Recruiting/Training Younger Sea Kayakers

Paddlers' Place
#1

Guess Waveology/Autumn Gales 2023 is trying:

sing

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#2

Are you talking about how the video was designated as “made for kids”?

I am annoyed when video uploaders do this. Made for kids is different than made for all ages, which is what most of the made for kids designated videos I see actually are.

Youtube for some reason makes it so viewers can’t save made for kids designated videos. If I see a video I want to watch, I generally save it to be watched at some later point.

#3

What I noticed about the video is SHORT SLEEVES.
What’s this, late Oct, Nov. shirt sleeve weather for a ‘gales’ trip.
That’s just not right!

#4

The video talks about recruiting/training “younger paddlers” (relative age) in addition to the usual sea kayaking crowd of 50s and up that attend the Autumn Gales symposian. I don’t think the uploader click the “for children” designation when posting the video. Relatedly, I always click “not for children” in my videos, although there is not anything I would deem “age inappropriate” (although some may think paddle surfing, especially in the winter, as “jackass” level stupid).

sing

1 Like
#5

We’ve been having a relatively warm fall and winter thusfar in New England. Becoming the new “normal.” Yesterday, I was surfing in low 40s air and mid 40s water temp. This is not what I am accustomed to for winter paddle surfing. Consequence is that there were more boardies out, but not enough to be a crowding problem like in some of the warmer paddling/surfing venues.

sing

#6

I’m less concerned about recruiting new blood into the sport as I am in helping to advance the ones who have made the jump already.

#7

That’s something I am trying to do but kids often don’t have a lot of money. Even with me buying used kayaks and bringing them to Wyoming I only get 2-3 new young kayakers a year that really get into it. Most that take the bait are my age or even older
But we have funded a lot of the kayaks as well as scooping up paddles, PFDs, wet suits, and some spray skirts, and by "pushing’ the sport and letting the young people come out to try it on my dime, we have achieved a degree of success.
But the truth is that probably 80% of those that I have got “hooked” have been between 60 and 78 years old, (retired so they now have some money, and all the time they want to take or devote) with the remaining 20% being 30 years old and younger. What’s odd is so far I have not hooked one person between about 32 and 60.

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