2013 was a huge year for the ladies of Girls at Play. Headed by former member of the Canadian Freestyle Whitewater Kayak Team, Anna Levesque, these members had the opportunity to travel across the globe and experience some amazing water (that we might be a little jealous of). Here is their recap:
"Girls at Play is wrapping up a fantastic season of instruction filled with paddling at all levels from kayak trips in Costa Rica to Southeast steep creeking to beginner and kids classes. We love what we do and are so inspired and energized by all of the women and girls we got to paddle with at all levels! Here are our favorite highlights.
We started off 2013 in the warm sunshine and clear waters of the Sarapiqui and Pacuare rivers in Costa Rica. Our favorite part of Costa Rica is the overnight trip where we get to stay at Jungle Camp and enjoy fresh tropical fruit, yoga, outdoor showers and falling asleep to the sounds of the river.
In April we ran two creek weeks taking advantage of the abundance of amazing Class IV rivers within an hour of Asheville, NC. This was the first year that we did instruction on the bottom five rapids of the Green River Narrows and the ladies rocked it! Not only was it a good challenge for our students, but also for our instructors who set safety and demoed the lines.
The rest of our season unfolded beautifully with beginner and intermediate clinics as well as a lot of private instruction on the French Broad and Green Rivers. The rain and high water made the beginner runs friendlier for all levels and more interesting for intermediate paddlers.
This year was the first in many that we didn’t spend a lot of time on the road traveling except for our favorite women’s paddling event – Women’s Fest at Bearpaw Outdoors in WI. Anna traveled to teach kayaking and yoga at the event, which was a huge success with over 20 women participating!
Ladies on the Lower G, our annual fundraiser for AW at the Gauley, was a big success even with the very high water. Paddlers came from all over the country to raise money for AW and honor the life of our friend Shannon Christy with the theme ‘you are beautiful.’ It was one of our most inspiring trips on and off the water.
In October we ran our very first girls program for students from Hanger Hall school. We had a great time and we look forward to launching girls programs in 2014!
Next up for us is our trip to Nepal in November! We are so excited to launch this trip in conjunction with Whitewater Adventures Nepal. In addition to paddling the Balephi Khola, Sun Kosi and Tamur Rivers, we’ll also be diving into local culture and visiting temples and Buddhist monasteries.
And then…. We do it all over again in 2014 even better!!"
To be a part of, or learn more about Girls At Play, click the link below:
http://www.watergirlsatplay.com/
