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Lachine teen gets sticker shock after earning coveted spot in canoeing regatta

Click to play video: 'Lachine canoeist resorts to fundraising to pay off price tag of international regatta'
Lachine canoeist resorts to fundraising to pay off price tag of international regatta
WATCH ABOVE: Audrey Veillette, 17, couldn't have been more pleased to be invited by Canoe-Kayak Canada to take part in a world-class regatta in Hungary. But now she's on the hook for $3,500 and is organizing a fundraiser to pay off the tab. Billy Shields reports – Nov 4, 2016

One could say Audrey Veillette, in a way, is a victim of her own success. The Lachine teen just came off a successful run at the National Sprint Canoe Championships in Dartmouth, NS when her family got a call.

“We couldn’t really say no,” said her mother, Martin Sullivan. “We were crying, we were happy, we were so satisfied.” Problem was, the competition cost $3,500, money the family hadn’t budgeted for.

Normally the family budgets for competitions months in advance. But they only had two weeks notice for what’s known as the Olympic Hopes Regatta in Hungary, considered an early test for Olympic potential.

Audrey Veillette, at the front of the closest canoe, placed third with her partner in the Olympic Hopes Regatta. Olympic Hopes Regatta

Veillette ended up placing third with her partner, Kate Hennesey, in the 200m pairs competition.

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However, the family have friends in Lachine, friends who organized a spaghetti dinner Saturday at the Lachine Hunting and Fishing Club to fray the cost of the competition. The spots are sold out and the event raised almost $2,000, putting Veillette that much closer to realizing her Olympic dreams.

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