Jordan Pilon completes 50-km Catalina Crossing
Jordan Pilon was the youngest Canadian paddler to race in this year’s Catalina Crossing, a 50-km outrigger canoe race held last weekend between Santa Catalina Island and Newport Beach, California.
Photo: Jordan Pilon (second from left)
Pilon (17) was selected to the Ocean River Paddling Club’s open mens’ team for his diverse paddling experience and skills. As a member of Victoria Youth Paddling Club, Pilon has risen through provincial ranks in sprint kayak racing over the past three years to achieve PacificSport Bronze Card status. In 2008, he competed at the World Outrigger Sprint Championships, and he continues to excel in both sprint kayak and outrigger racing.
The Catalina Crossing is considered one of the foremost outrigger races in North America, and it serves as the US Outrigger Championships. It is a unique race involving in-water changes of paddlers.
About outrigger change racing
Each team consists of 9 paddlers, but only 6 are in the canoe at any given time. When not in the canoe, paddlers recover in an escort boat until their next racing shift. These long-distance races are actually a series sprint and recovery cycles with paddlers typically racing for 20-30 minutes, and recovering for 10-15 minutes. A change race generally takes 4-6 hours to complete.
A “drop” involves paddlers jumping out of the escort boat and lining up while the canoe approaches. A “change” happens while the canoe is in motion and paddlers in the canoe exit, and paddlers in the water enter. Considerable strength and frequent practice is required for efficient changes.
Outrigger opportunities for youth
Victoria Youth Paddling Club will be running an outrigger skills course in October. It's open to both novice and intermediate level paddlers ages 13-17. Participants will receive specialized coaching in both OC6 and small boats, twice per week during the month of October. The cost is $80/person. Register online at www.vypc.ca
| Link | http://www.socaloutrigger.org/ |
|---|---|
| Category | Other |
| Club | Victoria Youth Paddling Club |
| Posted | September 18, 2009 06:03 by Jaden |