Will Freestyle go Main Stream?

I don't know of any out that way. We're working on a symposium in Wisconsin for next year, but that's not much closer to you than the one in Ohio, Sept 16-18.
 
Maybe Stephen Colbert spoke in jest on Freestyle Canoeing….but it certainly has brought attention to this amazing display of paddling….but I'm not sure about his remark: the high octane man vs. nature vs. show tunes vs human attention span action?!?!?....or as Colbert states: "That is what is killing the Broadway musical. Not enough small craft boating"?!?!?....I’m not sure about Freestyle Canoeing replacing NFL football….although I do love the idea of Monday Night Paddle Dancing!!!!! As long as they don’t permit tackling….no body contact….no boarding of opposing canoes….or anybody getting hit over the head with a paddle….well almost nobody:

humour - Copy - Copy - Copy.jpg

Freestyle is not that big up in Canada....at least not in Ontario....but we have Canadian Style paddling (or Omering as it's called south of the border)....and Canadian Style paddling (CSP) lends itself to canoe ballets or dances (just check out any of the YouTube videos of Becky Mason, like the one with her husband Reid McLachlan at WCHA Assembly 2008 in Peterborough....or Rolf Kraiker....or Kim Gass's demo of CSP at a Freestyle competition)....and I think it's safe to say that Freestyle grew out of Canadian Style paddling

And watching Karen Knight or Marc Ornstein is watching poetry in motion....Jonathan Hammond too....as mentioned, several great Freestyle videos on YouTube.

Paddles up until later then….whether Freestyle or Canadian style….but come to think of it, can you imagine a league of competing paddling dances????….the Canadian Style Paddling League vs. the Freestyle Canoeing League????….represented by teams of paddlers from both sides of the border competing for a trophy????….the Golden Paddle Award???? Becky Mason vs. Karen Knight???? Reid McLachlan and Rolf Kraiker vs. Marc Ornstein and Jonathan Hammond???? It might prove to be as interesting as the Stanley Cup final between Boston and Vancouver. And my money would be on Canadian team. After all we have our own style!!!!!
 
Last edited:
It might prove to be as interesting as the Stanley Cup final between Boston and Vancouver. And my money would be on Canadian team. After all we have our own style!!!!!

Perhaps not a good idea.
On the chance that Canadia might lose (inevitable) there would be mass riots and good canoes would be torched.
 
Perhaps not a good idea.
On the chance that Canadia might lose (inevitable) there would be mass riots and good canoes would be torched.

Only if Andre gets involved....he's the resident canoe bonfire builder (a la Killbear Paddlers Rendezvous).
 
"a league of competing paddling dances????….the Canadian Style Paddling League vs. the Freestyle Canoeing League???"

Don't leave out the European League... Kringelfieber is their annual event. This could become a truly worldwide competition... imagine the Summer Olympics...
 
YES! I will do FreeStyle in the Paddle By and incur the wrath of the paddling team that follows me. When I played that in Peterborough the guy behind me got teed off and said that I was breaking the rules: canoes should always go straight.

So if you are behind a Loon Works Aria color red.. I will spin in front of you and reverse stroke out of your way. No need to worry. Maybe I can get Pam Wedd to team up with me. Paired solo terrorists! Tom Mac will be at the Loon Works booth and that in itself is so wonderful a reconnection to be made.

You see I have full control of a solo boat. FreeStyle is just for narrower boats where we can work cross sides. It is a derivative of Canadian Style( where you cannot work both sides due to the width of the boat). Its not about music and showmanship for most of us. Its about precise boat control. While we can all handle our boats to millimeter tolerances...some of that high kneel stuff is just not pretty for most of us. Kinda like planting the whole ham hock on the counter.

Those Canadians are slow to coming around to shrinking their boats in the dryer. I sometimes go by the moniker littleredcanoe.There is a story there.. Becky Mason always did her demo at Maine Canoe Symposium before me in a long red boat. So she was red canoe.. Well I was always put in the lineup right after her ..for many years.. Her boat was 18 foot.Mine was 13. Usually I got a laugh out of the early morning crowd by stating that "this is what you get when you put Becky's boat in the clothes dryer".

Anywhoo..its about control and not acting..for most of us. Kudos to Marc who is now trying to figure out how to avoid paparrazzi and has a personal servant preparing food in his Tab teardrop trailer!

Adirondack FreeStyle Symposium is going to be right down the road in Ray Brook NY.It will be going on the Wed and Thurs of the Assembly( it actually starts the Monday before) so if you are passing through route 86 between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, pull off at Sherwood Forest Motor Inn..That's right across from Tail O the Pup. Come say Hi and meet some fellow paddlers of solo boats.

We do have an exhibition in Mirror Lake (town of Lake Placid ) Thursday night.

BTW I have some pretty cool Reid artwork to share..in private.

FreeStyle IS mainstream..Ignore the poses (though they have a role in the physics of the canoe's response). Look at the sequence of paddle movements. And pay attention to boat heel and bow weighting..no matter how the person does it.
 
Just as an aside, there will be a canoe ballet demo at the National Canoe Day celebration in Peterborough, Ontario next Saturday (June 25th) put on by ORCKA....in Canadian Style Paddling not Freestyle though....BTW, looking forward to seeing some of the WCHA's Northern Lakes chapter there.
 
"Curious as to the time that the exhibition will be in Mirror Lake and exactly where to go to watch?"

The Mirror Lake exhibition will be at 7:30 Thursday evening, though I have no idea exactly where... Never been there before, but will be there this year, as well as going to Assembly. Maybe Kim can chime in again? I'll see if I can get directions.
 
Macky, no worries....if you're picking up the Minetta maybe you'll have time to take in the Canoe Museum while you're up here. I'm even available to act as a 'tour guide' if you like.
 
Directions to the Mirror Lake Freestyle Exhibition, from Paul Smith's College:
From Paul Smith's gate, drive East, then South on NYS Rt 86 into Saranac Lake. Follow Rt 86 South through Saranac Lake, then ~8 miles East to Lake Placid. NYS 86 becomes Saranac Avanue in Lake Placid and turns South, right, on Main Street at Mirror Lake in Lake Placid. Proceed South ~ 1/2 mile to the Y at the US Post Office. Veer left onto Parkside Drive. Park as possible on Parkside or Mirror Lake Drive.

The FreeStyle Exhibition will be at the beach on the South, Mirror Lake Drive, end of Mirror Lake at 7pm Thursday evening. Folding lawn chairs recommended.
 
Back
Top