Last Tuesday during the Carolina Canoe Club Week of Rivers, Girls at Play held a novice clinic on the Tuckaseegee Gorge. This run was complete with a downpour, bald eagle sighting and a successful run by everyone through double drop! We practiced strokes, ferries, eddy catching and had no trouble having a great time!
What I loved about teaching a ladies Novice clinic at the Carolina Canoe Club event is how it’s such a family affair, the whole boating tribe shows up! The spectrum of women who came out for our clinic spanned an age range of 50 years and included those who this was their first time down the Tuck Gorge, others who had run it several times. While everyone had someone there they were with to celebrate time out on the water, I got the pleasure of taking them down the river for key pointers and improve skills in the basics of paddling that we know and love!
Instruction in an all women’s setting can help women feel comfortable trying new things because the baseline is always starting from a supportive, confidence building place for one another. We all have our stories to share, and important lessons we’ve learned that help others when we pass them along. Whether boating is new to you, your second hobby, your way to have family time or just a cool experience, it gives us a medium to play and get to know one another in more immediate, intimate ways than we might otherwise expose. Girls at Play offers for women by women instruction both in classes and individual settings. If you are interested in learning more, please visit our website about upcoming Women’s Introduction to Kayaking Classes as well as Private Instruction and feel free to contact us with any questions!
Huge Thank you to the Carolina Canoe Club for organizing such a large scale, well attended event! And Thanks to everyone who bought T-shirts to support the Shannon Christy Memorial Fund! Your contributions in memory of Shannon are appreciated and contribute to us all building towards supportive communities in all avenues of life!
