Denver Area Gets New Affordable Teen Kayaking Club
This spring will bring the creation of a new unique and affordable opportunity for teens in the Denver Metro Area! Confluence Teen Kayaking Club is creating a not-for-profit club that will provide a safe, encouraging environment for teens to learn the fun sport of kayaking at a very low shared cost.
This Club will be a volunteer-run and safe opportunity for teens ages 12 to 18 to get together at least once a week to learn and practice kayaking. The sport of kayaking is a highly enjoyable and relatively easy to learn for beginners, and it provides avenues for greater fitness and health, building self confidence, positive individual and team interaction, along with an inherent ethic of water conservation and environmental education. Colorado teens typically love it! The Club will also help the teens learn more about Denver’s public transportation system (envisioning that a lot of the teens will take the bus and/or light rail to the Market Street Station, thereby reducing the need for dependence on parents for transportation), along with teaching them club organizational and fund raising skills with mentorship from responsible adults. Parent involvement is encouraged but not mandatory.
The Club is sponsored by Confluence Kayaks, a retail and instructional boating store on Platte Street in Denver that will help provide meeting space and club insurance, get the word out to their clientele, and identify experienced instructors. They have also offered to provide some equipment for instruction and use by teens that are interested in starting this sport but may not have their own equipment. Their shop is located just across the way from the kayaking area on the Platte River in Confluence Park, providing an ideal location for this Club’s base.
An informational and organizational meeting will be held at Confluence Kayaks, 1615 Platte St., 303-433-3676, on February 22nd, and the Club will meet on Wednesday nights at Confluence Park from 4:30 to 7 pm, April to October. Volunteer experienced kayak instructors are also needed. For more information call Teresa Penbrooke, Volunteer Club Coordinator at 303-870-3884 or email tgrafts@mindspring.com.
