Lucas Punkari
Bass Lake Park in Nestor Falls will be a busy place over the next two weekends as it hosts a “Triple P” race and then a mixed slo-pitch tournament, marking the second editions for both events.
“Both of the events did really well for their first time last year, and we’re just hoping to build off of that this time around,” explained Holly Kropelin, chair of the Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls Healthy Living Coalition and league manager for the Nestor Falls softball league.
First on the docket is the ‘Triple P’ race, which stands for paddle, pedal, and pound. It’s scheduled to get underway Saturday at 10 a.m.
“One of my co-workers at the Northwestern Health Unit in Atikokan ran an event there a couple of years ago, and when she told me about it I thought, ‘That might be something that would be fun to bring to Nestor Falls,” Kropelin recalled.
“The race went very well last year and we had seven teams take part, which for a place like Nestor Falls is great.
“And a lot of the participants said they would come back to part in it again if we had one,” she added.
The event, featuring teams of two-four people, will consist of a five-km canoe race on Bass Lake, a 10-km bike ride, and then a five-km run, which also will utilize portions of the park.
As for the slo-pitch tournament, it will get underway on the evening of Friday, July 29, then continue all day Saturday and Sunday as a part of the civic holiday long weekend.
“Last year we just wanted to see how things went for the first year, and if everything went well, we would do it again,” Kropelin said.
“We were just looking for eight teams last year and we ended up getting nine, and the games were very well-attended by the spectators,” she noted.
“So all in all, it was a really good weekend.”
Although Kropelin is hoping things go just as well the second time around, she would like to see a few more participants taking part in the “Triple P” race, especially from this area.
“Last year, all but one of our teams were from out of town, which was great, but it would be nice to see more of a local flavour to our turnout,” she reasoned.
For more info on either the “Triple P” race or slo-pitch tournament, call Kropelin at 1-807-226-9626 (work) or 484-2772 (home).
