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Post by Dan Baumert on Apr 8, 2016 8:15:47 GMT -5
Kenduskeag Prerace Clinic
MaCKRO will be conducting a Kenduskeag prerace clinic in conjunction with the Kenduskeag Sprints race on Friday April 15 (the day before the Kenduskeag race). We will be meeting at the parking lot at the end of the Shopping Cart rapids on Valley Ave. at 2:30 P.M. Paddlers can register for both the clinic and the sprints and will receive a numbered bib. We will then organize a shuttle and proceed to 6 Mile Falls. The group will paddle from just below 6 Mile Falls back to the Shopping Cart parking lot. When we reach Shopping Cart rapids, the Kenduskeag Sprints will be taking place, so clinic participants will have a chance to do timed sprints or simply run the rapids for practice. The goal of the clinic is to show paddlers not familiar with the Kenduskeag course the best routes to run through the whitewater portion of the race. You will need to supply all of your own equipment, and should have some experience with Class II whitewater. Experienced paddlers will be available to guide you down the river. There is no cost although donations to support Orono High School's canoe racing team are appreciated. For any questions contact Chris Dalton at (299-0044) or Dan Baumert (884-8052).
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Post by charlie on Apr 8, 2016 8:30:03 GMT -5
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jay
New Member
Posts: 29
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Post by jay on Apr 12, 2017 19:09:10 GMT -5
Is this clinic happening this year?
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jay
New Member
Posts: 29
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Post by jay on Apr 12, 2017 20:56:45 GMT -5
Is this clinic happening this year?
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Post by cdalton on Apr 12, 2017 22:38:34 GMT -5
There isn't a clinic this year. There will be a lot of activity on the river Friday, particularly the Kenduskeag Sprints (http://mackroforum.proboards.com/thread/825/kenduskeag-triple-header), so there might be a chance to find people to shuttle/paddle with informally.
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Post by johnfrombangor on Apr 13, 2017 21:52:50 GMT -5
chris, we all appreciate what Mackro has done for the paddling community... but it's sad to see the prerace clinics lost: they were a chance to learn from experts, to feel part of a community, and to learn to be safe and have fun (pareticularly in high water like we have now). this has sadly become Mackro's default position for some years now (before spring races, before the Penobscot races, before flatwater training sessions): "Why don't you call around, I'm sure you can find somebody whose running it..." "There will be a lot of people, I'm sure you can find someone to paddle with..." etc. Sigh... I miss the old days
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Post by cdalton on Apr 13, 2017 23:20:16 GMT -5
John, I agree with you, particularly as I've been on the receiving end of some of those clinics, and I remember when I didn't know all the usual suspects you find at the takeout. MaCKRO is a volunteer organization, so its activities eb and flow according to what's going on in the lives of the volunteers. Let's get together sometime and we'll plan a clinic.
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Post by johnfrombangor on Apr 14, 2017 7:01:31 GMT -5
chris, of course the right answer is "yes" (the right answer is always "yes") as you may know, I have a long and not very successful history of trying to start educational opportunities for ww canoeing: I tried to start beginner clinics during the summers; I tried to start ww canoeing at the High School, met with principals and superintendants and athletic directors (rejected outright); tried to get a class going at the YMCA; I even tried for many years to get a race to Indian Island to celebrate our region's Penobscot culture and history (I never even got a response or a call or a letter): paddling things don't really seem to work unless the right people want them to work.
as far as me teaching a clinic, well I'm the one who always gets told "Now you have to keep up this time...", and "You can't make safety wait for you in last place again..." but when I tried to improve my paddling and learn by joining Mackro's flat water paddling group, I got told "You can't come with us, call around and make your own group". (I basically get told all the time by race leaders what a bad paddler I am, but I do the best I can with 2 bad shoulders) still I always try to teach people the little I know.
So now my teenage daughter and her High School friend want to do their first Kenduskeag Saturday: this would seem the exact situation for veteran expert paddlers to reach out to the new paddling community: it's our home court, it's our highest profile race, etc. but instead I'll just have to show them my slow incorrect paddling that I've taught myself.
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Post by Jeff Owen on Apr 14, 2017 8:50:30 GMT -5
So now my teenage daughter and her High School friend want to do their first Kenduskeag Saturday: this would seem the exact situation for veteran expert paddlers to reach out to the new paddling community: it's our home court, it's our highest profile race, etc. but instead I'll just have to show them my slow incorrect paddling that I've taught myself. It's too late for this year, but I'd love to add your daughter and her friend into the group of kids I work with and train. Let me know. |
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Post by johnfrombangor on Jun 23, 2017 17:39:22 GMT -5
So now my teenage daughter and her High School friend want to do their first Kenduskeag Saturday: this would seem the exact situation for veteran expert paddlers to reach out to the new paddling community: it's our home court, it's our highest profile race, etc. but instead I'll just have to show them my slow incorrect paddling that I've taught myself. It's too late for this year, but I'd love to add your daughter and her friend into the group of kids I work with and train. Let me know. thanks jeff: they're both heading out of state to college. |
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