"Eddy Rapid" writes:

Hi Mary,

Would I be correct in thinking that this is mainly a "Whitewater _Kayaking_
Symposium"? A lot of the practical sessions seem to be solely focused on one
type of whitewater craft. Not that there is anything wrong with kayaking
(that we don't already know about :-)

Hi Parham,

As I look through the seminar list, it looks like he practical
sessions are probably 75% focused on kayaking, with the rest being
generic and none specific to C1, open canoe or raft. I don't know
exactly how this came about: if the organizers consciously chose
this ratio, or if they went to the people whom they thought would be
good presenters and that's what those people came up with for
seminar topics (likely explanation, IMO), or if it's some other
reason altogether. I do know this: a lot of the focus of the
symposium is on professional development for instructors and others
working within the whitewater industry. When you look at
instruction, in the United States, I think kayaking is in the lead.
Rafting instruction is almost nonexistent, except for guide
training. C1 instruction is hard to find, and there isn't huge
demand for it. As for open boating...well, this is just my
speculation. But it seems to me that there are many areas of
technique where the open boaters have it pretty well thought out,
where we kayakers are still stumbling along. The roll is probably
the most stark example -- kayakers don't have even minimal consensus
about what's the best way to roll, much less agreement on what's the
proper progression for teaching it. Again, it's just my guess, but
it seems to me that the world of whitewater kayak instruction is
where we're seeing the biggest demand for professional development.

This is the first Symposium, and there will be a certain amount of
"lessons learned" from it. It's entirely possible that next year's
offerings could be radically different. It will all depend on what
whitewater professionals want to see for their professional
development. One thing I do know for su this isn't a matter of
deliberate exclusion, or blindness towards other types of whitewater
craft. Bruce Lessels, who is probably the main mover behind making
this happen, is a C1 boater and former Worlds medalist in C1 slalom.
He paddles a kayak a lot of the time these days, just because there
are so many of 'em around, but rumor has it that he still prefers a
C1 for the hard stuff -- I can't tell you firsthand, since what
Bruce considers hard stuff would give me nightmares to even look at!
He's also the head of Zoar Outdoor, which offers whitewater rafting
and instruction in whitewater canoe and kayak, and he paddles all of
the above with extreme competence.

Hope that answers some questions -- if you have any more, I can try
to answer 'em or refer 'em to Bruce.

--
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield,
Other days you're the bug.

Thanks for the explanation, Mary.

Interestingly, Kent Ford and Wayne Dickert are also ace open boaters.In fact
they produced one of the most entertainingly useful instructional OC-1
videos, together with Bob Foote, called "Drill Time". So they could have
had more of that in terms of expertise. It would have been good to have at
least one session each on OCs, rafts, etc.

It looks like it could be a really worthwhile seminar in any case.

Parham.


"Mary Malmros" wrote in message
...
"Eddy Rapid" writes:

Hi Mary,

Would I be correct in thinking that this is mainly a "Whitewater
_Kayaking_
Symposium"? A lot of the practical sessions seem to be solely focused on
one
type of whitewater craft. Not that there is anything wrong with kayaking
(that we don't already know about :-)

Hi Parham,

As I look through the seminar list, it looks like he practical
sessions are probably 75% focused on kayaking, with the rest being
generic and none specific to C1, open canoe or raft. I don't know
exactly how this came about: if the organizers consciously chose
this ratio, or if they went to the people whom they thought would be
good presenters and that's what those people came up with for
seminar topics (likely explanation, IMO), or if it's some other
reason altogether. I do know this: a lot of the focus of the
symposium is on professional development for instructors and others
working within the whitewater industry. When you look at
instruction, in the United States, I think kayaking is in the lead.
Rafting instruction is almost nonexistent, except for guide
training. C1 instruction is hard to find, and there isn't huge
demand for it. As for open boating...well, this is just my
speculation. But it seems to me that there are many areas of
technique where the open boaters have it pretty well thought out,
where we kayakers are still stumbling along. The roll is probably
the most stark example -- kayakers don't have even minimal consensus
about what's the best way to roll, much less agreement on what's the
proper progression for teaching it. Again, it's just my guess, but
it seems to me that the world of whitewater kayak instruction is
where we're seeing the biggest demand for professional development.

This is the first Symposium, and there will be a certain amount of
"lessons learned" from it. It's entirely possible that next year's
offerings could be radically different. It will all depend on what
whitewater professionals want to see for their professional
development. One thing I do know for su this isn't a matter of
deliberate exclusion, or blindness towards other types of whitewater
craft. Bruce Lessels, who is probably the main mover behind making
this happen, is a C1 boater and former Worlds medalist in C1 slalom.
He paddles a kayak a lot of the time these days, just because there
are so many of 'em around, but rumor has it that he still prefers a
C1 for the hard stuff -- I can't tell you firsthand, since what
Bruce considers hard stuff would give me nightmares to even look at!
He's also the head of Zoar Outdoor, which offers whitewater rafting
and instruction in whitewater canoe and kayak, and he paddles all of
the above with extreme competence.

Hope that answers some questions -- if you have any more, I can try
to answer 'em or refer 'em to Bruce.

--
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield,
Other days you're the bug.