We’ve got two submissions for the Professor Paddle Ball video contest so far, here they are:

Blair Williams’s video:

And Matt Kurle’s video:

You can vote on these videos here by giving them a ‘props’ up on the right hand side of the thread section.  (You need to be a member of Professor Paddle first – signing up is free and easy.)

Profits from the PP Ball benefit two good causes:  The recovery fund for Matt Thomas, a former local boater who suffered a spinal cord injury while mountain biking, and a memorial fund for Ellen DeBondt, a much-loved local kayaker who recently was killed by a drunk driver as she was heading to work one morning.  Many thanks to James, Adam, and the other volunteers who pitch in to put this event together every year.

Anyway, this year I met up with some really fun Portland boaters – Lee Lindemann, Tee Kaochari, Andy and Ted – when I was wandering around like a lost sheep figuring where to park, and from there had a great time boating with them.  Lee has some nice videos from their neck of the woods, here’s his headcam from the Canyon Creek of the Lewis.

Canyon Creek - Headcam from Lee Lindemann on Vimeo.

And more Canyon Creek headcam…

More Canyon Creek - Headcam from Lee Lindemann on Vimeo.

Herbie and Dylan are just dying to teach you how to whitewater kayak.

If you’re looking for whitewater kayaking classes around the Seattle area, check out the Northwest Outdoor Center on Westlake Avenue in Seattle.  I took their five-day Whitewater Fever class nearly ten years ago and I highly recommend it.

This is a great class to take if you have a busy schedule and don’t want to buy all the gear first.  In the course of two weeks you have one evening classroom/lake class, two evening pool classes to nail down an Eskimo roll, and two days on an actual river.  They have a classes coming up in June and July, and two classes in August, so check it out here.

A word of advice:  Don’t be like me and a) first squander your innocent youth not kayaking, and b) finally take the class and then get totally sidetracked by life and work for nearly eight years.)  I still ended up on the river though, so the moral of the story is, just take the class.

Also, once you’ve taken the class I highly recommend joining the Washington Kayak Club, they are the perfect group to get you out on Class II and III runs safely, with group leaders and safety boaters who are prepared to fish you out if you swim.

Classroom stuff at Central WA University

One of the really useful things as far as improving your own paddling during the class is that you get videotaped on the water and then everyone critiques you later.  When you take the class with Chris, the additional bonus is that you might also end up staying at her house, like we did because we ended up on the Skykomish River for the last few days, in which case pretty much anything could happen – impromptu haircuts, hanging out with a huge bird – you name it.  Pics below.

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If anyone’s planning on heading out there to watch it should be fun, the race will probably start around 10:30-ish 1 pm-ish (pushed back because flows were too high in the morning, if in doubt check Professor Paddle) and a good viewing point is supposed to be just after the first railroad tunnel on the Robe Historical Trail, about a 1.5 mile hike in I think.

Marco, NOT on the Wenatchee run.

Last Sunday when I was videoing a bunch of guys running Tumwater I ran into Marco Colella and Jean-Luc Robicheaux, two amazingly good Leavenworth paddlers who are working at getting more people involved in whitewater kayaking through their World Kayak ‘Paddle the Wenatchee’ blog and various events.

Marco asked me to pass along an invite to one and all to join them on a beginner-friendly Paddle the Wenatchee play run this Saturday, April 24, 2010, brought to you by World Kayak, Crossfit Cashmere and Leavenworth Moutain Sports, here’s the scoop:

Jean-Luc, NOT on the Wenatchee run.

- Meet at 10 a.m. at the Cashmere Riverside park (click here for the Google Map link).

- Show up as early as 4:30 pm at Crossfit Cashmere for a 6 pm showing of “Dream Result” by River Roots.  Crossfit Cashmere is located at 253 Independence Way, behind the Cashmere Valley Bank in the big red and white buildings (they say it can be confusing but just look for the red and white buildings and they are in there – here’s the Google Map link.)

Bring your own chairs, and kids are welcome.  I got sidelined this week by the Mother of All Colds so don’t know if I will make it, but I think this is a great opportunity to make a first spring run down the Wenatchee with some world class paddlers, so I highly recommend!

For more info you can also call Marco at (509) 699-0413, or Jean-Luc at (360) 319-2865.

Classes start you out on friendly Class II whitewater.

(Don’t be like me and then do a total of three river runs over the next eight years before you actually get into it – oh, the time I’ve squandered!)

There are four courses coming up, in April, June, July, and August 2010 – here’s the link to their course calendar page.  It’s an easy-to-take class, with four evening classes and a total of two river days on separate weekends.

