Why Join a Club?

December 2003 - January 2004

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD

by Alan Wilson with Mercia Sixta

When you’re on the water with Mercia, anything goes! WaveLength photo.

I recently called BC’s ‘doyenne’ of paddling clubs, Mercia Sixta, to ask her thoughts on the value of joining a club.

I first met Mercia when I attended the Coast Kayak Symposium on Thetis Island many years ago, and she’s still the main organizer of this popular May long weekend event. The 19th Symposium will be held May 21-24, 2004.

I had been so impressed with Mercia’s work on the Symposium that I asked her to help us with WaveLength’s Ocean Kayak Festival on-water programs. And she did a great job despite her other heavy workload.

Formerly on the executive of the Sea Kayak Association of BC, Mercia is now President of PIKA, the Pacific International Kayak Association, and deeply involved with CORK, Creative Options for Recreational Kayaking, helping the disabled to paddle. She can be reached at Western Canoeing and Kayaking in Abbotsford, BC: 604-852-9320.

PIKA offers a couple of different trip options every month of the year and more in summer: from 2 hour beginner sessions to 3-4 week wilderness expeditions. They also train volunteers for their sister organization, CORK, teaching new rescue skills and adaptive equipment. To reach PIKA or CORK, write PO Box 32073, Langley, BC V1M 2M3.

MERCIA ON CLUBS

• Paddling is a very social activity. While many people are first drawn to paddling for the independence and self-direction it offers, they often find it more fun to share the experience with others.

• Clubs are the natural meeting place for experienced paddlers looking to share their skills with less experienced paddlers who are eager to learn. However, one of the motives for women joining a club is simply to get the help they need moving their kayak and gear!

• While there are commercial paddling operations in many communities where you can learn basic skills and take courses or trips with highly qualified people, some beginners feel safer in a club environment and costs are usually lower.

• Clubs usually have instructional programs with graduated levels, to increase paddlers’ skills to the point that they can then lead and pass on what they’ve learned to others. This ‘mentoring’ process plays a central role.

• Clubs usually teach classes in risk assessment and problem-solving through onland and on-water scenarios to foster leadership. (‘What if _____ happened?”)

• Well organized clubs offer courses such as seamanship, navigation, marine biology, knot tying, low impact camping, and a whole range of other options, both on and off the water.

• Most people tend to stay in clubs for an average of about five years until they reach a stage of independence and move on. Fortunately there’s usually a backbone of members who stay on to help provide continuity.

• There has never been a fatality of a paddling club member in BC despite the many thousands of people who have passed through these organizations over the years—proving the value of the mentoring process.