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How to make people fall in love with kayaking: 6 tips to support beginner paddlers
I recently had somebody reach out to me to ask me if I had any advice or tips for someone just starting kayaking. The social and welfare committee member at a university kayaking club was the person asking. They were relatively new to kayaking themselves and weren’t sure how best to support new paddlers in the club. This person was also keen to hear tips for encouraging more women to join the club. After sending some ideas across, it occurred to me that this would make a perfect feature!
White water kayaking is a great activity that can quickly become your life’s greatest love. However, starting white water kayaking can have a steep learning curve, sometimes putting people off. Here are six tips to support new paddlers and help them to fall in love with white water kayaking. Please do comment if you have any tips of your own to share!
1. Make the environment not immediately off-putting!
I am sure there is a more concise way to phrase it, but the heading for this point says it all. If you put people in an uncomfortable position too early, they will not return. There is no point in throwing beginners down white water rapids where the level of paddling needed to negotiate that rapid is far beyond their skill level. They could hurt themselves through capsizing or swimming. They will also likely be so scared that any enjoyment gained from that rapid is lost. Chances are, they won’t want to come back to try it again.
Instead, build the difficulty of the environment up slowly. Start in the summer in a safe and comfortable environment like a pool or lake. Build up simple skills and confidence. Then build up additional skills needed from there. If you are a white water club, plan the first river trip to be a river with a current and some eddy lines but no significant white water. Matlock is a local favourite of mine for this. When I lived in Birmingham – it was Jackfield rapids.
Teach basic skills such as how to get out or into an eddy. Maybe even build up to ferry gliding. In those calmer and safer environments, paddlers will feel more confident to try the skills you teach them. Then when you do build up to tackling more significant rapids, they have a better chance of successfully paddling them, and hopefully, if they do swim won’t be completely put off the sport.
2. Lending warm and dry gear
Learning to paddle in the UK is a cold experience, and I can only imagine paddling in the UK winter season now with my drysuit. Our UK winters can be cold, miserable and very off-putting. A beginner probably won’t have the gear needed to make that environment more comfortable, so having club gear that can be lent out is a game changer. A proper dry cag and some warm thermals are essential and can be the difference between someone carrying on after a swim or having to get off the river.
This is one point that is particularly relevant for women. Women, on average, will feel the cold more easily than men. In the winter, I often wear seven layers under my drysuit, whereas many of my male friends will be OK with just one layer. If you have some keen new paddlers in the club who feel the cold more easily, can you find them some extra thermals? It might be the thing needed to ensure that they keep up the sport!
Ensuring you have gear and boats to fit a range of people is also essential. We are all different sizes, but if your club has no kayaks or gear that would fit smaller or larger people, those people cannot access the sport. For example, if you have ten large cags to lend out or only medium-sized kayaks, only some people will fit into those. I appreciate the difficulties of this, but my point is, try to have a range of starting options at least!
3. White water kayaks!
As with gear, try to have a range of boats to lend out in the club. Then take the time to show people how to do basic outfitting changes in their boats to make them more fitted to them. Most people will only think about changing the position of the footplate if told to do so, and it may be obvious to an experienced paddler but not to a beginner. Most women would also benefit from changing their hips pads and support from behind instead of above their hips.
Yet even experienced paddlers are often amazed when I share that tip with them! Fitting better in a kayak will help people to feel more in control.
Spend five minutes at the start of a trip showing people how to lift and carry their kayaks correctly. Carrying a kayak can feel very awkward at first and people might not even realise they are doing it wrong. To avoid anyone hurting themselves, I recommend starting with this. Remember that your new paddlers may also need more assistance carrying or loading kayaks. Offer support if you can but remember to ask if people would like that help instead of assuming they do. I have helped carry many people’s kayaks for them – both men and women. People are usually grateful for the offer of help but appreciate having the option to be independent.
