Summer School at the WWC
The U.S. National Whitewater Center opened in Charlotte, N.C., in 2006, with two established goals: provide a world class training facility for American athletes participating in the Olympic discipline of canoe slalom and to provide a unique boating course for public recreation.
This summer the WWC provided both training and play for several Club members. In one week in mid-July Michael and Emily Merletto participated in a Novice kayaking course held there. At the same time, Connor Cole took an Intermediate kayak course with assistance from his wingman and dad, Stan Cole. We asked them to share their experiences.
Back in January, a large group of paddlers were braving the 40-degree weather to enjoy the yearly Mighty Mayo Trip, orchestrated by Joe Berry. We had a varied and rambunctious crew, dry suited to the max. One young man enjoying the day was Connor Cole. It was a coming out party of sorts for him, a time when his paddling skills started receiving notice. Instructor and blogger, Pete Beck, was on the trip, paddling and shooting video and like always, on the look out for new talent. Connor caught his attention and after each of the paddlers made their coup de grace drops over the Boiling Hole, one of the last rapids on the run, Pete took Connor aside and offered some tips. Pete knows how to hype a moment, how to boost a young paddler but he is also solid on fundamentals and delivery. He showed how to boof: leaning forward, knees up, elbows down, paddle ready to brace. Pete also explained how to run Boiling Hole to catch the left eddy more easily and with style. Connor, with Stan close by, responded. Connor isn’t flashy or talkative but he is alert, focused and receptive. Pete gave a quick demonstration of boofing by pushing Connor off the ledge beside Boiling Hole, with Stan at the ready with his camera. This is the shot.
Connor Cole styling the Boiling Hole.
Photo by Stan Cole
I asked Connor about the moment and he said, “I remember it was a cold day and I was wearing my dry suit. I remember having almost no nerves at all, and I felt very confident.” Afterwards, Pete counseled Stan about Connor’s skill and passion and predicted there would be more moments like this in the future. For this article, Connor shared, “I enjoy paddling with my dad, because I get to spend more time with him. Because he has the same passion for kayaking that I do, that allows me to kayak more. Though I really like to push myself and sometimes I am not allowed to because he is worried about my safety even though I am careful, and I understand that because I am his son. I just wish I could ramp things up and make it more challenging.”
Connor Cole (center) with other young Intermediates.
So, here’s Connor at the WWC, in an Intermediate class. The year before his dad had noticed him surfing and catching eddies in a rec kayak on a family trip to the South Fork New River. Stan asked Connor if he was interested in whitewater kayaking, and sometime later Santa delivered a coupon for a Beginner’s class at the WWC for the following summer. Stan said he’d shown Connor some fundamentals while paddling the Eno and New rivers but it was really his enthusiasm that made further instruction a good path. The Beginners class went well and Connor was itching for more this year.
Emily and Michael hearing the day’s objectives.
Emily and Michael Merletto live on a beautiful farm in Chatham County, practically within spitting distance of the Rocky River. Michael caught the bug for paddling about a year ago and was lucky enough to have a brother in law who coached him on the gear to buy and the skills to acquire. Emily had taken a whitewater course in Ecuador during college and later guided flatwater trips around Wilmington while in school. She felt comfortable on sedate rivers but hadn’t experienced whitewater much in years.
Michael was starting to feel his way into the Triangle river scene, doing solo paddles on low-water upper Haw and Rocky sections and then stepping up to Lower Haw runs. Knowing local rivers tend to shut down during the summer, Michael considered attending a class at the White Water Center. The CCC offered spring classes but his schedule didn’t sync with any of these. So Mike brought the class idea to Emily and she was intrigued. They had paddled flatwater together a little, borrowing her parent’s kayaks. Emily thought a joint class would be fun and help to raise her skills so paddling together would be more of a fit. They signed up in February to take the class in July.
Emily and Mike paddled a few times together, on the Middle Haw to get acclimated and allow Emily to get used to her new boat, a Katana 9.7. Meanwhile, Connor was getting aggressive in his preparation, trying to paddle harder rivers. A big opportunity came at Week of Rivers. Stan and Connor were able to spend several days there, paddling Nantahala, Tuck, FB9 and the Upper Pigeon. Connor wanted to do more. At this point, Stan and Connor wondered if doing the Intermediate course at WWC would be challenging enough. The criteria for taking the Advanced course was completing the Intermediate and/or having extensive experience in Class III water. By now, Connor was advancing quickly but reinforcing learned skills is important and his boat control in the WWC pushy water would benefit.
There was one other agenda on Connor’s mind. He had been paddling a Remix creek boat but wanted something more agile. The WWC would allow him to practice with a more demanding boat and to make mistakes in a safe arena.
The logistics of a weeklong course are always a concern. Stan needed to keep up with his day job, which is done mostly virtually. Staying with a nearby relative wasn’t an option at this time so they decided to set up at a campground in the McDowell Nature Preserve, about 30 minutes from WWC. Stan and Connor could go to the WWC in the morning, run a few laps and then go about their days, Connor on the water and Stan on the laptop at a picnic area. Emily and Michael have a daughter but they also have nearby family who were happy to host the granddaughter for the week. Michael took vacation from his job working in the control room of Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant and Emily appreciated the break from her farming duties. They also looked forward to some couples time together in a different city.
The classes ran Monday through Friday. Connor’s class was pretty large and varied in skill level so the instructors split them into two groups for some exercises. Connor was put in an Axiom, a half slice boat he was eager to try.
Connor feeling the edge in a half slice boat.
