Annual kayak course

It was time for the annual paddling courses for my Odac kids again. Every year, I have to say that it's a hell lot of trouble to organise the course. Loads of paper work, admin processes to settle selection of vendor, mode of payment, edusave forms to chase, name list for each course, indemnity forms etc, and it's so crazy that almost a week after the course now, I am still trying to clear up the paper mess, chasing after forms/MCs/payments.

But it was felt really good to be able to rally the old coaching group together to do it with me, I have so much trust in them, and it's really nice to work together again as we hardly ever see each other, not to mention do coaching together these days. And when we started the course that day, everything ran smoothly like the old times, with good communications or through common understanding.

And I delighted in doing the unconventional in my 2 star refresher course. This year, there was only a grand total of 5 participants for my group, but that disappointment was offset by the fact that everyone had more individual attention to them. They learnt about their 2 star skills in depth, learnt hybrid strokes and several others not in the entire syllabus like the 'C' stroke and the bow draw, and covered everything in 3 star except for towing too!

Learning and practicing sprinting and rolling is a daily affair, and after they got to know about the characteristics of different boats and their uses, I got them my playboat and polo boat to try. It was really an eye-opener for them, and they really went away appreciating different paddlng activities.

Some notable achievements by my class:

• Turning 360 degrees using hybrid strokes in one smooth action
• Successful C to C rolls by most of them
• Good sprints with boat control in my polo boat
• 2 successful ends in a clean lean
• Successive hanging draws!
  

Not bad for a 2 star refresher course eh?