MultiSport Paddle (Kayak, Canoe, SUP) Day Curriculum

Intro: Paddling refers to any of our water sports, including Kayaking, Canoeing, and Stand Up Paddleboarding. Teaching campers how to be safe while engaging in water sports is a valuable and thrilling day/s at camp. Whether campers have paddled extensively or are new to the sport, this day provides an opportunity to challenge boundaries and develop a child’s love for the water and help them progress through multiple days on the water.

Paddle Day Policies and Special Considerations:

Policy: Each group participating in paddlesport activities will have one person present with Red Cross Small Craft Safety certification or equivalent training. When participants are in boats in the water, there will be at least one instructor in/on the water as well. Assess weather and water conditions to identify possible hazards and determine appropriate activities. If a camper or visitor has impaired mobility or other relevant function, staff is expected to pay special attention and remain close to the participant around bodies of water as well as work with the parent or guardian on a plan for success on the water. 

Moving Water: Supervisor or staff with supervisory credentials must assess the water conditions, and levels on stretches of moving water, before campers participate. This assessment may include some or all of the following: assessing water levels on pertinent websites, visual inspection of stretch of water, paddling the stretch of water before campers arrive, and scouting the stretch of water with campers present to detail potential hazards. If a stretch of water is deemed unsuitable for campers, then an alternative location must be sought. **Please refer to Avid4 Adventure’s moving water curriculum for more details. Multi-sport groups should not be paddling on moving water.**

Windy Conditions: Wind will always be a factor on paddling days. Prepare for wind in order to ensure success!

• Have at least one throw rope

• Paddle INTO the wind from your launch location so that your return trip is easier at the end of the paddle session (provided the wind does not shift)

• Raft canoes to paddle into a strong headwind. Kayaks and SUPs can be connected nose to tail to paddle in a line.

• Always give your group plenty of time to return to the launch. Returning early allows for games, rescue practice, or drying off.

• Encourage your kids to paddle with calm, smooth strokes in order to avoid fatigue. Remember that campers will follow your example!

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

1. If you see lightning or hear thunder, immediately exit the water and move participants to the safest area possible. Wait for 30 minutes to re-enter water after last seeing lightning or hearing thunder. Safe areas can include vehicles, enclosed buildings, or forested areas. Should escaping to safe terrain be impossible, move to a “lightning drill” in which participants sit on their PFD’s, hugging their knees with their arms, distributing the group as much as possible. 

2. Should high winds come up quickly on a lake or bay, attempt to move back to your put-in spot. If this seems impossible or improbable, let the wind carry the group to the nearest shoreline and remove the boats. Use your cell phone or available pay phone to contact the Camp Director to make arrangements for pick-up at the new location.

3. Should potential hypothermia or injury occur, treat as indicated by your level of medical training. 

4. Should a participant require a rescue while in the water:

   1. Wear your PFD

   2. Try to reach the participant from a dock or shoreline

   3. Use a through line to the participant

   4. Paddle a canoe or kayak to the participant

   5. Have an additional instructor contact the waterfront staff for assistance if possible

Environmental Briefing Considerations:

Environmental Hazards: lightning, wind, cold, sharp objects, drowning, fish hooks

Human Hazards: Paddle play, standing in boat, paddling beyond boundaries

Clothing and Footwear:

Each camper should have a full change of clothes, a towel, sun protection, and close toed shoes that can get wet. Campers should wear their shoes at all times, unless seated. 

Overview: Paddling, whether canoeing, kayaking, or SUPing, requires good planning, active management, and a positive attitude. Moving gear and managing environmental considerations can be challenging on inclement days AND paddle days are often highly  memorable for campers. As always, try to teach campers 2 new skills  per paddle day as well as games that they can share with their families and get ready for a full day of fun!

Leave No Trace Applications:

Paddle Day 1

1. Trash your trash

   1. What can/t go in the water?

      1. NO Food or Trash

      2. Can use drinking water to wash out already clean bowls/plates and pour into water (no food scraps)

      3. Pour into deep/moving water when available

2. Where do I urinate near the water (if no bathroom is available)?

   1. In the water

      1. The more water, the better (dilution is the solution)

      2. Flowing water is better than stagnant water

      3. Submerged is a good way to respect other visitors 

3. Know before you go

   1. What are the conditions like?

   2. What is our plan for the day?

Packing List: Please note that the items below are IN ADDITION to the items listed under “Instructor’s Backpack” on page 17 of your staff handbook.

