Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Racing Team focused on safety during summer camps

As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to alter everyday life, Gig Harbor’s Canoe and Kayak Racing Team paddles on.

And in August, the club welcomes new faces to Skansie Park each week.

Aside from scheduled practices for the competitive paddlers, a summer camp designed for beginners began Aug. 3.

The five-day camps provide fifteen children between the ages of nine and thirteen with the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of canoe, kayak, and racing-tailored boats.

But like the practices for the competitive team that take place alongside the camps, an array of safety measures are in place, including the adherence to Governor Inslee’s mask mandate in public places.

Paddlers are required to wear masks on land, docks, and even in their single-rider boats, where social distancing is in effect.

“We’re pumping a lot of hand sanitizer every time they touch a different piece of equipment,” Coach Alyson Morse said. “We wipe down (boats and paddles) with Lysol wipes where they’re touched, (both) in between the groups when they’re at lunch and when the (day) is over.”

It’s a busy day at Skansie Park for the summer camp paddlers, with activities packed into a three-hour window from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday is the introductory day, with paperwork for the parents and name-learning games for the kids and coaches.

By Thursday, racing boats are in rotation among three groups of five paddlers, and by the end of the week, some campers decide to join the team’s development program, pending approval from both parents and coaches.

“Our first week of camp produced ten kiddos on our development team,” Morse said. “There were ten kids out of the fifteen that, one, were ready by the coach’s word, and two, were interested enough, and their parents agreed. It takes both sides.”

The final day of each camp includes a mini tour of the harbor’s landmarks, which welcomes campers into the team’s tradition.

In Morse’s words, it’s a family welcoming.

“My favorite part of taking the kids out on the water is showing them the landmarks of the harbor,” Morse said. “The bat caves, the lighthouse… (the kids) are welcomed into our family at that point. This is our tradition and these are really cool spots. Showing them the tradition, I think, is my favorite part.”

Though four weeks of camps were initially in the cards, the club canceled week three, slated to start Aug. 17, due to lack of registration.

The club gave paddlers registered for that week’s camp the opportunity to reserve spots for the fourth and final week of camp, with spots still available at the time of writing.

As for the competitive team, practices continue on a normal schedule, despite cancellations for all races through September.

The GHCKRT still plans to host the Gig Harbor Paddlers Cup on Oct. 3 and 4, a race originally slated for April.

Since the team returned to practicing in mid-June, no paddlers have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Morse.

“The youngest of the kiddos have actually been performing quite well,” Morse said. “The break off the water was hard for them. They were nervous at first because they thought they’d be slower. But they came back, and they all grew a bunch, and they all were just ready to go hard. They’ve been performing quite well and having a lot of fun despite the safety precautions.”

Between both practices and summer camps, Morse says the paddlers follow health regulations consistently and respectfully.

“I’m very pleased with how the kiddos are reacting,” Morse said. “They’re not begrudging. They’re just fine wearing their masks.”

With social distancing, groups are limited to five paddlers at the summer camps, meaning more beneficial one-on-one time with coaches and mentors.

There’s just one catch.

“Honestly, the smaller groups might be better for them,” Morse said. “The coaches have a better handle on what’s happening.

“On land, our games are just not as fun. The games aren’t a big group and we can’t learn everyone’s name at once, so it takes a couple extra days for everyone to get to know each other.”

This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 6:00 AM.