Corey Van Loon

Corey Van Loon was raised on the family dairy farm in Martintown belonging to his parents, Corey Sr. and Johanna Van Loon.  It was through a friendship developed with school mate Martin Lang while attending Char Lan High School that Corey was introduced to canoeing and began participating in the annual Raisin River Canoe Races. Corey would go on to win the Raisin River Race a total of 13 times between the years 1991 to 2014. He was inspired and developed his skills as a result of the mentorship he received as a member of the Raisin River Canoe Club. Some of these club members have been inducted previously into the Sports Hall of Fame. One such inductee is Bruno Major of Williamstown who loaned Corey a canoe until he could afford one of his own. Corey credits much of his paddling success to the teaching, guidance and mentorship of Bruno.

Building on these early successes on the Raisin River, and with the support of his family, Corey began to compete at the provincial and national levels.  In the years between 1987 and 1997, Corey paddled his way to 83 top 3 finishes in races throughout Canada and upper Northern US States. He was fortunate to win enough races that awarded a monetary purse, plus he was able to pick up some generous local sponsors to help cover the costs of his travel and expenses.  Corey won back to back championships in the North American Long Distance Amateur class in 1990 and 1991. He claimed gold at the World Championships held in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania in 1993.  By this time, his passion for marathon canoeing was obvious and combined with his competitive nature and expert paddling skills, Corey brought home 12 gold and 9 silver medals and 1 bronze medal during this time span.  Corey’s paddling connections invited him join a Dragon Boat race team and this team paddled its way to represent Canada at the World Dragon Boat Championships in Hong Kong in 1992, however due to a variety of circumstances, Corey’s team was unable to attend the world event.  As a solo paddler, a C2 teammate or a member of a larger team, Corey has paddled and/or raced in all Canadian provinces except Newfoundland and the Yukon.

As is with all successful athletes, there have been those peak experiences with inspirational fellow competitors that have remained most special with Corey since his retirement from the pro circuit. In May 1989, Corey was an amateur racing in a C1 event in Quebec, where he finished 3rd and defeated many decorated professional paddlers from across North America.  It was at this event where he was introduced to Canada’s own “King of the River”, Serge Corbin.  Soon after, Corey teamed up to race with Serge and considered it a true honour to be racing in C2 events along side him. Corey achieved national rankings over several years but always second to this co-competitor, teammate and now long time friend, Serge Corbin.  Gruelling multiple day events such as the Shubenacadie Canal System Regatta out of Halifax, NS, the Cooperstown Race in NY, and the North American Triple Crown event where Corey raced with Dennis Marcouiller the 70 mile General Clinton Canoe Regatta, Cooperstown to Bainsbridge, New York, USA, the 120 mile Weyerheuser Ausable River, Greyand to Oscada Michigan, USA and the 100 mile la Classique, Latuque to Trois Rivieres, Quebec.  The combined time of these 3 races resulted in an impressive 5th place finish.

Corey’s accomplishments are recognized by his peers and his community. He is a two time winner of the Ontario Paddler of the Year in 1992 and 1993.  In 1994 he was awarded the Jacques Richard Memorial Trophy for Cornwall’s Most Outstanding Sports Personality.  In 1998, Corey retired from competition and has given back to the sport through his committee work with the Raisin River Canoe Race. He has served as a member of the Executive Committee for the Ontario Marathon Canoe Racing Association and filled its role as Vice President in 1993.  In 1994 Corey served as chairman of the Canadian Tire Canoe Challenge event that twice brought professional canoe racing to Cornwall for its Canada Day celebrations. In 2008, Corey was a member of a local group who received the prestigious Simon Fraser Memorial Trophy acknowledging their contributions to the sport of canoeing in SD&G.