by Anna Levesque
I want to congratulate Jenny Nasal for winning our drawing for a $300 Girls at Play gift certificate for our whitewater kayaking programs based in Asheville, NC! She won because she took the risk, along with 33 other brave women, to share her goal and her action step for achieving that goal on our Facebook page this month. Sharing your goals with people who love and support you and who want you to succeed is key to manifesting your aspirations. I am so grateful that many of you view Girls at Play as a space/community where you can share your goals and feel supported. It is our goal at Girls at Play to help you achieve your goals whether they be paddling goals, yoga goals, SUP goals, travel goals or confidence goals. We’ve got your back!
I’m also grateful that I got to read all of the entries because they inspire me to stay on track with my goals. Listening to the dreams and aspirations of others, as well as celebrating their successes helps me to know success too. So thank you to everyone who participated in the contest! I’ve included the goals from our FB page below and I encourage everyone to read them and send good vibes to the women who wrote them, knowing that celebrating their aspirations and success enhances your own success! Way to go ladies!
Karissa Stewart, GA: Goal one: Run all of the rapids on Wilson Creek. Goal two: Participate in Creek Week.
Action: Learn how to break technical rapids into step-by-step moves. Additionally, I will work on making sure I have a good solid foundation (practicing ferrying, peeling and surfing — learning the edges of my boat).
Anna Hallett, NC: GOAL: be more confident in running harder rivers, work on stepping it up to class V. ACTION: getting on new rivers when I can, working myself on the rivers I know well, and getting in the pool weekly to keep my rolls and skills fresh.
Lorraine McPhee, TX: Goal: more power! Action: improve my forward stroke!
Allison Dwyer, ID: Goal: Run everything on the Murtaugh section of the Snake, including the harder doors on Let’s Make a Deal. Action: Increase flexibility and core strength, perfect boofing skills, improve punching bigger holes, wait for the Murtuagh to actually run again.
Kim Ernstrom, ID: Goal: Style the Warm Up Section on the North Fork Payette. Action: Get in killer shape this winter, do lots of Yoga and practice excellent stroke and roll technique in the pool
Kathryn Matthews, NC: Goal: Increase my core strength to improve my boating skills. Action: Do more yoga and excercise my abs!
Natalie Griffith: Goal: Go from my 2nd to my 3rd 1/4 century feeling as strong or stronger than I was in my first! Actions: XC ski, board, hike, bike, run, yoga, and paddle, paddle, paddle! Travel, plan some paddling and backpacking trips. Commit to a marathon or triathlon. Finish round 2 of Insanity®! If I win this raffle I would like to share with another MN paddler to travel down for another great GAP session!
Michelle Lee: Goals: to have a confident roll in moving water and to run a creek close to my house… Action: will practice flipping myself on purpose in the rapids for my roll… And wait for spring to run the creek
Darryl Hyers, WI: Goal: Improve my kayaking skills. Action: More classes with GO:WOW and a 4 day clinic with Girls At Play!! Can’t wait to see you!
Karin Didisse, ID: Goal: keeping control of boat edges to prevent flipping. Action: practice staying upright at play wave, and exercising those muscles during the winter.
Amanda Miller, MO: Goal: To believe in my abilities as a capable, competent boater!!! Action: I will leave the I can’t attitude at the put-in and channel only postive energy towards my roll, eddy catching, and ferrying!!!!! Break free from the limits I have placed on myself and go beyond my comfort zone!!!!!
Jenny Nasal: Goal: To get my open water roll down. Action: Pool sessions with my local paddling group
Amy Rae Fox, NC: Goal: Gain acceptance into Graduate school. Action: Take the darn GRE already!
Courtney Brown Cunningham, OR: Goal: To push my limits both physically and mentally. For me, this means running class III+ to IV rapids.
Adriene Inez: Goal & Action: rolling confidently both directions, go to the pool to practice and stop pulling my skirt so soon on the river. Action: Up my mental game by having full confidence in what I am physically capable of, believing in myself and my strength, focusing while in the moment, and just charging it.
Annette Debo, NC: A goal: to spin well (and not feel so surprised when I make it all the way around) and then to consider a cartwheel. Action: more time at the ledges. Any chance of a playboating workshop in June, Anna?
