ARCOLA - Sarah Rickard, the president of the Arcola Skating Club, and a few volunteers were cleaning up the club’s closet last fall when they came across totes that had yellow rubber ducks in them, with numbers written on their back.
It was decided to hold a fundraiser with the ducks on Moose Mountain Creek.
Ducks could be purchased for $20, and on May 15, 220 ducks were released into the water on Highway 604 by the bridge. The little ducks swam for about half a kilometre.
The first duck to cross the finish line would receive $2,000 and second place received $500.
The ducks went into the water at 8 p.m. and it did not take long for them to reach the finish line as the creek was moving pretty quickly after all the rain received a few days earlier.
“It was so much fun with fishing the ducks back out of the water,” said Rickard.
Max Petzel’s duck placed first and second went to Shawn Salicon.
The event raised $1,900 and these funds will be used to pay for the coaches and program assistants.
Rickard is not sure how long the event was put on hold, but it has been many years. It is something they will do again next year.
To get the ducks back out of the water, they had to use long fishing nets and eventually had to get in the cold creek to get the stubborn ones out.
They are hopeful that this fundraiser will get more people involved for next year, as it really helps support the club.
