For the 2023 academic year, the Paddle Sports Club has returned to Houghton University. With many students enjoying the re-opening of the pool in the Nielsen Center, this club channels their enjoyment and provides students with another way they can utilize the pool.
One main event the club offers is a pool session, which is typically held every Tuesday night from 6:30-8 p.m. to practice kayaking skills.
Ryan Ballard, an instructor, describes the sessions by saying, “At these we will do a skill lesson right at the start and then we provide students with time to work on skills at their own pace either by themselves or with one on one help from an instructor.”
All of this is in preparation for several kayaking trips and a white-water rafting trip, which will take place later in the semester.
Ballard also explained the opportunities for learning and gaining experience from the club, stating, “It has been great refining my leadership and teaching skills through doing something that I am passionate about but not an expert in.”
For students unfamiliar with kayaking or paddle sports, instructors such as Ballard are there to offer their assistance and guidance.
Ballard expressed great passion for the club, providing personal accounts of how the club has allowed him to grow as a person.
For any students interested in the club or looking for something new and fun to do, he states, “I believe that students should join this club because oftentimes it pushes them outside of their comfort zones and it inspires confidence.”
With leaders and instructors such as Ballard, Paddle Sports Club is an opportunity for students to learn something new while building a greater community together. ★
“Sometimes I see a rough wave or hole and know exactly what will happen if I hit it, which is usually something like being tossed upside down, scraped along the bottom, and spit out the other side. At these times, I remember something my great-great-grandmother told me right before she went base jumping off the grand canyon on New Year’s Eve: ‘Sonny, if you’re not living life on the edge, you’re taking up too much space,’” said junior Zach Kitchen.
As an authentic, fun-loving group, the paddle sports club is among one of the most unique and adventurous clubs on campus.
Kitchen, president of the paddle sports club, has an undeniable passion for the exciting – and perhaps dangerous – world of paddle sports. “Even though I never actually had a great-great-grandmother that went base jumping, I still think it’s kind of fun to throw caution to the waves and get gobbled up by a giant, crashing wash of water,” Kitchen joked enthusiastically. “I think it’s a great alternative to energy drinks, anyways.”
Courtesy of Eliza Kelly
The club seeks to provide an exhilarating outlet from all the stresses that students face in everyday life by participating in an important life skill: boating. Twice a week, members meet at the college swimming pool to practice skills such as rolling kayaks, handling water rescues, and practicing paddling techniques.
“We really want to get people on live, moving water, which is where they need experience. It’s too fun to watch folks on their first white water kayaking trip – such wide eyes and pale faces!” Kitchen laughed, “That’s exactly how my first river trip was. Other events we may do usually have to do with our fearless advisor, Charlie, such as sailing when he can take us out, making apple cider at his house, or kayak sledding. We wouldn’t be able to do very much without his help.”
Working alongside Charlie Smith, their long-time and faithful advisor, the paddle sports club has also been able to coordinate trips to places such as the lower falls of the Genesee River at Letchworth State Park, Rushford Lake, and Zoar Valley. There, they not only learn to paddle class 2, 3, and 4 river rapids, but also serve as Christian witnesses to those they meet along the way.
“It really gets some students out of their comfort zone. It’s good fellowship and bonding with each other, and students are learning a skill they can use for life,” Smith said, “It’s a joy to watch these students grow and learn from the first time in a boat until they are able to roll a boat and surf on a big wave on the river.”
Not only does the club take part in meaningful fellowship and learn valuable life skills, they also share in many humorous instances during their time together.
“There are many exciting and funny moments in paddle sports,” Colleen Winton, a junior and the treasurer for the club, said, “Anytime that someone gets their roll for the first time, everyone is ecstatic. There are also plenty of hilarious moments – just the faces that we make when we roll out of the water, or how silly we look with nose plugs on, or how ridiculous – but awesome – we look with all our paddling gear.”
The sense of community and genuine fun that the paddle sports club possesses is that which no one should want to miss out on. The club meets on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:00 – 8:00 pm.
Winton said, “I can always look forward to paddle sports not just as a time to kayak, but as a time I can laugh, be silly, and enjoy hanging out with people I love. It is a blast!”
