Halifax club joins coast-to-coast fundraiser to paddle 365 kilometres for autism

Paddlers including members of the Maskwa Aquatic Club are seen during a race on Lake Banook in Dartmouth, N.S. (Source: Facebook)

Maskwa Aquatic Club in Halifax participated in the national Making Waves for Autism campaign on Saturday. They joined paddlers across the country, raising money and awareness for Autism Canada.

“This year has really been about spreading that message across the country,” said Kim Inglis, the founder of Making Waves for Autism.

She said the 2025 campaign reached $51,000 dollars by Sunday morning with two weeks left to donate.

The Maskwa team had planned to collectively paddle 365 kilometres on Saturday as a team challenge to rally the community for donations, but they ended up exceeding that goal – paddling a combined 592 kilometres.

Their participation marks a milestone for the campaign. With Maskwa’s participation, Making Waves for Autism becomes a coast-to-coast initiative from British Columbia to Nova Scotia, according to a news release from the club.

“Maskwa has long been a champion of inclusivity through our PaddleAll program, so joining Making Waves for Autism was a natural next step,” says Christian Hall, Head Coach at Maskwa Aquatic Club. “This challenge is about more than distance – it’s about showing that paddling is for everyone and using our sport to spark meaningful change.”

The paddlers ranged in age from young children to adults, with some of the high-performance athletes paddling 10 kilometres each.

“It was a great event for our team and the athletes were happy to contribute to a great cause,” said Hall.

He said their fundraiser to date has raised more than $1,100 and will stay open until the end of the month.

Making Waves for Autism evolved into a national campaign after founder Inglis raised close to $46,000 by paddling 365 kilometres solo in 2024.

“We are all touched by autism. This is about creating lasting change and brighter futures – one paddle stroke at a time,” said Inglis.

Her effort helped Autism Canada launch its Community Assistance Program ahead of schedule.

“Autism doesn’t take a break. It impacts individuals and families around the clock,” said Inglis. “Making Waves brings that reality to light and rallies our community to paddle with purpose.”

Clubs across Canada are taking up the paddling challenge for 2025. Challenges are designed to reflect the reality of living with autism 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, said the news release.

Inglis said the inclusion of a strong club like Maskwa drew a lot of attention by bringing the initiative to the East Coast.

One goal for the 2025 campaign is to support Autism Canada’s Literacy Program, providing training for coaches and leaders to work with neurodivergent youth in sports to make them more inclusive and accessible, said the release.

Canadian Olympic gold medal-winning spring canoeist Katie Vincent is offering a live webinar to anybody who raised more than $500.

All donations go to Autism Canada.

Approximately 1 in 50 Canadians are diagnosed on the autism spectrum.

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