2010 is here! Ski-ing in the woods is the best bet as the rivers are frozen. Need to plan the summer but just taking a moment to reflect on the womens paddling we did last year. A lot of fun, met some fantastic women paddlers and we pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone, tried new things and faced a lot of fear together.
In 2009 we introduced women only whitewater development coaching, played about with the model and evaluated the impact. Overall women say they love the all girl environment (extra male coaches welcome if there name is Brad!) and find it easier to accept their fears and challenge them amongst others who can cope with tears. The dynamics are awesome! To see a group of women come together aho may never have met develop and bond as a group in just a few days is incredible. Immediately caring and supporting each other and celebrating each others sucess.
Sometimes it does not really feel like coaching, more like guiding their learning in a student centred way.
Using the Findhorn as our training venue is a stunning setting. The variety of conditions on the section means there is challenge for every grade of paddler and sometimes the gods help with water levels too.
Developing leadership skills on the river can be difficult for women, how many of the girls you know will push to lead on a club or social trip? Taking turns to inspect, analyse the water and lead with support from a coach is a development journey. It takes time, sometimes we call it tea and cakes at each rapid, but everyone has the chance to really understandd what is going on and how it will affect them when they are there.
We accept that women are not pretend men and have different styles and pace of learning. It is good to see women in the outdoors taking on more advanced water and leading, we need more though!
If you fancy taking part then perhaps here at Pyranha we can pull something together for the girls, let us know!
The recipe is always the same, no matter what grade we paddle. Equal measures of skill and confidence and a sprinkle of brave dust when required.
Mags