• Water Craft

• PFDs appropriate to your campers’ size and instructor size

• Paddles (one extra if equipment allows)

• Whistles (one for each instructor)

• Throw Bags - one for each instructor

• Dry Bags/Boxes 0 for electronics, medications, and/or lunches

• Sponges or other supplies for games

• Water Jug to fill water bottles on site

• Additional site specific safety equipment - check with CDs and return instructors

Equipment Check (before and after use): Fill out an Equipment Report Form and speak to the Camp Director about any item that needs attention:

• Boats

  • Drain plugs (may be open in closed water)

  • Seats (if using): check hardware and straps

  • Bow line for canoes

  • Bow and stern loops for kayaks

  • Throw bag(s): release and buckle

• Paddles: security and condition of blades and connectors

• PFDs: General condition and zipper pulls

Skills for Paddle Day:

• Campers learn to fit and apply safety equipment

• Campers learn parts of the gear and assess status of the gear

• Forward, backward, and turn strokes

• Applicable LNT principles

• Age dependent: rescue techniques

Rules for the Day:

• No paddling without staff supervision

• At least one staff member in a canoe if participants are 6 & under

• Always wear approved PFDs!

• DO NOT swing, throw, dig, hit, or lean on paddles

• No swimming, diving, or jumping off docks

• Listen to instructor in and out of water

• Remain within boundaries and verbal command area

A Day in the Life of Paddle Day: 

9:00am One instructor should be checking in with parents and signing in kids. One instructor should be leading a group game with all of the campers. 

9:15am Intro to the day

• Introductory questions: Who has paddled before? Who knows how to swim (don’t need to know in order to paddle!)? Who can share one goal for the day? Who can share the name for one piece of safety equipment for paddling?

• With a camper helper, introduce campers to PFDs and fit all PFDs to participants. Have campers keep PFDs with them at all times during the day.

• Preparedness check: apply sunscreen, check water bottles, check for lunches

• Pair and Share (to save time) OAR- Objectives, Attitudes & Resolutions; discuss each one with your partner. Prep the first part for the end of day debrief: What is your objective for the day?

9:25am Bathroom break and load van. Ensure everyone is water ready before loading the van.

9:30am Drive to the Paddle rec area

9:45am Environmental briefing and safety talk: highlight conditions, exposure, group safety

10:00am Water Break & Snack: sanitize hands

10:10am Activity Introduction: Paddle Strokes

• Circle up to teach paddle strokes: forward, backward, turn

• Use analogies to help campers visualize proper stroke: i.e. scooping ice cream = forward paddle

• Pre-watercraft practice can happen on land with campers’ feet in the water. Ensure introduction to strokes is quick and that campers interact with the environment and sport as quickly as possible!

10:25am Environmental Briefing - launching and loading into/onto water craft

10:35am Re-apply sunscreen

10:30am Get on the water! Paddle Game! Choose one:

• Buoy slalom or obstacle course; can use boats, crocs or your own imaginations

• Speed competitions forward, backward, sideways, etc.

• Make a line touching tips and tails. Additional challenge: make a star, make a square, make a circle with all boats included

10:55am Teach new skill: balance on the water

11:15am Play a game (choose one)

• Water yoga (SUP)

• Piano Keys: get kayaks/SUPs in a line, side by side (not nose to tail). Campers take turns trying to run across all noses of water craft. Team tries to ensure boats stay together.

• Rock the Boat: Campers pair together and get water crafts adjacent. While standing, campers rock their boats side to side to attempt knock the other person off of their craft while staying standing on theirs. 

12:00pm Environmental Briefing: exiting the water

JEDI Lunch Topic: Who were the first paddlers?

• Canoes, kayaks, and SUPs all originated from indigenous peoples for hunting and travel. 

  • First kayaks were Inuit kayaks in the territory that is now Alaska. First canoes were wooden canoes from indigenous peoples in the territory that is now mainland America. The origins of SUP is surfing, which also was first known by indigenous peoples in current day Hawaii. 

