Regular readers are aware of the fire at the Qajaq clubhouse in Ilulissat that destroyed not only the building but also valuable, difficult-to-replace paddling gear. Qajaq USA made a $5000 donation to help with rebuilding. We just received this report from notable Ilulissat paddler John Pedersen, detailing the state of the rebuilding project. (see below.) If you care to donate to the reconstruction project, this is the link to a GoFundMe campaign: https://gofund.me/b8730e38d
"A quick update about Qajaq Ilulissat from John Pedersen:
"Following the major fire at the clubhouse in January and the subsequent fundraising and donations for the continuation for the club, Qajaq Ilulissat has managed to stay afloat.
"Unfortunately there has been a slight decline in the number of members, and a slight decline in training hours as well, mainly due to the lack of a club house.
Nevertheless, following the fire, all registered participants for the Greenland national championships were fully engaged in their preparations for this major event through spring and early summer.
"One of the preparations was a Qajaq Marathon to the settlement Oqaatsut, which is about 21 kolometers from Ilulissat. In Oqaatsut paddlers have to make a portage through the settlement and then return to Ilulissat, which makes the total qajaq distance 42 kilometers.
"There were 16 participants in total. About two thirds dropped out and only 5 completed the marathon.
"Two thirds dropped out? This had never happened in the history of the race. On that basis, we thought we could predict how things would go at the Greenland championships. In short, not well. We could only blame the lack of facilities. What else was to blame?
"When the big day arrived, around 40 participants took off for the Championships in Sisimiut. Qajaq Ilulissat had the second highest number of participants, even though there had been a decline in members. Over the course of 9 days most of our members competed in 9 different disiplines. When the clubs' final point scores were announced at the closing ceremony, it turned out that Qajaq Ilulissat placed second - to everyone's surprise - in both the children and adult categories.
"The children were second with a very small margin from the winners from Nuuk.
We certainly didn't expect this after witnessing the marathon results a month earlier.
"During August the remnants of the old clubhouse were demolished and removed. Now there is just nothing to look at. The construction of the foundation will probably begin in the summer of 2026. We have not been informed about the plans yet.
"In addition to the expenses for participation at the Championships and the newly purchased qajaq clothing and gear, the club will still have upcoming expenses for sealskin accessories. But we expect that everything related to sealskin will be solved and bought during the spring of 2026.
"Now as the year is coming to an end, we wish all our overseas qajaq friends a very happy new year. Thank you all so much for all your suport during our difficult time. This have given us a renewed hope for the future of Qajaq Ilulissat."
John Pedersen