It’s no secret that adventure sports, whitewater included, generally have more male participants than female participants. When you start to paddle Class IV and Class V, you may show up to a put in and see no women at all. Why is this? Do women tend to be more risk averse? Is it the machismo culture that often accompanies the higher level paddling? Or do women believe they can’t because they don’t have the opportunity to see other women doing class 4 and class 5?
According to the Outdoor Foundation’s 2019 Special Report on Paddlesports (I was unable to find any studies more recent), 36% of whitewater kayakers are women. The study also suggests that the 36% becomes smaller as you climb up towards Class IV and Class V, which is evident when you arrive at the put-in for rivers like the Cheoah, the Gauley, or the Russell Fork. However, over the past five years, whitewater has grown in popularity and participation. I wonder what the current demographics look like?
It is so rare to paddle with a group of only women, but it feels special every time. Now don’t get me wrong, I have a group of men that I love paddling with. I would not be the kayaker I am today without some of my male friends showing me new moves, or taking me down numerous Class IV and V rivers for the first time. But many of the days that stand out to me when I look back on my paddling career are the days that I paddled in all-lady groups, or was with some of my best women friends (and great men too) on the river. There is something special about paddling in a group of supportive, fun-loving, cool women on our favorite rivers.
Events like the Green River Takeover, or the Ocoee River Takeover, are awesome community building events. It is so easy to make friends who have similar goals, and who may be interested in paddling together after the takeover. After these events, networks have grown, and women have been represented in a positive light. Events like the Green River Takeover, which due to recent changes to the riverbed could be a different experience in the future, also allowed women who paddled Class II and III to see and meet women who paddled Class IV and V.
Seeing other women paddling harder whitewater, paddling harder whitewater with other women, or even paddling your home run that is well within your comfort zone with your women friends, all lead to better representation for women in whitewater. We exist, we celebrate each other, and we can push each other to be our best selves and kayakers. Endless River Adventures has always had bad ass women who work here, starting with our co-founder Juliet. Today, we have multiple female instructors, who paddle Class IV and Class V on for fun.
We like to celebrate women and their accomplishments, which is why we are starting to offer women’s only progression clinics. These will be designed to help you meet goals of paddling certain rivers, making certain moves, and meeting other cool women who like to kayak the same rivers as you. We want you to leave these clinics feeling empowered to push yourself, and with a crew of women who will become each other’s biggest cheerleaders. We want you to have the option to paddle more challenging rivers with your group of women (and of course the boys too).
Check out our new Women’s Progression Series and help us build an even better community!