  • Made of seal skin, sinew, and whale bone. Coated with blubber for waterproofing. First canoes were hollowed out logs or birch bark and tree limbs. Surfboards were carved out pieces of wood. 

  • Inuit is the proper name for peoples of that region, sometimes you may have heard “Eskimo” but that is the English name, meaning “people who ate fish”

• Discussion questions:

  • Do you see many native peoples in advertising for paddling gear? Why not? 

  • Would you like to be called by someone else’s name for you based one what you ate?

  • How would you feel if you created something and other people took your idea and made a lot of money off of it without giving you credit?

12:15pm Lunch: wash hands, LNT highlights, divide trash to be carried back to camp

12:45pm Bathroom break & re-sunscreen

1:00pm Environmental Briefing: challenge a camper to review your launch and loading environmental briefing from the morning

• Afternoon considerations: check water and wind conditions. If there have been changes (i.e. higher afternoon winds), make sure to integrate into a briefing

1:05pm Launch and paddle! Review morning strokes! Free paddle to practice: consider setting a goal destination and paddling as a group.

1:20pm Teach new skill and play a game!

• Draw stroke and Stinky Fish: To play stinky fish, unleash a couple of sponges and declare them to be stinky fish. Try to flick the fish from your boat into another person’s boat. You do NOT want a stinky fish to land in your boat. Set boundaries before beginning!

• Boat awareness and Captain’s Coming: To play captain’s coming, identify one instructor as the captain of the ship and everyone else as a shipmate. When the captain calls out a command, everyone on the ship must follow their orders. If you can’t or don’t follow orders, you will walk the plank. Basic commands: Stern (to the back), bow (to the front), port (to the left), starboard (to the right), hit the deck (lie/sit down), attention (stand and salute).

• Rescues and partner practice: T-rescues for kayaks/canoes, deep water re-mount on SUP (front or back re-mount), unresponsive paddler rescue (camper skill-level dependent)

2:00pm Paddle to shore and exit water. Load boats, towel dry campers, load campers.

2:30pm Head back to base camp

2:45pm End of day rituals and debrief with campers at base. Optional debrief prompts for Paddle Day:

• Pair and Share (to save time) OAR- Objectives, Attitudes & Resolutions; discuss each one with your partner. What was your objective… How was your attitude...Are you leaving with any resolutions?

3:00pm Camper sign out and parent conversations

Additional Water Games & Drills (Kayak/Canoe):( Follow link for more water games resources on the Avid 4 Games Resource site)

• Follow the leader

• Spin using sweeps: how many in a time limit

• Move laterally with brace or draw

• Ball games: bow polo or toss over dock

• Kayak Basketball: use empty kayaks as hoops

• Relay Races

• FLipping: exit, stay with kayak or canoe

• Kayak walk around the bow and sterns of all boats

• Disability awareness: paddle blindfolded with partner, get into boats on one leg

• Telephone

• Boat rafted together for lunch!

Additional SUP Curriculum Ideas:

Paddles

• Paddle nomenclature and sizing

• How to hold/orient paddle while kneeling and standing

• Identify on and off side

• Technique for switching sides

• Vertical paddle shaft for forward paddling

Stance

• Prone

• Sitting

• Kneeling

• Neutral stance with variation/slight stagger

• Offset surf stance variations

Strokes

• Forward

• Reverse (backstroke)

• Sweeps (Forward/Reverse)

• Draws(Bow/Stern/Side)

• Bracing (Low/High, Sculling and Slap)

• Cross Forward

• Draw

• C-Stroke (draw to nose-forward,  exit and recovery)

Maneuvers & Games

• Forward Paddling: paddle race in small groups. See who can paddle straightest and fastest

• Board Bump: in a line (nose to tail) begin paddling at speed. Challenge campers to stop on a dime without bumping into the board ahead of them. 

• Crazy Eights: paddle figure eights around two floating objects - if you have 2 kids that don’t want to paddle, have them be the out-posts for the figure eight turnarounds

• Landing: at a low dock or bank, challenge campers to slowly land without bumping and without use of paddle

• Pivot turn: with body near back of board, sweep stroke for a quick move. This is a game in itself

• Nose walk: balance walk to the nose of the board and back again. Game in itself

• Tow relays: teach towing technique and have campers tow one another in small teams, trying to be the fastest team in the group