June 18, 2004

I have had the opportunity to see kids on the water in a Fun 1, and lots of photos of the Fun 1 in action by customers, but never have I had a clinic for little kids before. Parents on the shore- little kids in the water, awesome. Clay Wright, Devon Barker, Corey Volt, and my kids, Emily and Dane all assisted me in teaching a varied group of kids. Molly (8 years old) came right off the street with her mom asking if she would be needing a swim suit. Ah- “yes she will” was the answer and she got her introduction to paddling in a yellow Fun 1. Riley, age 8, has had exposure to kayaking through his dad, but this was his first, first hand experience and he was stoked. I played with Jessie first. She is 9 years old and wanted to learn to roll. She is a trooper. She didn’t have a dry top but never complained about being cold. She got her first roll in about 10 minutes of roll instruction, along with a good brace, and a good case of the shivers. I recommended that her dad get her a Lotus XS drytop for the cold water paddling. We had a whole group of kids in the 2 Funs as well. Emily was working with one boy on his loops, while Dane helped the older girl do spins. I taught one boy to roll, while getting another his combat roll and then into the bottom hole for a surf.

A Dane hucking contest broke out where Corey and friends tried to see how far they could throw him into the river. What I am seeing is a new era in kayaking about to begin. No longer is the William Neely kayaking model going to be the norm, where a kayaker is a macho man willing to take any abuse necessary to learn the sport by trial and error. Now, we will see little kids, like Molly, Riley, and many others being introduced to the sport in a caring, safe, non-threatening way. In places like Salida, where the whitewater is small, easy, safe, and right downtown, kids programs are sprouting up and parents can finally drop their kids off at the river at noon and pick them up at 5 after their day camp, very cool. I added the Fun 1.5 to make sure that no child is left without a boat that fits them perfectly.

Thanks to all that helped, and to Rocky Mountain Outdoor Center for hosting the clinic. RMOC ordered more Fun 1’s and 2 Funs than any other school in the country. The owner Ray, sees kids kayaking as kids skiing is at any ski mountain. I am impressed with his commitment to getting kids kayaking off the ground in Salida.

EJ