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2011
LoCo Theme: What's Next?
It's LoCo's 5th anniversary, and we'd like to celebrate Participants!
Thank you for supporting LoCo! What are your goals? And how
can we help you meet them?
Some goals have to do with paddling--I'd like to control my kayak
in wind & waves, for example. Some are deeper and more personal.
Confidence. Self-reliance. Fitness and lifestyle. Let's open those
conversations and see how we can encourage each other.
We're open to suggestions in advance of the event. Also, LoCo coaches
are the top in the region, plus some from distant places. They are
professionals at helping people identify and meet goals, be safer,
and have fun on the water.
In addition to coaching during the day, benefits of attending LoCo
include the evening presentations and the lighthearted networking
among all paddlers that happens around meals and around camp.
Join us this year for some personalized coaching to help you meet
your goals, and for the hearty fun of LoCo Roundup!
Class
Descriptions
Calm
Water Classes
Paddlesports Immersion
This is where to start if you have little or no experience, or want
a good basic refresher. How to get in and wear the boat, followed
by the fundamental safety skill of falling out, all in a controlled,
supportive environment. Try out different kinds of boats if you'd
like--canoe, sea kayak, whitewater kayak, sit-on-top.
Kayak Foundations
This is the next step once you're comfortable with the wet exit
and basic boat control. Kayak Foundations builds awareness of body-boat-blade
relationships. It covers edging, steering, forward paddling, bracing,
rescues--the foundations for a paddler to tackle wind, waves, current,
surf, or a pleasurable day of paddling. A calm, controlled wet exit
is a prerequisite for this intermediate boat obedience class. Go
beyond the basics and gain more control. Paddle further with less
effort. This class is an excellent general foundation for paddling
in wind and waves.
Yoga and Kayaking with Cheri Perry
Stretch your horizons with this multifaceted class. Increase the
enjoyment of kayaking, as well as the safety and skill of it, through
Yoga practice. Utilize Yoga practice and kayak training to enhance
awareness in general. What is my body doing? Is my breathing relaxed?
Whether you are a new kayaker working on balance and comfort in
calm water, or whether you like to tackle the perfect storm, awareness
and the ability to calm oneself and look around is important to
safety and enjoyment. Awareness of how you are aligning and using
the forces of the body directly affects your control of the kayak.
Kayaking in our culture is something we do for fun--to feed the
spirit. Breathe, stretch, and enjoy!
We will start the day doing yoga poses that encourage rotation,
spinal lengthening, hamstring opening, and back-bending, accompanied
with a discussion as to how this pertains to kayaking and rolling.
Before lunch we will add kayaks, but not water! After lunch we will
get on the water and reacquaint ourselves with our kayaks and the
water, to see what we have learned and how to apply it.
Balance, Brace, Roll
Kayaking and life. They are all about balance. Sometimes we need
a little support, and that's where bracing comes in. Sometimes we
just need a good recovery plan. There's your roll. A rich and valuable
class, and a wonderful confidence booster! Also cover edging for
better maneuvering control.
Canoe Training
A solid introduction to canoe safety and boat control skills. Also
appropriate for those brushing up for their BCU 2* Assessment.
Strokes & Maneuvers
Confident boat control! This is an excellent class to take in preparation
for anything from a 2* assessment to a Gnarly Water Training. Refine
and practice edging, blade angles, reverse maneuvering, and general
boat control.
Basic Rescues
How to help another paddler in distress without endangering yourself.
BCU 2* Assessment
Do you have paddling experience but think you could improve your
efficiency or finesse? Assessment is a checkup on your skills, involving
various challenges or exercises. Upon completion, "candidates"
receive feedback on their strengths and on what can use improvement.
We recommend starting with training before assessment. The 2* Assessment
will involve skill with a single blade (like a kayak) and a single
blade (such as a canoe). The award is not craft-specific, but skill
in multiple types of craft is necessary. According to the BCU, this
is "An improvement award that helps paddlers develop fundamental
paddlesport skills on flat water. The emphasis is on gaining a breadth
of experience, creating the desired movement of the boat and developing
an understanding into how the paddle, boat and water interact."
For specific course content, please refer to BCU
star awards link.
