Giving Back

I learned how to whitewater kayak from the generosity of others. In particular a couple of Kiwis: Paul and Katherine Macey came to UCLA from New Zealand where they had been part of the Christchurch University Kayak Club which ran annual beginner trips for up to a hundred new paddlers each spring. I met them through the UCLA Kayak Polo club (but that's a story for another time) and shortly after that they took me and two other newbies on the first UCLA beginner weekend

Every year since I have come back to help them out and even ran the event one year when they could not make it. This year we had about 24 rookies and eight experienced folks to guide them down the river. It's a crash course on river running geared for the adventurous, starting in flat water Saturday morning and ending on a class III rapid Sunday afternoon. There's lots of fun, lots of learning, and most importantly lots of carnage. Enjoy a sampling of the weekend below, or the pictures, or check out the unedited complete video.