Volunteer Spotlight: Paddling Committee

With summer in full swing, we would like to highlight the Chapter's Paddling Committee. Led by Co-chairs Deb Weisenstein and Bonna Wieler, the Committee plans a variety of paddling activities in the warmer months of the year. The Paddling Committee's goals are to get people on the water, teach safe boating skills, and build a community of paddlers who enjoy the waterways of western MA and elsewhere. Our programs have been growing this year with outstanding leaders and new participants, including new leaders in the Albany area. We run training programs to teach basic flatwater and whitewater boating skills to kayakers and canoeists. This year's flatwater clinic was held on July 7 at Barton Cove in Gill, MA. A whitewater clinic for LGBTQ+ folks was held on the Deerfield River on June 27-28 and a beginner whitewater clinic for 20s/30s folks will be held July 18-19. Credit for these programs goes to AMC paddle leaders who have trained as paddling instructors with the American Canoe Association. The AMC 150 relay came through MA in late May, and we organized two paddling legs. One was on the Westfield River, linking AMC's Noble View Outdoor Center and the New England Trail. The other was 12 miles of the Connecticut River in Northampton with our partner organization All Out Adventures. A series of well-attended trips for LGBTQ+ whitewater paddlers on the Deerfield River Lower Fife Brook section happens monthly on Friday afternoons, May through September. And a new series of evening park-and-play whitewater sessions on the Tariffville section of the Farmington River is starting up. We have a women's flatwater paddle coming up July 24. Learn more about the Paddling Committee and find upcoming activities to join.