NEW “Quick Clinics”
“Quick Clinics” are a new way to get more quality instruction from the best instructors around, without taking up your whole day or spending your rent money. Put together a group of your paddling buddies and register for a clinic, then head down the river to practice your new skills! These clinics are for paddlers with a Class II skill set or better.
Quick Clinics are designed to:
- Assess your skills and suggest improvements.
- Give you tips and tricks that you can use to better your paddling skills.
- Recommend other instruction that might be beneficial for you.
- Make professional instruction more accessible for those on a budget.
- Help paddlers who have learned on their own or from friends. We’ll fill in gaps in your river knowledge and help you take your paddling to the next level.
- Enable paddlers to benefit from instruction and still get in a good run on the river.
River-proofing your Roll
If you are swimming on the river then your roll can use some help. Although a good roll session, with more personalized attention is the best way to go, this quick clinic can sometimes be all you need to get it “clicking” for you! Build your technique and your mental “focus” so it works whenever and wherever you need it to. Dan Crandall and his staff are experts at teaching the roll. Let them help you figure out why your roll isn’t bombproof or effortless. You’ll come away with tips and tricks to develop and maintain a solid effortless roll. This clinic takes place in The River Store pool and will move to the river when appropriate. Please sign up for this clinic if you have rolled before. If you haven’t successfully performed a roll please sign up for our Saturday Pool Roll class or schedule a private lesson.
2010 Dates: More dates coming soon!
Meeting location: The River Store
Time: 9am-11am or later
Cost: $30/person
Instructor: Dan Crandall
Prerequisite: Must have Class II skill set, River Kayaking 2 or comparable class.
Slalom/Precision Training
Great paddlers like Jessica Subido, Rusty Sage and Eric Jackson all have a strong slalom background to credit for their paddling prowess. There is nothing you can do that will improve your paddling more than working with gates or similar natural features. Our instructors include Mark Jaggers, Jason Bates, John Weed and Dan Crandall. They’ll help you learn the skills you need to paddle at your best. If you want to paddle harder water, or paddle the easiest of water with greater precision and less effort this is a clinic for you. These clinics are typically taught at the Nugget (upstream of Chili Bar) where slalom gates and uncrowded water provide the perfect setting for learning. Following this clinic you should have time to head down the Chili Bar run or back to a lower put-in for C-G or the Gorge run.
2010 Dates: More dates coming soon!
Meeting location: The River Store
Time: 10am- noon (cut out for other runs whenever you want!)
Cost: $30/person w/ 4 person minimum
Instructor: Mark Jaggers and/or Dan Crandall and/or John Weed
Prerequisite: Must have Class II skill set, completion of River Kayaking 2 or comparable class.
Fundamentals, Fundamentals, Fundamentals
Includes Strokes review and River Reading tips and tricks from our expert instructors. Get some good ideas on how to read water better, how to make your strokes more effective and how to become a more efficient paddler by putting the two concepts together! What are the three keys to the Bow Draw? Where is the fastest water and how does it affect your boat? How do you get on any surf wave, and stay on it? How can you catch any eddy you want, no matter how “hot” or how small (OK boat sized), and then get back out of it as well! Can you control your boat in reverse in current for boat scouting and line selection/positioning?? What do you mean paddling is all about “”Vectors and Resistance” ? How do I learn to speak “Kayak”. These are some of the questions and concepts that can come up in this clinic, and it really does not matter if you are new to the sport or have been paddling for years, a good assessment and refresher on fundamentals is good for anyone! You’ll be amazed at what you don’t know!
2010 Dates: New 2010 dates coming soon!
Meeting location: The River Store
Time: 10am-Noon
Cost: $30/person
Instructor: Dan Crandall
Prerequisite: Must have Class II skill set, River Kayaking 2 or comparable class.
Playboating
Instructors Mark Jaggers and Jason Bates have both been paddling and playboating for many years. You’ll find Mark at the “Dog” almost every day practicing his moves and having too much fun! Mark owned one of the first kayak schools on the South Fork American River. He has great methods for helping you develop the skills to surf and pull off tricks in play spots. Jason has been instructing for Current Adventures for ten years. He was one of the original Team Perception members on the Rodeo circuit. Jason’s skills as an insightful and effective instructor are well known in the area. Learn the basics of playboating and see yourself progress dramatically in one short session. Paddlers frequently retake this clinic to continue their progress!
This clinic is taught on the Coloma to Lotus run, including “Barking Dog” rapid (where appropriate).
Dates: New 2010 dates coming soon!
Meeting location: The River Store
Time: 10am- noon (beginner) and 1pm-3pm (intermediate)
Cost: $30
Instructor: Jason Bates and/or Mark Jaggers
Prerequisite: Must have Class II skill set, River Kayaking 2 or comparable class.
