SC Spirit of Excellence has partnered with the Gibsons Paddle Club to offer a six-week outrigger canoeing program for youth, followed by continuous youth development.
"We will teach students ages 10 to 18 outrigger paddling technique, water safety, race strategy, indigenous beach games and canoe culture," said Birgit Breuer of SC Spirit of Excellence. "We meet Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Gibsons Marina boat compound from May 23 to June 27 with some planned weekend day trips to our local islands. Life jackets and paddles are provided."
All kids/teens will be able to participate in friendly local races and also other youth races in B.C. with the goal to train a boys and a girls team for ages 14 to 16 and 17 to 19 for the World Sprints in Rio de Janeiro in August 2014.
Head coach Ron Dickinson has been racing outrigger canoes for more than 15 years.
He has competed in well over 100 races in Canada, the USA and Fiji. He attended the World Sprints in Hilo Hawaii in 2004 racing with an all Canadian native crew, has raced the Columbia River Gorge, competed in several Canadian national long distance and sprint championships and raced in both the Waikaloa Iron and Queen Liliuokalani long distance canoe races in 2011 in Hawaii.
He is also one of the first Canadians to become an expert in paddling a va'a (rudderless outrigger canoe)." He lives in Gibsons and is excited to offer youth development on the Sunshine Coast with SC Spirit of Excellence.
The six-week program fee is $98 including Gibsons Paddle Club 2013 youth membership.
Register via email [email protected] or call Spirit of Excellence at 604-886-6591 for more details.
- Submitted
