We had our very first Race League and Welcome Paddle as the Ohana Paddle Club today. It started as a grey, San Francisco morning; 65 or so degrees, slack, with no predicted wind to worry about. Typical summer morning. A few of us met at Mike’s Paddle since that is where we were holding the Race League. Half of our parted ways with the Race League group to go to Encinal Beach for the Welcome Paddle.
The Race League is program that helps to improve your technique whether you plan on racing or not. It is a great way to become an overall better paddler. The Welcome Paddle, on the other hand, is where we meet potential new members to the Ohana Paddle Club. We meet at Encinal Beach and paddle together while sharing what the Ohana Paddle Club is all about. It gives you, the prospective member, a chance to meet us to see if this club is right for you. Plus, you get a fun paddle!
One of the core philosophies that is important to the Ohana Paddle Club is the that “no paddler is left behind.” At the surface, you might think that we are just good at keeping count of everyone that joins one of our events, but it is much more than that. When paddling in a group, there will always be paddlers of different skills, strength, and even energy for the paddle on that day. Sometimes you might be the paddler in the lead, sometimes you are in the back, or maybe you just wanna chill and stay in the middle of the pack. It is totally up to you. The paddle lead and sweep are responsible for the overall safety and fun of the paddle for all the members.
However, if you are a paddler that is not the lead or sweep but in the front of the pack, we don’t want to stop you from going your pace and having a good time. You might even be in the zone getting your heart rate up at a pace to help with your training. The only request we have is that you stop, take a look at the rest of the pack, make a buoy turn, and paddle all the way to the last paddler. Once you reach the last paddler, make another buoy turn, then paddle forth! So, what is the point of this? A few important things. one, you can paddle at your pace and get the work out you are looking forward to. Two, we can stay as a pack. This is important because there really is safety in numbers. Keeping together can make it possible to easily handle any situation that may come forth. And third, even if you are new to paddling or perhaps the slowest (only for now!), you will never be in the back for long! This is important because there is nothing worse than being last, reaching the group, then they carry on and you don’t even get a chance to catch your breath.
It doesn’t matter if the paddle is a group of super experience paddle boarders, or maybe just people new to SUP. Every paddle follows this philosophy and it works for everyone. Our paddle and the Race League practice ended with sun and lots of smiles. We hope that if you find this approach appealing that you consider joining our club!
See you on the water!
