For New England C Boaters Only

[NEOC Slalom Rules]

This thread is for those of us in New England who like to race, be it slalom, downriver, flatwater, outrigger, canoe/kayak triathlon etc. For many years, Bob Allen has taken the initiative to contact the organizers of all race series and yearly individual races (marathon, downriver, triathlons w/canoe/kayak, outrigger, slalom and other events of which canoeing/kayaking is integral held in New England. This multpage flyer was mailed out in the spring. It went on my fridge to remind me of what was going on in the paddling world. With the addition of clubs memberships to the ACA, the cost of putting together and mailing this schedule to all members of ACA New England Division has grown prohibitive and most of the members do not race. We instead now have a website, canoe-newengland.org, where one can peruse the schedule. In addition, the flyer is being printed on an as requested basis and mailed out. It seems that most series are now self advertising through the internet and the time and duplication is definitely wearing on Bob and his limited free time. (He has to paddle sometime too!) I am asking for your input on where we should go from here racers.
1. Have you ever received and used the New England Division's race flyer for the calendar year?
2. Have you ever visited and used the canoe-newengland.org website to access race information?
3. If not, visit the site and give me your comments. We will soon decide if we will continue with this effort and your comments are very important to this process.
Thank you
Pat Cleary
ACA New England Division Open Canoe Slalom Committee Representative

[Sir Adam]

I have never received the flyer, but would have liked to-does that count? I also would like to have seen the Hudson River derby on said flyer (I highly suspect it's not on there...even though I've never seen a flyer!).

That said if it would be beneficial to the community I'd be happy to post a schedule with the pertinent info here (new link on the left) BUT I would ask that complete information be supplied so all I would have to do is upload it and that each race had a contact person.

[Mike W.]

Pat, I'm not in NE, but I do a little racing down South. I've found that you've got to get the word out to have folks show up at your race. I've got a buddy who for several years now has put together a list of races & e-mailed them out to folks. This is great for me. I save a copy on both my home & work computers as well as marking the events in my planner. He puts them in chronological order with the event name, location, description & contact info for each race. There is always a note at the bottom to contact the race director before you drive.

I just checked your web site. That looks like a great format.

Adam, would it make sense to add races to the 'C Events Calendar'? Looks like anyone can add an event there. It seems like a good use for that under utillized section of the site.

[charles dickens]

hey pat,
i might have gotten one of those flyers in the past, but I never used it. i always just used the Keech website to see when the races were and to download the entry sheets. I still think the flyers are cool though -- especially if you send them out a little before the season starts to get people excited. Like getting a ski magazine in October. I think I always checked "no thanks" on my race entries, maybe that's why I never got those flyers. Or the fact that I live in my car** and dont get mail.

Well, merry christmas
Alden

**Just kidding

[Craig Smerda]

America has been free from England for quite a few years now. Isn't it about time NEW England was renamed? (ha ha ha ha ha!) I know the northeast is a stickler for rules and tradition but we don't call cars motor carriages anymore. Let it go! I'm going after New Mexico next...

Just kidding Pat! (and New Englander's)

hee hee!
Craig

[charles dickens]

all i have to say craig is that at wausau the VFW has a food trailer that looks pretty normal . . . except that it has FOUR deep fryers! on ONE trailer! you know WHY? well I saw them frying up a lot of things that I didn't realize were usually fried, but the main reason is because they have invented (and apparently love) a "dish" that makes me so nauseous just thinking about it that I almost fell into the river everytime I passed by . . . fried cheese . . . curds.

oh my god, im feeling like vomitting, this is supposed to be cboats talk . . . SORRY

The Midwest needs to grow some mountains!
Alden

[CraigS]

...like a friend from the south used to say.."you can deepfry pritneer anything!"

[NEOC Slalom Rules]

Thanks for the input so far. Adam, It only lists New England based races or series although there are two NESS slaloms held in NY. The Great Hudson Derby isn't there but should be prominently advertised here. The problem is just what you asked for; getting all the race organizers to respond in a timely fashion and then getting the info up. Chasing around for responses is occupying a lot of Bob's time that he doesn't have to give and we're trying to figure out how to keep this race schedule happening. The other issue is money for the website and printing etc and even though its the CANOE assoc. most of the races cater heavily to those with two blades as well. Your invite is most welcome and having more rather than less info available is always better. Mike, Craig et al - It seems all races are getting lower numbers these days and its a good topic for discussion. Will advertising their presence get the numbers up. I think its part of the equation but many have gone to the park and play especially newer entrants to our great sport. Getting them to try old school things such as point to point racing or slalom has proven difficult form my perspective. Alden-if you live in your car, how do you get so much on line time? And leave my horseless carriage be - it gets me there fine.
SYOTR
Pat

[Sir Adam]

Ok, I'm stepping off my Moderator's post here for a minute and on to a soap box <you've been warned >.

