Executive Director

Daniel Girouard
Dan grew up paddling at the Pointe-Claire Canoe Club (PCCC) in Montreal where he competed in sprint canoeing in the 1990’s. During his years as an athlete, he also coached youth and adult programs. He participated in the development of the kayak-polo program and coached dragon teams at the Montreal Dragon Boat Festival. His sprint background led him to develop a passion for paddling which pushed him to expand his paddling knowledge and experiences such as whitewater kayaking, kayak-polo, dragon boating, stand-up paddling (SUP), marathon canoeing, outrigger canoeing and surfski.
Dan holds a BEd and has been a teacher since April 2000. Throughout his years teaching, he has taught, coached and led K-12 students in experiential learning opportunities. Dan has an extensive list of qualifications and certifications such as Wilderness First Responder (Medical Associates), Canoe Kids Certification, Entry-Level Competitive Coaching and Competitive Development (In-progress).

Head Coach

​Lynwen Birch
Lynwen hails from Halifax and began her journey in paddle sport at Maskwa Aquatic Club in the 80s. It was here she first started coaching. With a move to Ontario to study Languages and Linguistics at Queen's University, Lynwen competed and coached for Burloak Canoe Club. On university exchange, Lynwen trained out of Victoria Canoe Club in BC, and then in Germany, where she continued to paddle and compete, delving into the marathon discipline. In 2001, Lynwen migrated to Australia and pursued a career in teaching, which was complemented with many years spent coaching sprint and marathon canoe kayak at Currumbin Paddlers Club on the Gold Coast. In addition to this, Lynwen participated in outrigger canoeing, ocean ski paddling and stand up paddling, which only added to her ever-growing passion for paddling. Lynwen returned to Canada in 2016 with the desire to become an active part of canoe kayak sport in her home country, and has most recently been a coach at Petrie Island Canoe Club in the Ottawa area. Lynwen is a true believer the lifelong benefits of participation in paddling, in sport, and in an active lifestyle outdoors. 

Regatta Ready Coach

Maeve McManus
Maeve was born and raised in the Yukon where she spent most of her summer’s enjoying the outdoors. She attended elementary school at École Émilie Tremblay and high school at Académie Parhélie, F.H. Collins and Wood Street School. Since she was younger, Maeve did lots of river paddling in the Yukon with her dad. After having Daniel Girouard as a teacher at Académie Parhélie in grade 8, she was introduced to sprint canoeing. As she was busy most summers and winters, she never found the time to train until the summer of 2017, when she competed in the Canada Summer Games. Maeve spent her final year of high school dancing and teaching at Leaping Feats and dryland training with Flatwater North. Last summer she coached Canoe Kids for Flatwater North and was one of the first yukoners to attend the Canoe Kayak Sprint Paddling National Championships. Since the end of the 2018 paddling season, Maeve has been traveling and working in Europe and New Zealand. She is excited to be back to share her love for paddling with the kids!

Canoe Kids Coach's

Vincent Ménard
My name is Vincent Ménard and I am going to be one of the canoe-kayak coaches with Flatwater North for the summer camps. I am 17 years old and a national athlete for archery. I have trained young beginners in archery for two years and counting. I started canoeing at 12 with Daniel Girouard, my supervisor, and I continued canoeing as a recreational sport. I love to canoe and kayak since it's so peaceful to float quietly on the water. I like to coach young athletes who want to participate in the sport, while having fun! I look forward to meeting all the young kids this summer!

Cole Wilkie-Hobus
Cole Wilkie-Hobus was born and raised in the Yukon and attended Whitehorse Elementary school and presently is at F.H. Collins high school finishing grade 11.  Cole has worked as an assistant coach and coach for Flatwater and Mt. Sima. He volunteers assisting with the Flatwater North and Flatwater Yukon websites. He has done lots of paddling with his family since he was young and has been sprint kayaking since 2016. He attended the 2017 Canada Summer Games in sprint paddling. In his spare time he enjoy's being a nerd, playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends, reading and playing games.