4. Make sure that people are having fun!
Kayaking should be about having fun! Sometimes kayaking is just taken way too seriously. For example, when a group is going down a rapid, the leaders might feel stressed because they are conscious that they must look after the rest of the group. That could, in turn, stress out the people they are leading, and they then learn to be scared of the water. Yes, looking after the safety of others is serious, and I would be concerned with any leader who doesn’t realise this. But being serious doesn’t have to mean you can’t have fun simultaneously!
The best river days are when you are having fun through play. You might be going down a moving section of water but not white water. Getting people to play games in this environment, such as catch with a ball or tag, is a great way to learn. Paddlers will start to practice harder paddling skills such as turning whilst holding an edge or focusing on paddling in a straight line. As they are having fun, they are not focused on being scared. People are relaxed and, without even realising, will be learning. And if they are having fun – they are much more likely to return!
5. Having a culture of support and reassurance
Having helped out a lot with University kayaking clubs, I’ve done my fair share of introducing people to their first experience of white water. I can guarantee you that every single one of those people was nervous. It is OK to be nervous! New experiences can be a little bit scary. For example, if you are paddling Low Force waterfall on the Tees for the first time, that is terrifying! It is important to reassure people that their emotions are valid and that there is no pressure to paddle a rapid that they don’t want to.
Sometimes with nervous paddlers, it can come out as bravado. For example, shouting ‘Yeah, let’s send it!’ in response to scouting a rapid is a step up to what we have paddled so far on that river. The issue is that if that attitude becomes a cultural norm in the club, then other paddlers in that group who are nervous might think that they are the only one! The result? Both types of paddlers have an equal chance of swimming the rapid, but the quieter paddler feels like they shouldn’t be there. They may falsely believe that no one else is feeling scared when in reality – everyone is scared!
It is essential to have a club culture where walking a rapid or expressing fear is OK. There is no shame in walking something that makes you feel uncomfortable. Kayaking is meant to be fun; if the fun stops, it is OK for the paddler to stop too. If you encourage that kind of mindset in your club, you are much more likely to get people wanting to return because they know it is a safe place.
I have heard horror stories of some University clubs where people are ‘shamed’ if they have a roll or a swim. Having a shared laugh when someone has a silly swim is OK, but no one should shame beginners with little control of their kayak! Especially if that swim was unpleasant or the roll was in practising a new skill!
Instead, make your club the place where paddlers feel no pressure to paddle certain rapids, but equally, they feel supported and encouraged to step up to the challenge when they are ready.
6. Spend time teaching basic skills
I was terrible at kayaking when I started, and nothing came naturally to me; every skill took me ten times longer to learn than it did for others. I remember one beginners’ trip on a grade 2 section, and I swam every time I crossed an eddy line and began to feel like I was burdening my group. Everyone else seemed to find it so easy.
I remember this lovely woman, Katalla, coming over to me. I thought she was like a goddess; she was so good at kayaking. She buddied up to me and said, ‘let’s teach you how to get out of this eddy’. She spent an hour or two teaching me to cross an eddy line. I hadn’t realised that you were meant to do things like edge! I had gone down all these little rapids and didn’t even know how to cross an eddy line! This day was seven years ago, yet I fondly remember that trip. She chose to spend that time helping me, and I will always be grateful to her and everyone who has ever tried to help me learn how to kayak.
I often think of Katalla and all those who have helped me become a better paddler and what an impact they have had. I want to give that support back. Don’t underestimate the impact you can have on those people just starting. Making people feel supported to practice new skills is so important, and that reassurance that someone is not a burden is so important.
7. Role models
I know, I said six tips! However, here is a cheeky extra one just for you. Having role models for people to relate to and aspire to is so important. If people don’t have those in the club already, you can direct them to role models outside the club. These role models can take all manner of forms.
Encourage new paddlers to attend events both within and outside of the club, so they meet more people. Have club film nights or invite guest speakers to showcase the incredible things that can be achieved in this sport. Connecting new paddlers with a mentor or coach is also valuable, and this could be within the club or beyond.
The paddling community is incredible, and helping someone to connect with and become a part of that community can help to turn someone’s hobby into a lifelong part of who they are. Role models are a big part of that!
