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I mentioned the Canoe Orienteering Challenge in another thread, a group/club event which remains my favorite. We held a couple of other oddball group challenges and contests every year. Hidden within the fun were some skill improvements
The Crazy Canoe Olympics. Several different, uh, peculiar events.
Bow Only. One paddler the bow. Style points for not using the seat in tandem but crouching way up in the stem. Mass launch, once out around the marker out in the lake (bleach bottle on an anchor) and back to shore.
A mass mess of canoes weaving and veering wildly, with some inadvertent bumper car action and capsizes. Not suitable for expensive composite canoes.
The lightweight kid paddlers often did best. My younger son took first one year stuffed way in the stem of a Dagger Tupelo; the \ canoe started fill up with water over the sunken stem as he rounded the marker, and he submarined just as he touched the finish line.
Stern Only. One paddler, in the stern, but restricted only to back paddling out around the marker and back. Harder than you would think with a mass of other canoes around you, or worse in unsee-able in your way up ahead (behind). Also a hilarious mess.
You could tell the folks with WW experience and better backpaddle boat control. Provided they got out clear to an early lead.
Two paddlers in a Tandem. With a choice of paddlers facing each other across the middle, or paddlers facing away, each towards the nearest stem. The practiced tandem teams rarely had much competition, especially if one of them was calling out side and stroke commands.
But the unpracticed teams were more fun to watch.
Lake Poling. Set up by a poling friend, who supplied the poles. He used more of a slalom course, and made sure the outer marker was well beyond pole-able depth, so some windmilling was necessary if the pole plungers were still upright.
Not a fair contest if there are experienced polers involved, but again, the unpracticed were the most fun to watch.
Those asinine Canoe Olympics always had both the contestants and audience laughing their arse off, swimmers included. And there were some actual paddling skills to be learned. Or awkwardness to be avoided.
The Crazy Canoe Olympics. Several different, uh, peculiar events.
Bow Only. One paddler the bow. Style points for not using the seat in tandem but crouching way up in the stem. Mass launch, once out around the marker out in the lake (bleach bottle on an anchor) and back to shore.
A mass mess of canoes weaving and veering wildly, with some inadvertent bumper car action and capsizes. Not suitable for expensive composite canoes.
The lightweight kid paddlers often did best. My younger son took first one year stuffed way in the stem of a Dagger Tupelo; the \ canoe started fill up with water over the sunken stem as he rounded the marker, and he submarined just as he touched the finish line.
Stern Only. One paddler, in the stern, but restricted only to back paddling out around the marker and back. Harder than you would think with a mass of other canoes around you, or worse in unsee-able in your way up ahead (behind). Also a hilarious mess.
You could tell the folks with WW experience and better backpaddle boat control. Provided they got out clear to an early lead.
Two paddlers in a Tandem. With a choice of paddlers facing each other across the middle, or paddlers facing away, each towards the nearest stem. The practiced tandem teams rarely had much competition, especially if one of them was calling out side and stroke commands.
But the unpracticed teams were more fun to watch.
Lake Poling. Set up by a poling friend, who supplied the poles. He used more of a slalom course, and made sure the outer marker was well beyond pole-able depth, so some windmilling was necessary if the pole plungers were still upright.
Not a fair contest if there are experienced polers involved, but again, the unpracticed were the most fun to watch.
Those asinine Canoe Olympics always had both the contestants and audience laughing their arse off, swimmers included. And there were some actual paddling skills to be learned. Or awkwardness to be avoided.