Aqua Rondo

A group of young women at Québec City display the synchronized swimming that made them Canadian champions. All amateurs, swimming for exercise, fun and relaxation, these balletic mermaids have an impressive collection of trophies.

Fish Unlimited: The Québec fisheries service restocks lakes with fish raised at the Station de Piscicole de Laurentides in Saint-Faustin. Mermaids of Canada: Members of the Mermaid Swimming Club give a demonstration of synchronized swimming in the University of Toronto's Hart House Pool. Also included is the Private Snafu film Three Brothers, from the American Army-Navy Screen Magazine series.

This documentary by director Paul Cowan is about four athletes and a team that competed in the 1976 Olympics. They had trained courageously to be among those who would mount the podium to receive a medal. None of them did, but was it worth the effort? I'll Go Again answers the question.

This short documentary shows Canada's top swimmers in training for the 1964 Olympic Games. Under the critical eye of coach Ed Healy, they practice long hours in the gym and in the pool to build strength and stamina.

This short film from canoeist Bill Mason illustrates the joy and poetry of paddling solo. All the basic strokes used to control the canoe are rendered with perfect clarity through animated lines.

This short film from canoeist Bill Mason explains clearly how to locate a deep water channel by reading the rapids and how to apply paddling strokes and manoeuvres to steer the canoe where you want it to go. It also depicts what happens if you "wipe out" in a turbulent rapid and shows you how to survive the swim.

This feature-length documentary follows naturalist Bill Mason on his journey by canoe into the Ontario wilderness. The filmmaker and artist begins on Lake Superior, then explores winding and sometimes tortuous river waters to the meadowlands of the river's source. Along the way, Mason paints scenes that capture his attention and muses about his love of the canoe, his artwork and his own sense of the land.

Mason also uses the film as a commentary on the link between God and nature and the vast array of beautiful canvases God created for him to paint. Features breathtaking visuals and exciting whitewater footage, with a musical score by Bruce Cockburn.

For more background info on this film, visit the NFB.ca blog.

This short film from canoeist Bill Mason demonstrates the basic doubles paddling strokes and how to apply them in various combinations. The application of each stroke in rapids is shown briefly and the emphasis is always on working as a well-coordinated team.

This short film from canoeist Bill Mason shows how to read the rapids and plan a course and follow it, with complete control of the boat, using the basic paddling strokes. Running rapids will always be a calculated risk, but risk diminishes with skill and knowledge. The strokes can be used in endless combination to reduce the risks of whitewater canoeing and increase the sheer joy and exuberance.

The Magic Isle in Toronto Bay: A short ferryboat ride brings steaming Torontonians to Centre Island where sandy beaches and cool parks help them forget the heat as they swim and canoe. Nature Conscripted in War on Worms: The spruce budworm, which yearly destroys much valuable timber, is itself destroyed by the parasitic dipterous fly, bred for the purpose in a Belleville laboratory. Students Learn Lessons in the Sky: High school students at Buckingham, Québec, put their study of aerodynamics into practice as they pilot gliders at the local airfield.

The amazing success story of the Laser, a thirteen-foot sailboat built by Ian Bruce of Pointe Claire, Québec, and of Performance Sailcraft, the company he formed to produce and market it. Simply designed, durably built of fiberglass, it is a pleasure craft that has brought summer sailing within everyone's reach on coastal and inland waters around the world.