The first time Kate Neigel ever tried kayaking, she got the nickname “Yard Sale.” She was out on the river at a United Alberta Paddling Society (UAPS) event when her boat tipped, and her water, apple, and change of clothes all drifted away with the current.
“I wish I would have started with a course — I would have known how to pack up my stuff,” Neigel laughs.
Ten years later, Neigel’s not only taken many UAPS classes through the local recreational whitewater kayaking club, she’s the president, who loves getting on the water whether she’s teaching a class or not.
The society offers an intro to kayaking basics class, and a roll clinic, among others, with indoor courses offered in the colder months. When the weather warms up, they get out on the many beautiful Alberta rivers. Memberships allow for free drop-in open sessions at Eastglen Pool, the ability to attend trips, events and other courses.
For those who may be interested in paddling but not quite ready to actually hit the water, the Paddling Film Festival World Tour might be a good first step.
On March 29, at the NAIT Shaw Theatre, the society will showcase six unique films which serve as great introductions to the fun of paddling, but also look at how paddling has made an impact on people’s lives.
Makapo, for example, showcases how paddlers with disabilities have reinvented themselves through competitive outrigger races. The Makapo Project allows athletes with blindness or low vision, amputations, paralysis, Cerebral Palsy, Down syndrome, Autism and various intellectual disabilities the chance to experience paddling. The film also showcases Makapo’s remote control technology that allows visually impaired paddlers to paddle with the remote assistance of coaches.
“It is fantastic to see organizations embracing those with disabilities, and getting them out on the water, a crucial step to mental recovery,” says Neigel. “This past season our club had a full-time wheelchair user enrol in our Beginner Paddling Program and she blew us away.” The participant was able to confidently traverse a level three rapid — meaning it required technical skill — a challenging task that only half the participants were able to accomplish.
The society received about forty hours of film footage from which they chose the ones they will play. This screening is one of many that will happen worldwide in cities across North America, Europe, and Australia.
“Last year we had everyone under the sun attend: people already kayaking, people interested in getting into it, and people who just wanted to come out and see some good films,” Neigel says.
Meanwhile, the lobby will have a paddling fair with paddling clubs set up at tables where people can ask questions about the sport or just socialize.
The festival is a fundraiser for the UAPS with the proceeds going towards the purchase of new kayaks for kids’ youth sessions. Neigel says the kids paddling sessions usually cater to ages four to 10 and are quite popular. Right now, youth often have to use adult-sized gear but smaller kayaks and paddles would be ideal.
Neigel says it’s great to see the enthusiasm of kids and that she hopes many of them will develop a life-long passion for paddling. She has been doing it herself for 10 years, and says she loves the paddling community’s camaraderie as much as the activity itself.
“I think we’re probably one of the tightest-knit clubs in the province. And I think it’s because we go away on the weekends and camp together. We live in Edmonton but we’re four hours away from white water, so we’re always car pooling. And it’s a super diverse group — it’s definitely very different people that I probably would not have become friends with otherwise,” she says.
The club has a Beginner Development Program (BDP) that includes four weekends in the summer with kayakers starting out on a weeknight on the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton. They then do four weekends on white water, usually starting on an easy river and working up to something far more challenging by the last weekend. After completion of the BDP, kayakers can go to the Novice Progression Program and further their skills.
“We find that most of the instructors have taken our beginner program — they took our four weekends over the summer and afterwards they started doing the non-beginner club runs. It’s the family you never knew you wanted,” says Neigel. “It’s just a great organization. It’s nice to give back to the place that originally got me into paddling.”
