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Maximize Your Pool Time

It's the dead of winter, cold and snowing, but that doesn't mean that you have to give up paddling. An indoor swimming pool lets you practice your paddling strokes in the off season. Warm and clear, it's the ideal setting for "winter games" and to practice your braces and the Eskimo roll.

Only about 10 paddlers can be accommodated in a 25-meter pool, so organization of your pool session is essential. Set up the shallow end of the pool for rolling practice, which leaves the deep end for stroke work. This allows two groups to work each area simultaneously. A group leader should set an agenda in advance, splitting up the group and keeping an eye on the time allotted for the session.

For stroke work, create a "pretend" eddy in the deep end of the pool. A slalom gate hanging in the deep end can be visualized as a rock where an eddy is formed. Paddlers can use this gate to practice their peel outs and eddy turns. Form a line and practice follow-the-leader through the gate or work on the English Gate (see Canoe & Kayak, Oct '94). Or, one of my favorites, practice sculling around one pole without removing the paddle from the water (see Canoe & Kayak, Dec '95). An excellent forward stroke exercise is to tie two sterns together and have a tug-of-war, where each paddler tries to pull the other through the gate. Many types of competitions and exercises can evolve around just one gate. Keep track of each paddler's times and compare them monthly to see if there is an improvement.

If one of your leaders is a strong technician or an experienced instructor, get feedback on posture and strokes during these sessions. If possible, use a video camera with a slow-motion playback to analyze a paddler's execution. Pool sessions are the time to work on proper technique and eliminate sloppy habits; it's a great environment for concentrating on individual skills.

For more fun in the deep end, try seal launching off the side of the pool, or try pirouettes and enders. Have a fellow paddler stand on the side of the pool and lift your stern into the air over your head in a straight or twisting motion to perform a pirouette. (Be sure to secure the pool management's approval beforehand!)

Rolling - There are ways to ease beginners through the "fear-and-loathing" phase of the Eskimo roll. With kids, especially, try using games and horseplay aimed at getting beginners wet and familiar with the kayak. Boats are filled with water, and kayakers are coaxed to climb into already semi-submerged boats. Where's the fear of tipping over when you're already in the water?

Here are a few more ideas for distracting beginner paddlers to get them comfortable in the water, while having fun. Try having them pick up an object off the bottom of the pool and then rolling up. Or climb into the boat while it is upside-down and then roll up. Have them fall upsidedown in the deep end; then, put their head into the cockpit to breathe, climb into their boat, and roll it back up, without ever surfacing. Another "presence of mind" drill is to have them fall over and pass the paddle over the hull of the kayak to roll up on the opposite side. Learning to react to a surprise tipover is good practice. Try the "washing machine." Have someone stand in the pool at the kayak stern and tip the boat over without warning of when, or which way, the boat is going over. In a pool, you can always swim to your paddle or to the edge of the pool and roll up. In fact, the edge of the pool is a great place to work on your hip snap, an essential part of a good roll.

Swimming pools are not made for kayaking, so their use is a privilege. Show respect by thoroughly cleaning your boat of leaves and sand before the session. By cooperating with pool management, even offering introductory clinics to pool staff, you will enjoy this off-season playground for many seasons to come.