CBC Lite Sections News • Canada • British Columbia From broom closet to big league: Kajaks co-founders celebrate 65 years of community track and field Karin Larsen | CBC News | Posted: October 24, 2026 2:00 PM | Last Updated: 24 hours ago Diane and Doug Clement started the club in 1961 with a focus on building community and individuals Image | 6125.15 Diane Clement, with Doug Clement Caption: After a meeting in a broom closet, Doug and Diane Clement, seen here in an undated photo, co-founded Richmond's Kajaks Track and Field Club in 1961. (B.C. Sports Hall of Fame) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab With an all-time roster of 50 Olympians, including reigning world champions Camryn Rogers and Evan Dunfee, the Kajaks Track and Field Club in Richmond has a lot to celebrate at its 65th anniversary gala on Saturday night. While co-founders Diane and Doug Clement, aged 90 and 93 respectively, are fiercely proud of the high achievers who have carried Kajaks' colours to the world stage, they are most eager to brag about the club's grassroots philosophy that has made winners of the thousands of members over the years. "Our job as coaches and leaders was to try and create situations in which someone can grow," said Doug. "And that goes from medal winners to the very modest performers, that they create value, they try to be their very best … and create something that carries over into all parts of their lives and their children’s lives and their children to come." The Clements, former Canadian Olympic runners themselves, can count multiple Kajaks families with two or three generations of participants. * Diane Clement, former Olympian and pioneer for women in sports, to receive Order of Canada The club's origin story dates back to 1961, when the newlyweds settled in Richmond and were asked to a meeting in a broom closet that doubled as the office for the city’s recreation director, Eileen Gibson. "These were the early days of the City of Richmond," Doug said with a laugh. "[Eileen] said, 'Look, if you build a track club, we’ll build you a facility.'" Image | 2026 BCEC 96321 (1) (1) Caption: A Kajaks runner takes the lead at the 2026 B.C. Elementary Track and Field Championships at Clement Track in Richmond. (Brian Cliff/Kajaks) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab And so it was that Minoru Park, a former thoroughbred horse racing track and airstrip, became the home of the "Kajaks," derived from the Haida word for "eagle." Early club members trained on the overgrown and grassy remnants of the horse track until 1963 when construction of a cinder oval was completed. Over the decades it's been modernized more than a few times and now aptly bears the name Clement Track. Never lacking enthusiasm, Diane remembers working the public address system at a Kajaks meet when a woman living 20 kilometres away phoned to ask her to dial it down. "She said, 'My husband just arrived home from the hospital after a heart attack and all we can hear is "so-and-so, if you don’t report immediately you’ll be disqualified!"' So I lowered my voice," said Diane. Image | Camryn Rogers, Evan Dunfee Caption: Richmond Kajaks athletes Camryn Rogers and Evan Dunfee were both crowned world champions in 2025 in their respective events of hammer throw and 35-kilometre race walk. (Matthias Schrader/Dar Yasin/AP) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab She also recalls counselling a 12-year-old Kajaks athlete suffering from nerves so bad, the youngster had decided to quit mid-competition. "I said, 'Listen, this is what you have to do … You have to put on horse blinkers, block out everybody else and every other event, concentrate on you alone," said Diane. "And she won." That athlete? Camryn Rogers, who is now Olympic and world champion for Canada in hammer throw. Image | 2026 BCEC 93365 (1) (1) Caption: Kajaks' world champion and Olympic medallist Evan Dunfee talks to a group of young athletes at the 2026 B.C. Elementary Track and Field Championships at Clement Track in Richmond. (Brian Cliff/Kajaks) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab World champion race walker Evan Dunfee joined Kajaks at age nine, a self-described gangly misfit with Coke-bottle glasses who fell in love with running on day one. Now 36, Dunfee is training for his fourth Olympic Games at LA 2028 (he won bronze at Tokyo 2020) and serves on the Kajaks' board as club treasurer. "For so many people in our community, [Kajaks] is just something that has always existed as a safe, welcoming, inclusive place where anyone … can come out and feel a part of something bigger," he said. "As great as it is having myself and Camryn become world champions, more important is the thousands of kids who have gained self-confidence, learned a new skill and gone off into the rest of their life and carried that with them." More Stories Like This The related links below are generated automatically based on the story you’ve just read. Loading... CBC Lite is a low-bandwidth website. To see what's new, check out our release notes. For high quality images, media, comments, and other additional features visit the full version of this story. 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