Inner city kids kayaking camp 08

By Jessie Stone

Our Inner City Kids Kayaking Camp had glorious, hot New York summer weather and one day of a tropical storm. The storm day coincided with our day at the beach, which made for some exciting surf and good play. It is hard to believe this is our 7th season doing the camp. It has all gone by so quickly. Every year, I am reminded of how lucky I am to be doing the camp and also how it would not be possible without the great experience and teaching of the other instructors.

This year, we had Margie and Hayden Glatte, the awesome husband and wife team who I have taught with for years at Sundance Expeditions on the Rogue River, and who have been teaching every year since we started the camp. They both are amazing instructors and good friends of mine. Nick and Emily returned to teach this year. It was great to have them back and see them interact with the kids, some of whom are pretty close to their ages. The kids love to see what Emily and Nick can do in their kayaks. It really shows them what’s possible and is very inspiring for them. In addition, the kids have a lot of fun learning from Nick and Emily. We also had a new addition, Juerg Ruf, who was visiting from Switzerland and wanted to help out with the camp. We also had help on the last day at the Farmington river from local paddlers there, Dave Saaf, Bob Taylor, and Andy. All in all, it was a great working group.

We had a good mixture of returning students and new students. The returning students help the new students progress by showing them what they can do. The new students always want to catch up quickly. This really helps our teaching progression. Jordan R. and Jordan N-S. enthusiastically picked up right where they left off last year. Andre P. wanted to be doing what they were doing and so he did. All our news students like Andre W., Tshae, Shawndysha, and Zoe just name a few really pushed themselves out of their comfort zones. It is always exciting to see the kids go from being scared to flip over in their kayaks to wanting to surf waves and holes, and it happens so quickly in just a matter of a few days, even with our students who do not know how to swim like Alexa and Ashley. On our last day, Zoe, said, “ I want to be a professional kayaker and do this all the time.” Every time we got on the water, she asked, “Where is the whitewater?”

Not only did we have the support of our long-term sponsors, Jackson Kayak, AT paddles, Shred Ready Helmets, Astral Buoyancy Lifejackets, and Dermatone Sun block, but we also had a new sponsor Crocs. Without Crocs, we would not have been able to do our camp this year as they paid for the busing of the kids from New York City to our various locations upstate and in Connecticut. Crocs also very kindly supplied shoes for all the campers and instructors, which was wonderful.

Last year, the Upward Bound Program that these kids come from had their federal funding cut. It was touch and go as to whether this program would continue or not. Lucky for us, they were able to get some of their funding back. They now survive on a bare bones budget, but they are doing a wonderful job helping these kids get into college. We really look forward to next year’s camp, but in the meantime, everyone is getting ready for his or her wilderness river trip to the Rogue in August.