First off, this DOES NOT apply to most of the folks here, and I realizing I'm "preaching to the choir" in that respect. But I think we should all be thinking about this, and how we CAN have a positive impact on our sport in general.

What We Need:

What we need is for folks to be more outgoing and friendly, in both the general paddling community and especially in the race community if we want it to grow. Although I've raced in the Hudson Derby for years (and am constantly trying to get more folks to show up-it's a great time, and although it's a "race" it's not THAT competitive), I'm a "newbie" when it comes to "real" racing. When I showed up at my first WildWater race most folks were just talking amongst themselves. It's something we ALL do, and if we want our sport to grow we've got to not do it so often. I asked around and eventually found a few folks to talk to, and when I ran in to Edg1 he was VERY helpful and I learned a lot from him.

Likewise at the Tohickon I paddled on down (due to time constraints) and said hi to lots of folks. Some (like Heidi, Lee, and RodeoClown) were very friendly and happy to chat with me in the eddy a bit. Others looked at me like I was made of green cheese and didn't really want to speak with me (this INCLUDES a group of CBoaters I may add...though they were in more traditional designs than ye Wheelboy I was sporting).

Perhaps it's because there are not that many boaters around here at all, or perhaps it's from boating most of my life and enjoying it in every aspect, but I like to share my excitement about boating. And I think we all need to do that more-excitement is generally contagious . Tell your friends what a great time you had boating. Have them join you on the water even if it's in another type of craft (I've taken MANY more river trips with friends / family since I picked up a few Aire Tomcats. Some have even inquired about CBoats and hopped in for a bit). We just need to get more folks out and enjoying the water by making it easier for them.

Let's face it-to most folks whitewater is either scary or treated as an amusement ride. The latter folks need supervision (the fellows without PFDs or helmets on the Tohickon being a prime example), the former need to feel they're going to do something they will enjoy and be walked through the process step by step-not just the mechanics of paddling, but of shuttles, meeting all your paddling friends, etc....

This goes for the racing crowd as well-there are MANY, MANY great ambassadors of racing out there (and on this board ), but the culture of the racing crowd (at some races anyway) seems to keep "newbies" at arm's length until they're accepted. This is not the way to increase participation.... A few years ago on the Hudson another CBoater actually showed up. I tried to converse with him a bit, but he didn't really want to chat. That said, a few years later I've run into Larry, Jim Underwood, C-Dawg (not to be confused with CDawg), and even Alden (who is certainly ANYTHING but quiet ), who were just as glad as I was to see another CBoater.

So, to be brief , we need to make boating and racing more accessible through our own actions to get the word out. Make more folks feel welcome, and more folks will be there. Just look at our little Armadas! What started out as a few boaters getting together in the spring has morphed into several gatherings of 40+ boaters each usually!

I'll do my part (including holding an "Armada" for those interested the first weekend in May (Hudson River Derby ) with free camping (as always!). (If 40 CBoaters showed up I suspect we'd outnumber the Kayakers! THAT would be impressive)).

Ok. I'll hop off my soap-box now (my feet were getting tired anyway, to say nothing of my fingers ).

Thoughts? Comments? Additions? Disagreements?

[Alden]

yeah, some good stuff adam. I think paddling clubs are pretty cool too. I really enjoyed the Vermont Paddlers Club - meetings, parties, scheduled trips. I think the armadas sound fun, cant wait to attend.

As for the slalom series, it does seem a bit like NESS might be resting on its laurels and coasting (although that is the spirit of NESS . . . haha). Let's face it: there has never been much advertising for these races. I grew up 20 minutes from the Punch Brook, Farmington and Tariffville slaloms and never heard anything about them.

But the best way to get people to the races or events is to bring them yourself. I was once talking with Matt Taylor, a c-2 paddler. He was telling me about the older generation of slalom racers. He told me, "They basically said 'F-you' to my generation." Meaning they didn't become coaches or teachers or organizers.

