Kelowna Paddle Centre (KPC) is a community-driven, public initiative.
The Kelowna Paddle Centre is a non-profit society operating in cooperation with the City of Kelowna to provide our community safe, accessible paddling sports for families, individuals and competitors.
KPC offers: annual membership, drop-in paddles, public programs for non-members and youth summer camps.
President – Murray Chalmers
Secretary / Social Director – Debbie Ruggiero
Director of Governance & Succession – Dennis Silvestrone
Treasurer / Finance Director – Jean Boulianne
Program Director – Marianne Morgan
High Performance Director – Kirsten Chuli
Communications Director – Andrea Kwong
Marketing Director – Tom Maxwell
Safety & Equipment Director – Erick Van Selst
Collaboration with the City of Kelowna, general public, and members of the paddling community has resulted in KPC being a central component of Pandosy Waterfront Park.
Kelowna Outrigger Racing Canoe Club started in 2000 with a few keen OC6 (six-person outrigger) paddlers who wanted to bring the sport to Kelowna. This group noticed that all paddlers in Kelowna were being underserved in that there was extremely limited storage space; no club waterfront access; no opportunity for collaboration between paddle sports; and no initiative for the consistent and long term planning, development and implementation of programming.
In 2014, after several years of sustained effort, and with the support of the City of Kelowna (population of 153K in 2022), we were granted a vacant lot on the shore of Okanagan Lake close to downtown Kelowna.
Having a base has enabled us to evolve into the Kelowna Paddle Centre, with a focus on Paddleboard, Outrigger Canoeing, and Surfski kayaking. It has also enabled us to fully embark on the long time goal of bringing paddling to as many people as possible by building public involvement through affordable memberships; outreach programs; and lessons for children, youth and adults. The design of our paddle crafts allow for self rescue, while being appealing to recreational and competitive paddlers. We are located in a sheltered part of the lakefront with a vast shallow area which is ideal for kids or adults learning the basics, and yet Okanagan lake is 135 km long which is ideal for exploring and adventures.
The Kelowna Paddle Centre is transforming our aging facility into a modern, accessible campus. We look forward to welcoming paddlers of all ages to our new centre at the north end of Pandosy Waterfront Park.
We are currently seeking donations to support operating costs and volunteers to support our fundraising campaign.
Our current facility is a repurposed house originally built in the 1960s. The City granted the Kelowna Paddle Centre permission to use the house in 2015 and our members did most of the work themselves to create a usable space. Despite the building’s age and limitations, public programs for all ages host over 2,500 paddlers a year.
The updated Kelowna Paddle Centre campus will include two new buildings and extensive renovations of the current house. New amenities will include a community service desk opening directly onto the lakeshore, public multi-purpose activity centre, public washrooms, modern change rooms, training & classroom spaces, interior equipment storage, and improved boat storage racks.
© 2025 Kelowna Paddle Centre
