Racing

🛶 Monday Night Rookies - 2025 Season Wrap!

13 race nights • 86 boat finishes • 60 paddlers tried the course 💪

Headline Times

• Fastest overall: 15:55 — Aug 25 — Dennis Liphart & Chris Broderson (Men’s Tandem, Stock, Jensen 18)

• Fastest Mixed (overall): 16:25 — Aug 11 — Tim Piehler & Io Harberts (Pro, Crozier V1)

• Fastest Mixed (Stock): 16:28 — Aug 25 — Dave Redinger & Kari Henry (Jensen 18)

• Fastest Women: 17:00 — Aug 11 — Bridget Hall & Kari Henry (Stock, Jensen 18)

• Fastest Solo: 19:38 — Jul 14 — Dave Redinger (Men’s Solo, Stock, Rapidfire)

Attendance & Night Highlights

• Biggest turnout: Aug 18 — 10 boats on the water

• Fastest night: Aug 25 — 4 boats under 17:00

• Closest finish: Jul 21 — a tie at 20:48 between Rose Hill & Kari Henry and Steve Voss & Lani Dalbacka

• Longest grind: 27:49 — Jun 23 — Katty & Steve Voss (Jensen 18)

Most Races (season totals)

• Lada Zednik (12), Tim Piehler (11), Dave Redinger (10), Io Harberts (10), Rose Hill (10)

Most Improved (earliest → best time)

• Rose Hill: 24:57 → 17:08 (–7:49)

• Steve Voss: 24:01 → 18:12 (–5:49)

Boat of the Year

• The trusty Jensen 18 showed up 55 times 🙌

Huge thanks to everyone who coached, paired up with new paddlers, and cheered from the shoreline. This community rocks. See you on the water next season! 🌊

🌅 Last Rookies Night of the Season! 🛶

Our final Rookies of the year was a lot of fun! A huge thank you to Jess Kozarek for coaching. It was great to practice paddling both the wrong way and the right way, and really feel the difference.

We also wrapped up the evening with a fantastic Rookie Race:

Rookie Race Results (9/15/2025):

16:00 – Men, Tandem Stock (Jensen 18): Tim Piehler & Chris Broderson

17:08 – Mixed, Tandem Stock (Jensen 18): Rose Hill & Lada Zednik

17:14 – Mixed, Tandem Stock (Jensen 18): Kari Henry & Cole McMillan

17:25 – Mixed, Tandem Stock (Jensen 18): Jess Kozarek & David Kranz

19:22 – Mixed, Tandem Stock (Jensen 18): Morgan Holle & Katie Schaaf

🚨 First place was just 5 seconds off the course record, an incredible effort!

We also had one boat that took a shorter course around just one island:

Mary Luoma & Emily Broderson – 17:17

💬 Thank you to everyone who came out to Rookies this season. I really enjoyed meeting so many new paddlers, and paddling with the not-so-new paddlers.

If you’d like to get out for a paddle before the lakes and rivers freeze, send me a message! ❄️

I’m already looking forward to Rookies next year. 🚣‍♀️🚣‍♂️

🌊 Rookies Recap – Monday, Sept 8, 2025 🌊

A huge thank you to Coach Jose Matute for leading Rookies this past Monday! 🙌 He did an incredible job keeping all the boats together and making sure we paddled as a group. It was a great night on the water with some strong racing to close things out.

Race Results (Full Course):

🥇 17:15 – Jose Matute & Brian Buerman – Men’s Tandem Stock (Jensen 18)

🥈 17:20 – Dan Zierath & Lada Zednik – Men’s Tandem Pro (Wenonah V1)

🥉 18:19 – Rose Hill & Jon Newcomb – Mixed Tandem Stock (Jensen 18)

4️⃣ 19:14 – Cecilia Howard & Tim Piehler – Mixed Tandem Stock (Jensen 18)

Short Course (1 Island Loop):

⏱️ 16:18 – Steve Voss & Emily Broderson

⏱️ 18:16 – Elaisa Roberts & Io Harberts

Everyone put in a great effort, whether on the full course or the short loop. Awesome paddling all around! 💪🚣

📣 Looking Ahead

Tomorrow, Monday, Sept 15th, will be the last Rookies of the season.

