NS Marathon Canoe Racing Association president Doug Archibald was awarded The Fred Lynch Award for 2002. This prestigious achievement came from Canoe/Kayak Nova Scotia which has sponsored the prize for many years, in honour of the founder of that group. It recognizes a complete dedication to the development of the sport at the entry level as well as long-term participation in organizing, and fostering the spread of safe canoeing throughout the province.

Parts of the nomination document submitted on his behalf refered to Doug's involvement in every aspect of the sport having marked over 30 years in a variety of other boats.

In 1996, Doug acted as Race Course Director for the Canadian Marathon Canoe Championships, held on the Northwest Arm in Halifax. This was the first time a national championship was held on the very active waterway, and the position required sensitive liaisons with three yacht clubs, municipal park operations and several other user groups.

Also in 1996 and 1997, Doug served as Chairman of the Canoe to the Sea Society. This group is dedicated to the encouragement of competitive and recreational canoeing on the Shubenacadie Canal system. The position involved building partnerships with a variety of levels of government and local communities to raise the profile of the system and its potential for Adventure Tourism.

From 1998 to 2000, Doug was Race Course Director for the Marathon Canoe World Championships held in September 2000 on the Dartmouth lakes. That required all his skills as a team builder, bringing together event administrators and canoe enthusiasts from all over the world.

For most of the 1990¹s, Doug was a member of the Shubenacadie/Grand Lake Watershed Advisory Board. From 1996 to 1999, he chaired the group. As an active participant, he often spoke up for water course enhancement for the benefit of canoeing, feeling that what was good for the ecosystem in general would, in all likelihood, be good for the paddlers.

In 1997, Doug received the prestigious ³Award of Recognition² from the NS Salmon Association for educational initiatives related to the Shubenacadie River System. This resulted principally from his effort to organize ³Shubie River Nights² in several Hants Co. communities. These sessions involved guest speakers who were invited to promote the techniques and advantages of river clean-up.

The fact that Nova Scotia has so many historic rivers has encouraged Doug to try to explore every one of them. They have been the motivation for his ³Easter Weekend Friendship² trips for over 20 years. Such tripping experiences have led him up and/or down more than 30 historic waterways in this province and he is not prepared to stop yet. While paddling, Doug is continually making notes of the voyages, sharing them with his supervisors at DNR for use not only in watershed management, but in parkland planning and resource heritage. These notes, he hopes, will lead to the development of greater government focus upon the local archeology and parkland development with tourism growth in mind."