The Olympics in London 2012 provided us with an outstanding display of what athletes are capable of and no more so than in the world of the water and canoeing. Imagine going to a world class centre with top facilities, where Olympic canoeists train, and experiencing the amazing thrill of white water rafting.
You may not be an Olympic athlete but you can tell your friends and family that you went out there and achieved your own gold standard, even if it was not quite an Olympic medal. White water rafting may be termed an extreme sport and you might be tempted to think it is only for the extremely courageous or dare devil types. However, with a little prior know how and learning you can become competent enough to have a go and truly enjoy yourself. At a good world class centre, such as exists in the North East of England, you can soon begin to gain experience. Safety aspects are important and with professionals at the venue, and a strong reputation, this should not put fear in your way.
As a novice, it may be a good idea to take a closer look at some of the techniques before starting out as this will help to raise confidence levels. As with a lot of sports there is terminology and jargon that is specific to the activity. Once you have mastered some of these, your confidence will automatically rise as you feel more comfortable with the scene.
The first 'stroke' to learn is what is known as the push stroke which will propel the raft forward. To achieve this, you have to place the blades in the water in front of you, and then position your hands near to your chest. You then stretch your arms in a forward movement. If you want to move backwards, you simply place the blades in the water behind you and then you stretch your arms forward, followed by pulling your hands toward you. This is not as difficult as it sounds and a good instructor will take you through the routine until you manage by yourself.
To turn the raft around, you need to begin with both blades in the water, and then you push on one oar while pulling on the other. If you do this at the same time, the raft will turn towards the direction of the oar that is stroking backwards. Have a go and enjoy the learning.
Zoe Robinson is an enthusiastic writer in the subject matter of white water rafting.. Find more information about white water rafting today.
No comments:
Post a Comment