The students quickly learned the course was not a matter of running the Instructional, Wilderness and Competition lines as quickly as possible but more of a routine of working on ferries, surfing and eddying-the bread and butter of paddling. Instructors stressed the repetition while introducing additional challenges, like running more unusual lines, or hitting boof opportunities.
Students were encouraged to test their boats more, to improve their form, to embrace the basics. During this time, Connor noticed another young paddler, perhaps the smallest person in the class, who was a skilled and adventurous paddler. His new friend was aptly named, River. River and Connor began pushing each other and both benefitted from the new friendship and encouragement.
Meanwhile, Michael and Emily were just up the channel, doing much of the same: catching eddies, learning to surf, working on edging their boats. Both Emily and Michael opted to stay with their own boats rather than use a WWC supplied one. They wanted to build confidence and capability with boats they would use in the near future.
Emily learns her own boat
An early emphasis by their instructors was breaking down bad habits. Earlier in the year Michael had injured a shoulder while practicing rolls. One instructor had a similar injury history and he helped Michael to improve his roll, resulting in his first combat roll. Emily started out saying she didn’t want to roll and finished the week rolling well. The class was conducted in the “challenge by choice,” method, no one is commanded to try anything new or intimidating but the opportunities were there and the encouragement was supportive.
One thing Emily, Connor and Michael agreed on was the quality, compassion and professionalism of the instructors. Michael liked the way different instructors explained similar actions; if he couldn’t quite follow one’s viewpoint, he usually could another’s. He also found them receptive when he wanted to learn more challenging lines.
Michael taking notes.
Emily appreciated the gentle nudges the instructors gave to encourage the students out of their normal zone while respecting when the student didn’t want to go try a particular move.
Instructor evaluates Emily’s eddy out
Everyone also agreed the White Water Center is hard work. Paddling and working on skills requires energy. The water is warm, the temps high and the sun quickly sucks moisture from the body. For paddlers running the entire Wilderness and Competition courses, there is a handy elevator that glides boaters and boats up to the top, fresh and ready for another round, but for those only doing the Instructional channel, a good deal more boat hauling is involved. Every time a paddler completes the Instructional, the boat must be pulled out just above or below the confluence and then carried back to the top. Much of the fatigue is from this portaging. Michael and Emily admitted this was not an easy vacation, not a day sunning on the beach. They had plans for exploring Charlotte at night but by the end of the day they were tuckered and ready for food, rest and air conditioning. Connor, too, young and relentless as he is, was pretty well spent by the end of the week, his fair face taking on pinkness despite generous applications of sun block.
Still our paddle warriors had one last campaign. For the final day the Novice group went to the Saluda area in the NC mountains to paddle the Lower Green River, a pleasant, inviting river with small rapids. Emily and Michael really enjoyed being away from the concrete and in a natural environment where paddling can be soothing and restorative. Connor’s Intermediates stayed at WWC the entire camp but frequently paddled the entire Wilderness run after class. River and Connor had become a team and Stan felt having this interaction made the week more enjoyable for both of them. Their graduation ceremony, of sorts, came on Big Water Thursday night. At this time, the WWC alternately shuts down one channel then the other, sending the full flow through one channel at a time, effectively doubling the size of water features. Stan ably describes how this transforms the Wilderness channel:
“Sunset became a channel wide wave/hole. The instructional channel was one giant whirlpool. Mwave became even bigger and even more critical to catch the shoulder of the rapid, and the back side of that channel became what appeared to be wave after wave extending 5 more waves after biscuits and gravy where normally most of the action ended.”
The big water shocked River and Connor but they took the challenge, using all the new skills and confidence they had acquired during the week. It was exhausting but they ran it again. And again. After three times they were done. Stan, having already paddled the channel many times during the week, decided to sit Big Water out and enjoy watching the young fellows.
Any regrets from the week at the White Water Center? Emily would have enjoyed spending two days on the Lower Green. Connor wanted to do the harder Competition channel but only the Advanced course takes that Class IV beast on. Michael seemed the most content, improving his basic skills and eager for more. More is in store for all the paddlers. Emily wants to try the local rivers in bigger water but with experienced groups. Michael wants to try some more exotic moves on familiar waters and then venture onto new rivers. Michael also wants to go back to WWC to work with one of the same class instructors and perhaps take the Intermediate course next year. Emily is interested in the CCC classes. Connor has a list: Upper Green, Upper Nantahala, Middle Ocoee, Wilson Creek.
Stan learned a lot too, as a paddler and a paddler’s parent. He loves seeing Connor’s interest, but, “He wants to paddle tougher water and rivers that I am not comfortable with him paddling yet. We have worked through that by pursuing more of a half slice type boat so that he can play and learn in more reasonable water. This will allow him to improve his skills, expand what he does on our local runs, and challenge himself more without introducing more risky water needlessly. He has also discussed taking the WWC advanced course next year.”
Yes, Connor has a new boat.
We’ll end on Connor. Not to take anything away from him but I mentioned to a friend who is a very experienced paddler that I knew this 12-year-old who is really good and progressing rapidly. The friend said, “All 12-year-olds who paddle regularly are very good. They are tireless and have great balance and no sense of fear.” Well, maybe. I asked Connor if he could foresee a time when he might be teaching his dad new tricks. His response, “Yes, I feel like I am surpassing him and, I hope to teach him if he listens to me.”
So, may we all listen and learn.
By Alton Chewning
WWC photos by Alton Chewning. Additional photography by Stan Cole.