One thing I love about how Herbie, one of the NWOC owners, teaches this class is that I think they do a really good job of teaching the Eskimo roll.  I got mine during the class, and years later when I hadn’t gotten into a boat for a few years and suddenly realized I had lost my roll (trying it alone in my friend’s pool – in hindsight, not too smart ) I went back for a roll class at NWOC and Herbie fixed it.   Notably, this was right after an instructor at another company’s roll session had told me I needed a different boat (even though I had learned to roll in that boat!) and then even one of Herbie’s own instructors was having trouble fixing it during their roll class.  Herbie waded over, said “Oh, you need to adjust your elbow angle by like 12 degrees”, and bam, I was rolling again.

So if you’re working on the roll, just remember you might get mixed advice, and it’s not a strength move at all.  I highly recommend Eric Jackson’s Rolling and Bracing DVD, which shows beginner moves and then advanced moves that help you transition into rolling up in any kind of water.  I’ve obsessed on the roll for the past year and a half and have a really strong one now, but even just watching that video a couple of months ago taught me some stuff that has helped me transition into not having to do a traditional setup for every roll.

Anyway, I wanted to also mention that the Washington Kayak Club also has whitewater kayaking classes, I don’t think they have as many as NWOC and the difference is that you’ll need to come up with your own gear, but I know that Charles at AquaSports in Redmond has some kind of special deal for you if you’re taking the WKC class.  I couldn’t find a link to the class on their site, but you can contact them through their website, www.washingtonkayakclub.org.

After the class... look at you, you rock star!

Update:  I checked my WKC newsletter and their class is halfway through already, so go ahead and check with Northwest Outdoor Center about their classes.  (Tell Herbie I said ‘Hi’ – just be warned that he may have no idea who you’re talking about.)

Photo by Gary Luhm, used with permission.

CEDAR RIVER WHITEWATER RACES

Photo from the 2009 race.

This event is Northwest Cup Race #1 for Slalom and Downriver and is a USA Regional Team qualifying event for Juniors, Seniors and Masters.  It’s also just a lot of fun and a perfect event for those new to slalom racing.  The race is open to all ages of boaters and types of whitewater craft.  The Cedar River is class II+.  Flow will be 390 cfs. Flow and river information is available from the American Whitewater website.

Location: Landsburg Bridge – where the Cedar River crosses the Issaquah-Hobart Road.  Adjacent to the City of Seattle park at the Cedar River Watershed and the King County Regional Cedar River trail.  Home of the League of Northwest Whitewater Racers permanent slalom training site about 40 minutes east of Seattle.

Cost: $25/racer ($5.00 discount with proof of ACA membership.  Most WKC members are ACA members).  FREE to Spectators and Volunteers!  Special deals for Juniors!

SCHEDULE – Downriver races on Saturday and Slalom races on Sunday.  The course is open for practice all day Saturday and Sunday until 10:30 am.  (Practice gates are always up – race course will be set on Friday afternoon if enough folks are available.)  E-mail Jennie if you can help!  Otherwise will be done Saturday morning – if you come help, should be done in an hour.

Saturday – March 13

Registration – 9:00 am – 6:00 pm

11:00 am – Downriver sprint runs

12:00 pm – Boater Cross sprint event??

3:00 pm – Downriver Classic race

Sunday, March 14

2:00 am — Daylight savings – Don’t forget to move your clock ahead one hour!!

9:00 am – Late registration ($5.00 extra fee)

10:00 am – Registration closes

10:45 am – Racer’s Meeting

11:30 am – Morning Runs

1:30 pm – Afternoon Runs

3:00 pm – Team Runs

AWARDS – following course take-down

VOLUNTEERS always needed and appreciated for:

Course construction on Friday or early Saturday morning.
Timers for the Downriver sprint and classic races on Saturday.
Judges and Timers for the Slalom race on Sunday.
Registration assistance on Saturday.

THE CEDAR RIVER RACES are organized by the Washington Kayak Club, www.washingtonkayakclub.org,  and the League of Northwest Whitewater Racers, www.nwwhitewater.org.

Sanctioned by the American Canoe Association: www.americancanoe.org.

With specials thanks to Seattle Public Utilities.

To help out, or for more information, please contact:
Jennie Goldberg, Director
League of Northwest Whitewater Racers
206-933-1178
www.nwwhitewater.org

All you local kayakers are invited to come see some art, meet some artists, have some wine and yummy appetizers, and bring some non-perishable food for Hopelink. It’s from 6 pm to 8 pm at 12700 SE 32nd St., Bellevue, WA, 98005.

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