maintenance.
“We were kind of going off a usual year and we prepared for that,” Lambert noted.
The race was a fundraiser for the Central Alberta Rescue Diving Society’s (CARDS) underwater search team, a group of volunteers who work with Alberta police to recover drowning victims, accident wreckage and pieces of evidence.
Notably, Alberta is only one of two provinces where the RCMP does not have a dedicated dive team, meaning the CARDS team — which was originally founded in 2013 — plays a very important role.
Fundraisers like the race are also essential, as the group’s website notes it can cost up to $20,000 to train and equip a diver.
