Sea Kayaking is a wet sport. Everyone learns that sooner or later. You just can’t stay in your kayak all the time. At the first Annual Windy City Sea Kayaking Symposium, hosted by Geneva Kayak Center, there was a lot of getting wet going on!
This was the first year of course for this symposium. Yet they offered a strong coaching staff, great food and lots of paddling fun and education. About 65 people attended for the first year, which allowed students to get some really good personal attention. Out on the water we worked on everything from basic strokes to incident management which of course put poor Phil Clegg out swimming in the cold Lake Michigan water. You can imagine there were plenty of people ready to save him! Especially Dale Williams who saw his kayak (that Phil was using) floating alone out there in the distrance. Dale was relived to learn this was all just part of the training!
I gave Ryan Ruston hell all weekend about our lodging, but it was all in good fun. I actually enjoyed the location in the Gothic International House on the Chicago University Grounds. Well, that hallway did freak me out a bit. . . LOL! On the other hand when you ask him for directions, don’t let him say it’s that one “Gothic” looking building. . . Everything at the University looks Gothic!
For my part it was great to hook up with coaches I only see on occasion and the Welsh guys who I just saw a couple weeks ago on their turf. Amazing how much traveling we do sometimes just to see the same faces. The big question I have is who was drawing the most female attention? Phil or Kelly. . Stud monkeys!!!
For my part the best thing about teaching at symposiums is actually learning from the other coaches. You see, we may be coaches but we are not “experts”. You never are. We are always learning along the way. And many times, we are learning from the students more than from the other coaches. It’s a really cool thing.
Oops!…I did it again
-britney spears
This was the first year of course for this symposium. Yet they offered a strong coaching staff, great food and lots of paddling fun and education. About 65 people attended for the first year, which allowed students to get some really good personal attention. Out on the water we worked on everything from basic strokes to incident management which of course put poor Phil Clegg out swimming in the cold Lake Michigan water. You can imagine there were plenty of people ready to save him! Especially Dale Williams who saw his kayak (that Phil was using) floating alone out there in the distrance. Dale was relived to learn this was all just part of the training!
I gave Ryan Ruston hell all weekend about our lodging, but it was all in good fun. I actually enjoyed the location in the Gothic International House on the Chicago University Grounds. Well, that hallway did freak me out a bit. . . LOL! On the other hand when you ask him for directions, don’t let him say it’s that one “Gothic” looking building. . . Everything at the University looks Gothic!
For my part it was great to hook up with coaches I only see on occasion and the Welsh guys who I just saw a couple weeks ago on their turf. Amazing how much traveling we do sometimes just to see the same faces.
The big question I have is who was drawing the most female attention? Phil or Kelly. . Stud monkeys!!!
For my part the best thing about teaching at symposiums is actually learning from the other coaches. You see, we may be coaches but we are not “experts”. You never are. We are always learning along the way. And many times, we are learning from the students more than from the other coaches. It’s a really cool thing.
Well, I have to go and get to work with my real job. . But I put up a photo gallery right here.
So Dale asked me. . “What do you do exactly??” Well Dale. . I just paddle. . and sometimes I write about it.
See ya!