Getting people of all ages outside and on the water was the goal of National Paddling Day on Saturday at the Northern Watersports Centre.
The event featured the Sudbury Canoe Club offering free paddling lessons on a range of crafts, in hopes of sparking interest in taking up the hobby.
"To get people outdoors, to get on the water and do some paddling and some fresh air an physical activity," is how Norman Lafleur, volunteer at the Canoe Club, describe the purpose of Saturday's event.
"We've had good response over the years. We're a little bit weather dependent, as an outdoor activity, but we've generated a lot of memberships this way -- people who come and try it and join the club later."
The hardest thing about learning to paddle? Signing up for a lesson, Lafleur said.
"Many people who purchase paddling equipment figure they can just learn how to this,” he said. “Through a bit of trial and error, they do figure out how to move from point A to point B. But they may not learn to do it skillfully and keep bad habits over the years."
"And safety is also very, very important for us. Through our lessons, we promote safety."
The club teaches people not only how to handle their paddle, but what to do if something goes wrong and you capsize and fall out of the boat.
"How do you get back in?” Lafleur said. “If your friend you're travelling with falls in, how do you get them back in? That is something we try to teach. It's important to take a formal lesson, not just a friend saying, 'I'll show you how to do it.' "
It only takes a few hours for their certified instructors to teach someone how to manoeuvre a kayak, for example, and he said it's rewarding to see people realize they can do this.
"In the first hour, you see a great improvement compared to when they left the dock,” he said. “They're much more relaxed and are enjoying it. Standup paddle boarding is the same."
And the industry is trying to reach a wider customer base, he said, meaning most seniors can take part, even in kayaks that may seem intimidating.
"The kayaking industry is now really promoting recreational kayaking,” Lafleur said. “So they're making them extremely stable now, where before they were made for racing, for the hard core paddlers.
"I give lessons to seniors, who may not have paddled at all in their life. We start off slowly and progress very well from there. They leave with a smile on their face and they want to come back."
Instructors go to great lengths to ensure first timers feel comfortable, offering as much instruction as their students can handle.
"I've worked with people who are only comfortable starting in knee-high water,” Lafleur said. “So that's where we start, with me holding the kayak while they paddle. It's rewarding to see people who are very apprehensive, at the end of two hours or whatever, you see their confidence level come up. They want to do it again."
For more information, check out the canoe club's website here.
