Lake Banook

Lake Banook
Lake Banook
	A C-15 (Canoe Sprint) race on Lake Banook in 2009.
	Lake Banook
Location	Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
Coordinates	44°40′51.2″N63°33′24.9″W / 44.680889°N 63.556917°W Coordinates: 44°40′51.2″N63°33′24.9″W / 44.680889°N 63.556917°W
Primary inflows	Shubenacadie Canal
Primary outflows	Shubenacadie Canal, Sullivan's Pond
Basin countries	Canada
Max. length	1,210 m (3,970 ft)
Average depth	38 ft (12 m)
Surface elevation	20 m (66 ft)
Settlements	Dartmouth

Last updated September 29, 2020

Lake Banook is a freshwater lake located in Dartmouth within the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is home to three sprint canoe and kayak clubs, two rowing clubs, and a dragon boat club. It also has a claim to be the birthplace of ice hockey.

Location

Lake Banook's eastern shore is bordered by Prince Albert Road (part of Trunk 7) and its western shore fronts Crichton Park, a residential neighbourhood. At the south end of the lake is a lock mechanism leading to Sullivan's Pond. At the north end of the lake a bridge carries the Highway 111 expressway, informally known as the Dartmouth Circumferential Highway over its waters. The bridge also serves as a dividing line between Lake Micmac, also referred to as Second Lake.

Birch Cove Beach is the only beach on the lake that is currently supervised. Another beach, Graham's Grove, was closed in the early-1990s, as a result of poor water quality stemming from the construction of the nearby "Mic Mac Par-clo" (partial clover-leaf), a large interchange connecting Highway 111, Trunk 7, and Route 318, which replaced the rotary previously on the site.

Lake Banook has undergone many modifications. It was originally approximately two meters shallower than its current depth, after being dammed during the construction of the Shubenacadie Canal in the early 19th century. When the water rose, it submerged a small island. During improvements for the 1989 Junior World Championships, the top section of the paddling course was dredged to meet depth standards. The fill was used to expand nearby Graham's Grove Park, and the former access road still remains underwater. There have been shoreline modifications for recreational beaches, private waterfront, boat docks, and municipal pipelines. Some natural shoreline remains at the north end of Brookdale Crescent Park, the north end of Birch Cove, and parts of Grahams Grove.

History

Lake Banook is named for the Mi'kmaq phrase for "first lake", as it is the first lake in the system that later became the Shubenacadie Canal. The Mi'kmaq people were the first to navigate the waters of Lake Banook, which contributed to the naming of Lake Micmac, Mic Mac Mall, and Mic Mac AAC.

Hockey was played on Lake Banook as early as 1827, and certainly by 1850, though the game was then known as both rickets and wicket. Dartmouth is one of several locales around the world that claim the title of "Birthplace of Hockey." In 1864 Starr manufacturing of Dartmouth, located less than a kilometer from Lake Banook, began producing the world's first modern iceskates. Starr skates, first used on the lakes of Dartmouth including Lake Banook, later became a popular choice for elite ice hockey players, being worn by 6 out of 7 members of the 1902 Stanley Cup Champions Montreal Hockey Club.^[1] The Starr company produced ice skates into the 1930s.^[2] In the days before refrigerators, the lake was a source of ice for the residents of both Halifax and Dartmouth.

Since 1903, with the formation of the Banook Canoe Club, Lake Banook has been home to many competitive and recreational canoeists, kayakers, and rowers. Dartmouth has more paddlers per capita than anywhere else in Canada.^{[ citation needed ]}

Sport

Lake Banook is home to three sprint canoe/kayak clubs, clustered at the south end of the lake: Banook Canoe Club, Senobe Aquatic Club, and Mic Mac Amateur Aquatic Club. This arrangement is unique in Canada, and has led to a longstanding and healthy competitive rivalry between clubs. All three clubs have developed multiple Olympians, National Champions, and World Championship team members.

The lake is outfitted with an international-calibre 1000-metre sprint canoe and kayak race course during the summer months. The course spans nine racing lanes of nine metres in width, with the 1000-metre start line at the north end of the lake, and the finish line at the south end. On the western shore, a three-story judges tower is elevated above the lake at the finish line, allowing officials to judge the finishes of races. The course is used for numerous local and national competitions every year. Lake Banook has also hosted many world-class competitions, including the canoe/kayak and rowing events at the inaugural Canada Summer Games in 1969, the World Junior Canoe Sprint Championships in 1989, the Senior World Canoe Sprint Championship in 1997, the World Canoe Marathon Championship in 2001, and the Senior World Sprint Championships in 2009. Lake Banook will play host to the Senior World Sprint Championships for the third time in 2022. No other venue outside of Europe has hosted the Senior World Sprint Championship on more occasions.

The lake is also used for local rowing competitions, and hosts both the Mic Mac AAC rowing club and the independent North Star Rowing club. The course is not ideal for national or international competitions in rowing, as its restricted length does not enable 2000-metre races.

As dragon boat paddling exploded in popularity, a fifth boat club was founded in the northeast corner of Lake Banook. Dragon Boat East offers year-round training programs for members and other dragon boat services. Lake Banook is the site of Halifax's annual dragon boat competition and festival.