Jennifer Lux: Contest Goal and Action: One of my goals is to be more confident in my skills and abilities. Particularly my roll. I tend to have performance anxiety which can really mess with my head and my abilities. Action: I have signed up for the Gold Medal Clinics in Kernville to help with my abilities and I am trying to practice at least once a week in the pool if not on the river. It is tough because I am a beginner boater and most of my friends want to go out and run big crazy rapids. I hope my name is drawn so I can add Girls at Play as one of my actions to attain my goals.
Megan Hibner: My goal is to gain confidence in my roll. I will do this my staying calm when a roll and practicing as much as possible.
Gretchin Benson, PA: My goal for 2013 is to hold a paddle with all 10 fingers and paddle whitewater again. I go to OT 3 times a week and will be bringing my paddle with me to make sure that my badly broken finger(with joint involvement) will wrap around my grip. Luckily, it is my left hand ring finger and I paddle with right hand control. I miss paddling with my family soooo much, even though Brynn has far surpassed my abilities, it will be wonderful to get back out on any river with she and Stu!!! It has become quite evident that I am NOT content to be a shuttle bunny:) Thanks Anna Levesque!!!
Kristine Hahn: My goal is to learn how to whitewater kayak and do it a LOT! I am getting information on GAP beginner whitewater classes and planning to attend! I’m very excited !!
Anne-Mary Sievers: My Goal is to get over intimidation of rocks when running rivers. Will continue to practice skills and hopefully will learn new skills to help.
Nora Whitmore: I have shoulder surgery in 3 days and my goal is to be healthy enough to run the middle line on Oceana this fall!
Lisa Apple-Cook: Goal: My Goal is to improve my overall knowledge of kayaking and I plan on doing this by reading your newsletters!
Alma Arizpe: One of my goals is: To increase my paddling time more intentionally…How? I will be recording my paddling miles and charting my trips.
Marianne McEville, WI :Goal: Run Section IV of the Wolf River and be more safety minded. I am coming back from a knee injury and continue to work out with excersize and weights. Would like to be able to kayak the whole season April-October. See you on the river!
Angela Como, WI: My goal is simple: just get out there and kayak! I knew I needed to do away with the limitations that I placed upon myself as far as getting to the river. To take action, I called up Bear Paw Outdoor Adventure Resort. The Wolf River is going to be my new home as I work there for the summer!
Hannah Fanney: GOAL: Run a class V rapid I’ve been scouting. ACTIONS: Paddle a lot this spring and to stay warm and relaxed.
Jennifer Gruner: My goal this year is to learn better edge control. To achieve this I am learning stern squirts & practicing braces at the pool and spend more time eddy hopping on rivers vs running straight through.
Tara Scarborough: My goal for this year is to be more agressive as a paddler. I tend to “go with the flow” a little too much and as I move into more difficult WW, I realize I sometimes need to work hard to make a move. I am working on this goal by consciously choosing a mantra as I enter a rapid like “paddle hard towards the rock”. That way I don’t just give up or get the deer in the headlights look going on.
Lisa Boyko: Goals for this year: get myself out in the river community to find some friends to paddle with; learn to love the water out west here as different as it may be – essentially learn to love big waves; learn my limits and work to push past them; Steps I’m taking to get there – online forums have been a great source for finding paddling people and it really restores your faith in humanity when you randomly meet someone in a parking lot and you have an amazing river day with them.
Kelly Harris: One of my goals this year is to learn how to read whitewater and boof correctly! I am doing this by taking a full day private lesson with Girls at play! My husband got me a lesson for Christmas!!!!
Terri Robinson- Kochi: My goal is to build back confidence, strength and stamina, a little bit at a time to get ready for WOR in July. The actions are: 1. Pool roll clinic(s), 2. A few modest river trips to gently test out my hip motion, 3. participate in training ops and/or Coastal Canoeist trips through April and May.
Shaina Sabatine: One of my goals this year is to eat more lean, clean, and green food to help me feel better and get stronger for all the sports that I do. I’m starting off with a 7 day juice cleanse…on Day 4 and feeling GREAT!
Krista X: goal- double pump to bow stall. action- lots of pool sessions!
When you’re ready to set and reach your goals check out our whitewater kayak, SUP and yoga programs!