Also, it has always seemed to me that slaloms could be even more focused on teaching. I envision people going to slaloms to learn how to kayak. I think there is a real thirst for this kind of thing. I envision each saturday at a race to be like a training camp: good paddlers are instructors and there is gear for novices (very important) and clinics set up at certain times, ect ect. Then a party (very important) and a race on sunday.

I know im probably about the biggest slacker when it comes to "giving back" but I have gone skiing too often to miss the fact that "learn to ski" (using readily available rental gear) is how most people get involved.

I don't expect everyone to be taking the lead on this, but I do think that in paddling one person can make a lot of difference. Just look at guys like Tom McEwan or Peter Kennedy, they brought LOTS of people to the races.
Alden

[NEOC Slalom Rules]

Adam et al
Didn't mean to put my foot in my mouth. I'm trying to get some feedback for a "critical" decision we will be making for our ACA New England Division this weekend. Personally, I would like to see our Race Calendar continue and our website get linked up so others will utilize it. It takes a lot of time and work on the part of the calendar organizer and the webmaster to make it work. There are questions as to whether that effort is relevent with other sources available on the internet. The issue of getting others involved in racing in the various disciplines is a good one and the answers to that which Adam gave are right on. Alden made some good points about New Englands NESS Series. Some of the races (the Blackwater in particular) have an excellent record for offering beginners practice and races. I personally started racing there as a beginner many many years ago. Other sites are more difficult throughout and it is not easy to stage a beginners course through them or the organizers opt not to. It has been a bone of discussion. Slalom, with its high requirement of volunteer bodies and time spent working, is a challenging sport to make happen.
We have been blessed with many great folks, some of whom don't even get a paddle wet, who make those races happen every year. And yes Adam, some competitors are a little too competitive. And that may diminish the sport in the mind of a first timer. And in the minds of others as well. Your comments gave me some pause to think about how I say things - some of my best fiends are park and play boaters and I am trying to be new school but its a fact that I'm OLD!
SYOTR
Pat

[Jim]

Some people are just not sociable, but there is another consideration. I learned to paddle through an informal process. The people I started out with would never tell you how to paddle. However, if you went up and asked for advice, especially with an extra beer in hand, you would get plenty. They would also avoid telling you when you were ready for advancing to a more difficult river, but if you were they would gladly bring you down if you asked. I have found the NESS races to be the same. It is rare that someone comes up to you and says “do it this way”. However, it is common to get advice when you ask for it.

And the advice is really low-key. I recall asking one legendary paddler who hangs out on this site (no Alden, I am not referring to you) about making a gate, as I could not get there during practice. His response was “I think that some of the guys are trying it this way…” If I had been waiting for him to get back on the river and show me, or give a long dissertation on it, I would have been disappointed. Instead the advice was very understated, but it sure was great teaching (because it worked!).

FYI- there is a “race” designed specifically for teaching novice paddlers every Memorial Day weekend on the Ten Mile River in NY. Boats and coaches are available, and there is camping right there. Last year there were only about 10 boaters there. Hope some of you make it next year.

Pat- thanks for all of your work on the NESS.

Jim

[CraigS]

Pat... thanks for taking the reigns on a project like this. You must have patience.

I think the most important thing we have done in the Midwest (at least with open-boaters) is that we all encourage newbies, intermediates, and advanced boaters to participate on all levels of racing. I can't give specific numbers (I'm at work) but I would say at the last 5 Nationals our numbers have really "grown" more than any of the other region of the country. At our local races open boats out number decked boaters almost 2 to 1. These same folks always show up to hang and tear down the courses and really make our group strong in many aspects. I'm proud of our group because it's reassuring to know that anytime we see someone new getting into canoeing they are always welcomed to join in the fun.

Craig

PS> Alden... did you even try the cheesecurds? It's a little known secrect that Kaz eat's em like powerbars! Kind of explains some things doesn't it?

[NEOC Slalom Rules]

Ya gotta cut the cheese before ya cut your fastest line. But in NE, we use Boston (World Series Champions use'm too) Baked Beans. They just give you that extra push! pjc

[Craig Smerda]

Cheese curds and Baked Beans! Now that's some motivation food... motivation to stay the heck away from anyone eating it.

On the bright side... there's always beer to wash it dowm!

Cheers Pat!

PS> Is your Pilgrim outfit from a few years back still fitting well?