Notes

↑ MacDougall, Graeme. "Historic Dartmouth: The Starr Manufacturing Company". Hello Dartmouth.
↑ "History Collection - Ice Skates – Starr Manufacturing Company". Nova Scotia Museum. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2015.

Related Research Articles

Dartmouth is a former city and current community located in the Halifax Regional Municipality of Nova Scotia, Canada. Dartmouth is located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour. Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes, after the large number of lakes located within its boundaries.

Micmac, Micmacs or Mic Mac can refer to:

Wildwater canoeing is a competitive discipline of canoeing in which kayaks or canoes are used to negotiate a stretch of river speedily. It is also called "Whitewater racing" or "Downriver racing" to distinguish it from whitewater slalom racing and whitewater rodeo or Freestyle competition.

Lake Micmac is a freshwater lake located in the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Shubenacadie Canal Manmade watercourse in Canada

The Shubenacadie Canal is a Canadian canal in central Nova Scotia, linking Halifax Harbour with the Bay of Fundy by way of the Shubenacadie River and Shubenacadie Grand Lake. Begun in 1826, it was not completed until 1861 and was closed in 1871. Currently small craft use the river and lakes, but only one lock is operational. Three of the nine locks have been restored to preserve their unique fusion of British and North American construction techniques. More extensive restoration is planned.

Sullivan's Pond is an artificial lake and recreation area located in Dartmouth in Halifax Regional Municipality. It formed part of the Shubenacadie Canal.

A sprint canoe is a canoe used in International Canoe Federation canoe sprint. It is an open boat propelled by one, two or four paddlers from a kneeling position, using single-bladed paddles. The difficulty of balance can depend on how wide or narrow the canoe is, although regularly the less contact a canoe has with the water the faster it goes. This makes the narrower boats much faster and popular when it comes to racing.

Mic Mac Amateur Aquatic Club (MMAAC) is located on Lake Banook in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. This organization provides structured recreational and competitive paddling, rowing, dragon boat, and swimming programs to the local community ages 6+. Summer day camp programs are also offered for kids ages 6-12.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, with the largest urban population in Atlantic Canada, is a major sporting centre.

Canoe Kayak Canada is the governing body of competitive canoeing and kayaking disciplines in Canada. The three specific disciplines represented are flatwater, whitewater and marathon. Canoe Kayak Canada officially replaced the name "Canadian Canoe Association" in 2005, although the former title is still used by the organization. The name change came about from a desire to include the kayaking discipline in the organization's name.

The 1974 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Mexico City, Mexico in neighboring Xochimilco. This marked the first time the championships took place outside Europe. As of 2009, all championships have taken place either in Europe or North America. The lake was where the canoeing and rowing events took place for the 1968 Summer Olympics.

The 2009 International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe Sprint World Championships were held 12–16 August 2009 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Lake Banook. The Canadian city was selected to host the championships in October 2003 after having done so previously in 1997. Final preparations were made after the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, with competition format changed for the first time since the 2001 championships. Four exhibition events for both paddleability and women's canoe were added. Sponsorship was local within the province of Nova Scotia and the Halifax Regional Municipality. Media coverage was provided from Canada, Europe and the United States on the Internet, television and mobile phone. 669 canoeists from 68 nations participated at the championships themselves.

The 1997 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada on Lake Banook.

Don Brien is a Canadian sprint canoer, who competed in the mid to late 1980s. He won a bronze medal with partner Colin Shaw in the K-2 1000 m at the 1985 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships at Mechelen.

Mihai Apostol is a Canadian sprint canoer who competed from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. Apostol was born in Romania, but defected to Canada with two teammates while attending the 1989 world junior paddling championship in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He was 18 years old at the time. After defecting, Apostol took up residence in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and adapted well to life in Canada by making the Canadian National Kayak team in 1991 and moving from Halifax to Vancouver to join the rest of the team. In Vancouver, supporting himself and without the financial help some of his teammates received from their parents, Mihai worked part-time while attending college and training full-time with the National Team.

Outline of canoeing and kayaking Overview of and topical guide to canoeing and kayaking

The following outline is provided as an overview of canoeing and kayaking:

ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships is an International Canoe Federation competitions in canoe marathon in which athletes compete over long distances. The race usually starts and ends at the same place, and includes portages. Race categories vary by the number of athletes in the boat, the length of the course, and whether the boat is a canoe or kayak. In a kayak, the paddler is seated in the direction of travel, and uses a double-bladed paddle. In a canoe the paddler kneels on one knee with the other leg forward and foot flat on the floor inside the boat, and paddles a single-bladed paddle on one side only. The World Championships were held every two years from 1988, becoming annual in 1998.

The Mic-Mac hockey stick was made originally by the Mi'kmaq people of Nova Scotia, who dominated the international ice hockey market in the early twentieth century. It was first marketed by the Starr Manufacturing Company of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, in the 1860s.

References

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[StarrHD-1] MacDougall, Graeme. "Historic Dartmouth: The Starr Manufacturing Company". Hello Dartmouth.

[StarrNSM-2] "History Collection - Ice Skates – Starr Manufacturing Company". Nova Scotia Museum. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2015.