The Whitewater Symposium is a 3-day event, in which individuals passionate about the paddling industry and the growth of the sport, come together to exchange and learn the ‘latest and greatest’ – the ‘latest and greatest’ freestyle moves from Emily Jackson; the ‘latest and greatest’ ways to design, present and deliver your instructional curriculum; the ‘latest and greatest’ of how social media is affecting the industry, and much more.
Not only are you there to share and absorb information from lectures and presentations, but during lunch and evening activities, you find yourself sharing ideas over unexpected conversation. One of the coolest contacts this year was Mykhung and her husband who came all the way to the symposium from Korea.
P1010782 Eric Jackson Every year you can count on the Jackson Kayak representation
This year, Zoar Outdoors in Charlemont, MA hosted this event. It was exciting for me to finally get the opportunity to visit Zoar, especially during the time of year that the leaves are changing – absolutely beautiful.
This is my 3rd year attending this event and each year there are more and more presentation topics to choose from. This was my second year covering the topic of “The Kayaking Mindset” – How to improve your mental strength and stamina. The mindset of kayakers is definitely an intriguing one, and sometimes the “fear” or “nervousness” is the reason many people drop out of this sport. So, my hope was to open this topic up and teach instructors/students ways to not only work on their kayaking skills, but to work on their mental focus and confidence. With more understanding of how we can provide our students with the necessary tools to improve mental strength, our hope is to be able to retain more individuals in the sport of whitewater kayaking.
The other topic I introduced this year was “Physical Conditioning & Skill Building.” I led a group of individuals through a physical conditioning program (30 minutes cardiovascular, 20 minutes strength and 10 minutes flexibility) to give them an example of a good, balanced fitness program that is specific to paddling. Plus, the workout gave many individuals a well-needed “energy release.” It was exciting for me to put Eric Jackson and Anna Levesque through a pretty intense workout program . . . by the end everyone was soaking wet and we hadn’t even touched the water yet!
Every kayaker shares one thing in common – the love of the water! Whether you’re a “hucker,” an instructor, or a student . . . we participate in this sport because we LOVE being connected to the flow of water. The growth of the sport is our responsibility, but how do we do it? What is our part in the growth? Well, the first part is learning from top individuals in this sport who have already succeeded, and second, to network with these individuals and come up with ways to continue this growth and recruit new paddlers to this fantastic sport. You can do these both at the whitewater symposium . . . so, hope to see you in 2010. Bring your ideas and enthusiasm and let’s make things happen.
*** Become a fan of the whitewater symposium on Facebook and check out more pictures from this fun event!
Heather Herbeck – www.wwsymposium.com
