Saturday, March 20, 2004

Rookie Racer Monday Nights tradition canoeing on the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis. The late Karl Ketter, a professor at the University of Minnesota, and Jeff Howe, an anesthesiologist at the University Hospital, practiced canoe racing together on Mondays in 1976. River Flats Park on the East Bank of the Mississippi River was the most convenient place for them to meet after work to paddle before the sun went down. Other canoe racers and would-be canoe racers joined them over the years. Now, 28 years later, men and women are still coming to Rookie Racer Monday Nights to practice canoe racing. Rain or shine, cold or hot, drought or flood, nothing stops them from paddling except thunder and lightning. After all, real canoe races are never canceled due to any kind of weather except lightning and that’s only because it would be bad publicity for the races if lightning killed a canoe racer. These days, Ketter Canoeing sponsors Rookie Racer Monday Nights by providing racing canoes and life jackets for free. Five to fifteen experienced canoe racers show up with their canoes and bent shaft paddles every Monday from spring ahead to fall back when the days are long enough. They come because they love the sport of canoe racing and want to get a good workout on the water, to work on their paddling technique, to practice riding other canoe wakes, and to share what they’ve learned with anyone who has an interest. After the paddling, you’re invited to dinner at the Lotus restaurant on Oak Street where you can hear stories of racers past and present and discuss the finer points of racing paddling techniques. Here are some of the names of experienced canoe racers who have volunteered their time at Rookie Racer Mondays in recent years: Tom Noles, Yuyudahn Hoppe, Kenn Ketter, Todd Ellison, Kjell Peterson, Al and Jeff Dubois, Pete and Chris Kolas, Keith Canny, Tom Gardner, Jered Clausen, Chuck Ryan, Warren Thunstrom, Joe Conrad, Deighen Blakely, Io Harberts, Cal Stenso-Velo, Jason and Stephanie Larson, Sara Kueffer, Kevin Shriver, Scott Richardson, Dave Dahl, Heather Cichanowski, Doug Berg, Lee Jarpy, Duane and Norm Strike, and Rick and Tony Lorenzen. As for the rookies, some people show up because they haven’t canoed before and don’t want to look foolish in front of their more experienced recreational canoeist friends. Some people show up to try bent shaft paddles or the sleeker racing canoes. Some people show up to learn more efficient paddling techniques for their recreational paddling even though it’s difficult to keep an open mind when your arms are programmed with years of J and C strokes. Some athletes show up because they have an upcoming triathlon that has canoeing as part of the race and they need to learn as much as they can in a few weeks. Rookie Racer Mondays is one of the only places in the world where you might see a 57 year old dairy farmer paddling a canoe with a 28-year-old woman doctor. Athletes, mothers, college students, doctors, and businessmen have all come together at the sandy edge of the Mississippi River. We share the mighty Mississippi River from the lock just below St. Anthony Falls to the Ford Parkway dam with river barges, paddlewheel showboats, racing sculls and their pace boats, a peregrine falcon nesting under a high bridge, geese, ducks, and beavers. Where else can you get free one-on-one instruction? What’s keeping you from enjoying the outdoors with us? For more information, visit the Minnesota Canoe Association website at www.canoe-kayak.org e-mail at racing@canoe-kayak.org Mondays Canoe Racing Technique Practice Tips Techniques to practice Speed and power are optional while working on technique. Focus on training your muscles to move properly. This lets have time to de-program any bad habits and re-program with more efficient motion. Rotate your shoulders to increase your paddle reach without leaning forward from the waist. This allows you to involve more torso muscles and reduce strain on arm muscles. Slower cadence with a quicker recovery to get the paddle back into the water fast. The paddle should be in the water longer than it’s in the air. This also helps you to maintain stable in rough conditions. Slice the paddle sideways on exiting and entering the water. This reduces drag. Paddle parallel to the canoe’s centerline. This increases efficiency. Make sure you’re both aiming for the same target. If you are steering for different targets, you are fighting each other and reducing the speed of the canoe. Talk about it with each other. New racers Work on technique going downstream and save your strength for the upstream leg. Focus on 1 or 2 things only and re-program your muscles to this unfamiliar motion. Watch and imitate the experienced racers and listen to how they describe the proper motion. Warn the other paddlers as you approach them from behind so their paddle doesn’t get caught and or broken on the front of your canoe. Usually we say "Watch your paddle!" whenever that happens. Ask questions if anything doesn’t make sense. We really want to share what we’ve learned. Help with the canoe afterwards in lifting it back on the vehicle but leave the knot tying to the owner as a matter of etiquette. Experienced racers Work on improving your technique too (almost everyone needs more rotation and quicker recovery) Practice riding canoe wakes and passing canoes with a less experienced partner. Circle back if your canoe passes everyone for a better workout and to share more of your knowledge. Remind your partner to work on technique without speed or power on the downstream leg. Teach the draw and sweep on the way downstream so they can use them on the upstream leg. Give them time to think. Try letting them switch sides at their own pace on the downstream leg. Say as many positive things as possible to your partner because it’s uncomfortable learning a new skill. Were they motivated to learn? Did they do anything right? Invite your partner to come back and remind them that they’ll get a different partner next time. Tricks that might be helpful If your canoe feels tippy: Put rocks in the bottom of the canoe for a lower center of gravity and keep your paddle in the water longer each stroke for more control. Slow the pace or frequency of your strokes and speeding the recovery to get the paddle back into the water quicker. Try sitting on a 2 or 3 foot diameter rubber ball for practice.     http://groups.msn.com/MinnesotaCanoeRacers/mondaytechniquenight.msnw 6:24:29 PM    comment []