🏁 Our coach will be Jess Kozarek, and we’d love to see as many of you as possible for one final paddle together.

📍 Meet at 5:45 PM in the SW parking lot of Cedar Lake.

Let’s finish the season strong. Hope to see you there!

https://youtu.be/aaKBmvt96e0

The forecast now calls for mostly sunny skies this afternoon, perfect weather for paddling! Rookies is ON! See you all out there!

🚣‍♂️ Rookies is back tomorrow (Monday)! 🚣‍♀️

We’re excited to be on the water again, and this week Jose will be coaching.

The forecast is calling for a chance of rain and thunder in the afternoon. We’ll keep an eye on conditions and will post here if we need to cancel.

👉 Before heading out, please check Facebook, Discord, or the MNCanoe forums for the latest updates.

See you on the lake! 🌊

🚨 No Rookies this Monday! 🚨

Because of Labor Day, there will be no Rookies this Monday. Enjoy the holiday weekend! 🎉🛶

We’ll be back on the water next week. See you then!

Curious how this year’s Rookie Races are playing out?

🛶 My daughter Natalie put together an interactive Tableau dashboard that pulls together all the results from the season. You can explore times, divisions, boat types, and see how everyone stacks up.

It’s fun to click through and relive the season from a new perspective!

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/lada.zednik/viz/RookieRacesResuls/Dashboard1

⏰ Rookies Survey Reminder! ⏰

If you haven’t filled out the Rookies Survey yet, now’s the time! 🛶

Your feedback is anonymous and will directly help shape the future of the Rookies program.

✅ Huge thanks to everyone who has already taken time to share your thoughts. We really appreciate it!

📅 Deadline: 8/31/2025

Don’t miss your chance to have a say in what Rookies looks like next season.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_7P1-g9SwfZlcdiGsY-S1X-MC8V86NW9wxzYz_w4uuWK0pA/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=117314720393742888118

🌞 Rookies Recap – 8/25/25 🌊

What a night! The weather was perfect, and we had an awesome group of paddlers out on Cedar Lake.

A huge thank you to Katie Schaaf for coaching. She did an amazing job breaking down race strategy and helping us practice it. We all learned a ton! 🙌

Thanks also to all the expert paddlers who came out to guide, encourage, and push everyone. Your support makes a huge difference for the rookies each week. 💪

🚣 Race Results

Dennis Liphart & Chris Broderson – 15:55 ⏱️ New course record! 🏆

Tyler Thompson & Io Harberts – 16:27

Dave Redinger & Kari Henry – 16:28

Cole McMillan & Tim Piehler – 16:35

Rose Hill & Lada Zednik – 17:27

Brian Buerman & Jess Kozarek – 19:25

Steve Voss & Jose Matute – 19:45

Katie Schaaf (Solo) – 20:45

Cecilia Howard & Emily Broderson – 21:10

👏 Congratulations again to Dennis and Chris for setting a blazing new course record!

📌 Note: There will be no Rookies next week due to Labor Day. We’ll be back the following Monday!

📝 We’d love your feedback. Please take a minute to fill out the Rookies Survey. The survey will close on 8/31/2025, so don’t wait!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_7P1-g9SwfZlcdiGsY-S1X-MC8V86NW9wxzYz_w4uuWK0pA/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=117314720393742888118

Rookies – Monday 8/18 Recap

Huge thanks to Emily Ruth Broderson for coaching and keeping us sharp!

We had 10 boats across Mixed, Men and Women in our race. The top two were separated by just 2 seconds.