Foundation Safety and Rescue
Training
Make your rescues truly efficient and better prepared for rough
water. Better yet, reduce the need for rescues by improving your
risk awareness and risk management. This full day course of rescue
practice and risk discussion is a prerequisite for Coach Level 1
and 4* Sea Leader Courses, and a valuable training for all paddlers.
Practice towing. Discuss risk and practice techniques for managing
it. Completion of this BCU course earns a certificate. Prerequisite:
2* skills (award not required).
Friday
Afternoon Games!
Designed to utilize skills and be tons of fun for all levels! Free
to anyone participating in anything else.
Dead Fish Polo
Preposterous Propulsion Relay
Pony Races
Cooperative Challenges
Navigation
Coastal Navigation and Tidal
Planning
Since good planning prevents incidents, this navigation course is
considered part of the BCU's safety curriculum. There are no prerequisites
for this classroom course, everyone is welcome, and no boat is necessary.
It is a prerequisite for new 4* Sea Leader training or assessment.
For specific course content, please refer to tidal
planning syllabus.
Textured
Water Classes
Do you have good foundational skills? Learn how to best apply them
in the wind and waves, surf, and current.
Sea Paddler 3-day Training
I know how a bow rudder works. Do I apply it to turn upwind or downwind?
Take your foundational skills into dynamic environments and work
with the elements. Let the wind do the turning for you instead
of struggling against it. During 3 days, the Sea Paddler Training
can focus on students' areas of greatest need. Provides a good foundation
for BCU 3* Sea award. (prerequisite--old 3* training or 2* award,
or documentation of equivalent skill)
BCU 3* Sea Assessment
"The three star paddler will be a competent performer in sheltered
to moderate water environments and have the ability to paddle unsupervised,
with similar standard paddlers on sheltered water." Ready for
some really good feedback on how you're doing in wind and waves?
Prepare to be challenged. Assessment requires prior training at
old BCU 4*, new BCU 3*, or old BCU 3*, plus dynamic water training
and experience. Please send proof with registration.
For specific course content, please refer to BCU
star awards link.
Wind & Waves
A one-day class to build confidence and safety. Which strokes do
I want for turning into the wind? How do I steer across the wind?
Work on bracing and balance, and use the wind's energy to move you
along. Super fun!
Effective Rescues
This one-day class starts with a calm water review of basic techniques,
then tests them in Columbia River chop of 1-2'. Try out your rescues
in conditions where you might actually use them. Learn which techniques
really work. Increase your safety!
Gnarly
Water Classes
Gnarly Water Skills and
Leadership Training 3 days
Put your dynamic water skills to a coastal challenge. Improve technical
skills in surf, current, wind. Refine safety skills such as planning,
navigation, group awareness and management. Discuss judgment and
positioning. Practice rescues in dynamic situations.
This class can be counted for credit as 4* Sea Leader Training with
these prerequisites--old 4* training or old 3* award; BCU membership
Membership
form link, First Aid recommended, Coastal Navigation & Tidal
Planning, FSRT). BCU
Leadership info link.
BCU Four Star Sea Leader
Assessment - A leadership award in moderate water, including
navigation. Becoming a leader in the BCU is a significant step.
Because this award is a certification of leadership, membership
in the BCU and current first aid are required. The Coastal Navigation
and Tidal Planning course is also a prerequisite for assessment.
(prerequisite--old 4* award or 4* Sea Leader Training plus BCU membership
Membership
form link, First Aid, Coastal Navigation & Tidal Planning,
and FSRT)
Prerequisites form
For specific course content, please refer to BCU
star awards link. and BCU
Leadership info link.
Traditional
Classes
Traditionally, a kayaker was sewn into a skin-on-frame craft and
sent without flotation into icy waters to hunt large sea mammals
with a harpoon and other humble tools. The paddle was a narrow,
double bladed affair carved from driftwood. Modern kayaking is enjoying
a rediscovery of the ancient skills, from boat- and paddle-making,
to techniques of using them. Modern paddlers of all stripes can
learn from the old ways.
Traditional Greenland
Rolling Games.
Sticks and
Stones
Friendly, lighthearted rolling participatory demo for beginning
rollers, experts, and spectators. Henry Romer narrates and explains
the history and applications of the aquatic gymnastics.
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