ROCHESTER — The results may not look as impressive as in years past, but the Adirondack Canoe/Kayak team still had a good meet at the Empire State Games.

The team, mostly Hilltop Hoppers, brought home 11 medals — two gold, one silver, and seven bronze.

Younger paddlers, some of them new faces, filled the Adirondack ranks. The team is in a transition phase.
"We have a young team," said Tim Norray. "We have a blend of youth and veterans. It’s something these young kids will be doing for a long time."

Norray competed in the games this year after being the chairman of the sport for the last 15 years. He also helps coach the team with his wife, Jill, and Jim Schreiner of Day.
"It was a lot of work," Norray said of running a good event. "It’s was something I enjoyed doing. I got a great relationship with these people. I know it will be done right and I know they will do a good job."

This year, Norray enjoyed having fewer responsibilities and being able to spend time with his family.
"Every year, for the games," he said, "I would have the task of finding a place to race that is good for spectators. This year, I gave them [officials] a tent they could use and helped them get started."

The new staff also had to deal with a venue change. The event was moved from Genessee Valley Park to just down the road on the University of Rochester campus.

Norray was ready to compete and watch the younger competitors, who are members of the Hilltop Hoppers, prepare for their races.

The team had this year’s record for the youngest competitor. Seven-year old Kristen Norray, Tim and Jill’s daughter, took part in the games.
"She’s one of the youngest competitors ever," Tim Norray said. "She is showing that she is not just here to be here, but she is out trying to beat people. T.J. Dibble is in his first Empire State Games and he is getting used to the competitive format."

Dibble got his feet wet, so to speak, as he didn’t complete a race after tipping his kayak in the single 200-meter heat.

Medal winners

Jesse Chartier of Voorheesville and Chad Staubach of Altamont teamed up to win gold in the Canoe pair 500-meter race. Norray and his partner, Greg Araldi, of Westerlo took bronze in the event.

Staubach and Chartier also won the canoe 200-meter race. Norray and Araldi took bronze in the event as well.

Staubach won gold in the canoe single 200-meter event. Araldi finished third for the bronze medal in the event.

Araldi edged out Chartier to take the silver in the canoe single 500-meter competition. Chartier ended up with the bronze after finishing 13 seconds behind Araldi.

Becky Dergosits of Schenectady, who is Tim Norray’s niece, took the bronze in the kayak single 500-meter race.

Amy Boyt of Altamont took the bronze in the kayak single 200-meter race. Boyt and Dergosits teamed up to take home the bronze in the kayak pair 200-meter race.

"An evolution"

The next generation of paddlers shows that the Hilltop Hoppers, a club in the Helderbergs that was started by snowshoers, will continue to be strong and have a good future.

Right now, for the younger kids, it’s like Little League baseball players going against high-school or college players.
"It’s an evolution," Norray said. "We want them to go out and finish the race. We don’t want them to compete. We want them to finish the race without falling in, which is a lot harder than it sounds.

We want them to go, for now, at a regular rate and not as fast as the people in the games. We have guys that can go faster than people in the other regions and we take advantage of that if we can. The good part of this is we can make adjustments and go out and finish in the top four or five and be in the finals and do a great job.
"It’s an open class," Norray said to the classification of the competition. "The guys in there are competitive. Every year, it’s wide open."

The club has been practicing and holding workouts at Warner’s Lake in Berne instead of Onderdonk Lake in Westerlo.
"The Osterhouts have let us use their place as a launch," Norray said. "It’s a lot closer."

Norray said that he is getting a lot of joy in helping paddlers like his children, Maclin and Kristen; and Dibble; and Larry Staubach, Chad’s son, improve and enjoy the sport.
"They are a great group of kids," Norray said. "They’re the next generation. It’s great to see them get involved a lot in the club. Some clubs are strict and want good competitors all the time. We’re not like that.
"Our kids talked to their friends about it and they come out. If we have more kids than fit in the van, that’s a good problem."

Norray likes being able to relax instead of worrying about every detail of the games like tallying results or dealing with the media and officials.
"Last night, I was able to go out to dinner with my family and run around with the kids," Norray said. "I haven’t been able to do that here for the last 15 years. Before, I would be just here working all night.
"I’m having a great time," he added. "My nephew told me the other night, ‘This is the uncle that I like.’ I can see more things. I usually have tunnel vision."