The Wisconsin FreeStyle Canoe Symposium is coming up on Memorial Day weekend, May 25-28 and will be held at Camp Anokijig in Plymouth, WI. This venue will now afford those in the upper midwest, an opportunity to acquire some advanced quiet water canoeing skills, and also tune up the ones they already have. In addition to the standard FreeStyle curriculum, we have also now included a technical tune up course. You can also have a private session with an instructor of your choice.
As we will be sharing the camp location with others who will be there for a family camp weekend, all the camp activities are available for all attendees, including horseback riding, archery, etc. So bring the family or friend, even if they do not choose to take our canoeing classes. A good time should be had by all, paddlers and non-paddlers alike. Come and paddle, hang out, or both.
For registration information, check out the FreeStyle canoeing website: www.freestylecanoeing.com or send me an email.
Registration deadline approaching
Register by April 15 to avoid the late charge. Plenty of class openings available, and a technical tune-up class has been added, as well as a private one-on-one instructor sessions.
Hope to see some of the p.nett’rs there!
Registration deadline extended
Registrations will now be accepted through May 7, 2012 without the late fee. Also, a Monday night stay (May 28th) can be added for an additional cost of $10.00 for those wishing to avoid some holiday traffic.
The website registration info does not yet reflect these changes, so contact me via email if you have any questions.
Don’t let the word Freestyle scare you!
Classes offered at all of the “Freestyle” symposiums include Freestyle I which is canoeing basics, not unlike the standard ACA Introduction to Canoeing. Classes are small and adjusted to meet the needs of the students in each one.
If you have an interest in flat water canoe instruction, your likely to find what you need at the Wisconsin symposium, or in July in the Adirondacks or September in Ohio.
This includes the topic
HALP! This boat won’t go straight!
Intro class is being offered also,
so for those with little or no experience can take part, too. For the most part, no matter where you are at in regard to flatwater skills, you can learn quite a bit at these events. They translate fairly efficiently to river venues, too.
I’d like to, but…
1. My car’s transmission is no longer reliable above 60mph when hills are involved, so I’d have to car pool with someone going through central IL, if anyone is.
2. Still haven’t convinced my wife to come with me on Memorial Day weekend and watch me paddle a canoe. Of course, item #1 above makes taking my wife a little trickier anyway.
I would certainly not take my Curtis Vagabond if I were to go this time, because I had a horrible time with it at the approximately 1 hour introduction to Freestyle Canoeing at the Aurora Paddling Festival last summer. The seat was probably a bit too low for comfortable kneeling and I didn’t have a good kneeling pad - it kept slipping around. Even with proper seat height and the new CCS T kneeling pad bought at Canoecopia, the Vagabond probably isn’t an ideal boat to learn Freestyle boat control in, I would probably bring the Curtis Lady Bug or Bell Flashfire. I was pretty frustrated that day.
I hope that the event is a success. We need more such opportunities in the midwest. My thanks to Canoeist11 for getting it started around here.
I’m still giving it consideration.
Any of those boats would be fine
The Vagabond is a fine all around boat and is quite responsive to FS techniques. Regardless, these venues are for teaching/learning techniques for efficient, effective canoeing. What boat you bring use is of secondary importance.
Yanoer make it easy on yourself
Later you will have fun with the Vagabond. But for now the FlashFire will give you the best feedback and you will learn faster.
I too started FS in a tripping boat and just about gave up. But I got a hold of a FlashFire soon and that spirit of “this sucks” gave way to “wheee”. Later on I was able to transfer skill sets to other boats.
There will be other non paddling wives at the event. Some of them do not watch their hubbies…they are off doing their own thing.
I am sorry I am not going…otherwise I would be happy to pick you up… Memorial Day is our traditional get the whole family together weekend at our lake.
Interested but …
I am very interested in attending a freestyle symposium/clinic, and the Wisconsin symposium is the only one I’ve seen within reasonable (for me) traveling distance from central Iowa.
The one big problem is that we have a standing annual canoe trip over the Memorial Day weekend. It’s been a standing date for over 20 years.
Maybe next year I’ll ask for an excused absence so I can attend the Wisconsin Symposium.
Alas, not this year…
I was very strongly inclined to attend, but it looks like a fairly expensive weekend - not saying it isn’t worth it or that the costs are out of line - but I’ve just poured a lot into a new vehicle and I’m tapped out for now. Can’t see going and penny pinching by not taking all the classes that interest me either.
I hate it, but this will be the first Ozark Rendz in (I think) 21 that I can’t afford to make. The Ozark trip would be a little more expensive than the freestyle weekend, but that’s for ten or more days on probably two rivers - and, darnit, I can’t afford that now either. “Fiscal responsibility” dictates mostly local paddling for me, till fall at least.
But I’m sure glad to see freestyle training events coming to the upper Midwest. Thank you for that! Hope the weekend goes well for you and all who can attend!