1st – 16:40: Kari Henry & Dennis Liphart (Mixed, Tandem Stock, Jensen 18)

2nd – 16:42: Cole McMillan & Lada Zednik (Men, Tandem Pro, Wenonah V1)

3rd – 17:53: Tim Piehler & Andrew Havens (Men, Tandem Stock, Jensen 18)

4th – 18:12: Steve Voss & David Reddinger (Men, Tandem Stock, Jensen 18)

5th – 18:15: Lisa Ragan & Bill Boosman (Mixed, Tandem Stock, Jensen 18)

6th – 18:21: Dan Zierath & John Hoch (Men, Tandem Stock, Jensen 18)

7th – 18:48: Deb Kobelia & Zehyani (Mixed, Tandem Stock, Jensen 18)

8th – 19:25: Rose Hill & Emily Broderson (Women, Tandem Stock, Jensen 18)

9th – 20:11: Morgan Holle (Men, Solo Pro, Jensen)

10th – 25:10: Cecilia Howard & Io Harberts (Women, Tandem Pro, Crozier V1)

Tomorrow (Mon 8/25) we’re back at Cedar Lake, 5:45 pm with Katie Schaaf as our coach. The plan:

- Talk race strategy on land

- Put it into practice on the water

- Put it to the test during the race

- If there’s time — buoy turns & wave riding :ocean:

Rookie Survey: Please take a minute to fill out our survery. Honest feedback helps us improve.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_7P1-g9SwfZlcdiGsY-S1X-MC8V86NW9wxzYz_w4uuWK0pA/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=117314720393742888118

🚣‍♀️ Rookies is on tomorrow! 🚣‍♂️

We’re meeting Monday at 5:45 PM in the SW parking lot of Cedar Lake. Bring your paddle and your energy.

Perfect chance to get out on the water, meet paddling friends, and have some fun.

See you there! 🌊💪

https://lookerstudio.google.com/reporting/50ce354c-d850-436c-9993-ee70e81a46d1

📋 Rookies Survey Time! 🛶

We want to hear from YOU about how Rookies is going! The good, the bad, and everything in between. Be honest, we can take it. 💪

This is a completely anonymous survey, so feel free to share your real thoughts. Your feedback will help us make Rookies even better.

👉 The survey will close on 8/31/2025, so don’t wait too long!

https://forms.gle/zLBtL8PtpttguZf5A

Thanks for paddling with us and helping shape the future of Rookies! 🚣‍♀️🚣‍♂️

Rookies is ON tomorrow!

Join us at 5:45 PM on Cedar Lake for another great night of paddling, racing, and good company. Bring your paddle and your game face — see you on the water!

Rookies Update: Tonight’s Session Canceled

Due to the severe weather forecasted for this evening, we’re canceling Rookies tonight. Safety always comes first! We’ll see you all next week. Stay safe and dry, everyone!

🚨 Rookie Alert! 🚨

Ready to kick off your week with some fresh air, good vibes, and paddling shenanigans? Join us for Rookies tonight at 5:45 PM on Cedar Lake!

Whether you’re brand new, a returning pro, or just in it for the jokes and water selfies, there’s a spot in a canoe with your name on it.

Meet us at the southwest parking lot, and let’s get paddling!

Questions? Show up anyways. We’ve got answers (and canoes)! 🛶✨

See you on the water!

FYI: Hoigaards this week will start at 6:30pm and there will be a potluck at the Hoigaards store afterwards.

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Canoe.

Canoe who?

Canoe come to Rookies on Monday? We’re paddling at 5:45pm on Cedar Lake!

Rookies are back tomorrow! Meet us at Cedar Lake at 5:45 PM—let’s paddle!

There will be no Rookies this Monday in observance of Memorial Day. Enjoy the holiday, and we’ll see you next week!

The MCA board meeting that was going to be at the picnic tables before Rookies has been moved to online. Here is the link: https://meet.google.com/isj-fsig-nox. 4:45pm start. Anyone is welcome to join us!