MACKFest Creeking Clinic

The popular creeking clinic is back this year, with options for both Kayakers and Solo Canoeists. The creeking clinic is designed to provide participants with a guided experience to get to know and explore the river, to build confidence in paddling narrow and steeper rapids, paddling in cold temperatures at the start of the season and explore the limits of their comfort zones in a safe and supportive setting.

New this year, clinics will be limited to a maximum of 8 participants for a 1:4 ratio of instructors to participants. Guided by feedback and experience from previous years, we are adjusting the clinic’s prerequisites and will be vetting for intermediate level paddlers who are experienced in class 3 and are keen to explore or refine their abilities on class 4 drops and push themselves towards more advanced paddling.

The clinic takes place over the entire river run where we will warm up our bodies and prepare our minds, review and refine foundational skills, and practice basic maneuvers to inspire confidence. Heading downriver, we’ll pick apart the class 2 and 3 rapids, try more challenging line options, scout and dissect the class 4 rapids, while building awareness and self-regulation. Instructors will provide safety, consult on line choices, celebrate walking rapids, and help expand participants’ comfort zones. We’ll cover the creeking essentials like the boof stroke, running slides and drops, eddy catching on the fly, using river features and read-and-run paddling among other skills. Our goal is to inspire confidence and good decision making so participants leave with an expanded comfort zone and stronger technique.

We’re really looking forward to helping build confidence and competency in low volume, highway 7 run creeking styles!

Expectations of participants: 

Instruction will take place throughout the river run, and is suited to experienced class 3 intermediate paddlers looking to build confidence and skills in class 3 and explore class 4 drops. Participants must have cold-immersion gear (dry suit preferred), a consistent combat roll (for kayak), confidence in class III and a willingness to challenge themselves and implement coaches’ feedback. Participants will be asked to provide paddling references or footage to ensure a good fit for the style and difficulty of the run.

Kayak Demo Boats:

Between Paddler Co-op and Frontenac Outfitters, there’s a pretty sweet fleet of demo boats to be tried. If you’re interested in trying one out on the clinic, let us know and we’ll get in touch with sizes and availability. We have a selection of the latest Dagger and Jackson boats to offer! Demos will be first-come first-served.

Instructor Bios

• Ryan O’Connor (Head Coach):  Ryan’s experience and instructional expertise is second to none when it comes to diagnosing and refining technique, building confidence in paddlers and addressing the mental game, as well as breaking down skills into digestible, bite-sized pieces that are practical and applicable. Some of his accreditations are ORCKA Moving Water Canoe and Kayak level 3 (advanced) Instructor and Instructor Trainer, River Rescue Instructor and North American Whitewater Open Canoe Championships silver medalist.