New Two-Day Kayak Course

There’s a new course for those looking to learn whitewater kayaking in Charlotte, NC.

The Two-Day Intro to Whitewater Kayaking course at the Whitewater Center is designed to introduce newcomers to the sport of whitewater kayaking. The goal is that by the end of the weekend, students will be able to paddle competently in class II whitewater.

This class is unique from others offered at The Whitewater Center because it focuses on the experience and tailors each class to the group’s comfort, pacing, and skill level. Some groups will want to get as much content covered as possible in two days – others will want to slow down and have more repetitions.

“It’s not always going to have the same outcome, but you can dictate a lot of what you get in those two days based on your overall goals,” said Pat Barry, Assistant Manager of Instruction. “It’s more of an experience than a rigid lesson structure.”

This course, like others offered at The Whitewater Center, has a 3:1 ratio of students to instructors.

“This gives people more time to practice and gives them more individual feedback,” Pat said. “It also gives everyone more flexibility: if half the group wants to work fast and the other half wants to work slow, we can break into subgroups and still meet everyone’s goals.”

The weekend starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday, with a gear-up and student/instructor introductions. Over the next two days, students will build a solid foundation of whitewater kayak fundamentals, learning skills like paddle strokes, body/boat separation, wet exits, flatwater rolls and more.

The goal is more than learning how to paddle in whitewater, though – another goal is community building.

“We’ve seen that people who go through these multi-day courses develop a microcommunity within the paddling community,” Pat said. “It can feel like summer camp for adults – there are people I’ve instructed in the past that I still know and paddle with.”

It’s also about fostering stewardship, which is part of Whitewater’s mission.

“One thing that comes from building the whitewater paddling community is it puts more eyes on environmental causes, boater safety, water safety – all of the things that can get overlooked,” Pat said. “What I’ve seen in a lot of students is they come in with a goal of whitewater kayaking, and they come away with a sense of community and stewardship that they didn’t know they were going to tap into when they signed up for a weekend lesson.”

To sign up for the Two-Day Intro to Whitewater Kayaking or to view more course options, visit the Paddlesport Instruction page.