TEACHING KIDS UNDER 12 YEARS HOW TO PADDLE: TIP #5 by Valerie Betrand | Oct 20, 2019 | Internationalisation, Norway, Playboating, Whitewater, WW Disciplines(This article is the fifth of a series of five) In the recent years, there has been an increasing amount of young paddlers. Teaching them to paddle requires a very different approach than teaching teenagers or adults. Here is a gathering of my top tips to anyone...
Teaching kids under 12 years how to paddle: TIP #4 by Valerie Betrand | Aug 28, 2019 | Family Zone, Instructional, Internationalisation, Kid's Kayaks, Norway, Whitewater(This article is the fourth of a series of five) In the recent years, there has been an increasing amount of young paddlers. Teaching them to paddle requires a very different approach than teaching teenagers or adults. Here is a gathering of my top tips to anyone...
Teaching kids under 12 years how to paddle: TIP #2 by Valerie Betrand | Aug 3, 2019 | Family Zone, Internationalisation, Kid's Kayaks, Norway, Whitewater(This article is the second of a series of five) In the recent years, there has been an increasing amount of very young paddlers. Teaching them to paddle requires a very different approach than teaching teenagers or adults. Here is a gathering of my top tips to anyone...
Teaching kids under 12 years how to paddle: TIP #1 by Valerie Betrand | Jul 25, 2019 | Family Zone, Instructional, Kid's Kayaks, Whitewater, Whitewater Instruction, WW Disciplines(This article is the first one of a series of five) In the recent years, there has been an increasing amount of very young paddlers. Teaching them to paddle requires a very different approach than teaching teenagers or adults. Here is a gathering of my top tips to...
Year 2018 in review by Valerie Betrand | Feb 5, 2019 | Family Zone, Internationalisation, Kid's Kayaks, Norway, Playboating, Reviews, Rockstar 4.0, Whitewater, WW Disciplines2018 has been yet another successful year filled with adventures, travels, new achievements, and lots and lots of time spent on the water! It has been a very active year, with kayaking as our main sport, and kiting, skiing and surfing as other complementary excuses to...
Gearing Young Kids Up by Valerie Betrand | Aug 31, 2018 | Family Zone, Internationalisation, Kid's Kayaks, Norway, Shooting Star, WhitewaterI have gotten several inquiries lately about equipping smaller kids for the river and thought it was about time to share a few pieces of advice on the matter. I take full accusations for being a gear junky myself and properly gearing up my kids at a ridiculously young...
Season Start in Europe by Valerie Betrand | Jun 10, 2018 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Event Coverage, Events, Family Zone, Internationalisation, Norway, Playboating, Uncategorized, Whitewater, WW DisciplinesMid-March and still well buried under many meters of snow. Quite literally. Although winter season was still at its very best, when you’ve been skiing non-stop for already six months, you find yourself praying for all the white to melt away. But since it did not seem...
Kayaker’s Guide to New Year’s Resolutions by Valerie Betrand | Jan 16, 2018 | Internationalisation, Norway, Whitewater1. Kayak asap after January 1st to set the bar for the rest of the year and make a proper statement on social media. 2. Quit your ‘winter months’ by a month this year and make yourself believe that you are a lucky bastard to touch water this early regardless of the...
Coping with not being at … by Valerie Betrand | Jan 13, 2018 | Family Zone, Internationalisation, Norway, WhitewaterEver tried to deal with not being able to fulfill a dream? Certainly you have, and so does most people. Sometimes major obstacles come in the way and demolish your last hopes of reaching a goal you held on tight for a while. For me, it was the recent Freestyle Worlds....
Times are changing by Valerie Betrand | Jan 5, 2018 | Family Zone, Internationalisation, Norway, rivers, WhitewaterJust about six years ago we started taking our babies on the Ottawa River with us. We’d paddle to play spots, kids on the laps. We’d go down simple wave trains and do easy ferries, had them swim in current, if not otherwise playing alongside of the river. We’d spend...
A (mom) pro-paddler’s perspective by Valerie Betrand | Mar 27, 2017 | Canada, Internationalisation, NorwayAbout three years ago, I decided to quit paddling. I thought I had become selfish and irresponsible. People that did not know me questioned my lifestyle; colleagues tried to lecture me, and my near ones could not believe why I still ‘bothered’. You see, most people...
