Kayaking

COACH

Larry Pearl, 410-526-5406, lrpearl@verizon.net

Special Olympics kayaking is a flat-water racing event where athletes compete over 200m and 500m courses, either on their own or as a pair with another athlete. Kayaking is one of the newest Special Olympics sports, requiring a basic foundation of skills in order to be safe and proficient. Effective strokes are powered by large muscle groups of the torso, not the arms. Modern kayaks come in a wide variety of designs and materials for specialized purposes. Special Olympics Kayaking events include the “tourist” division (using a standard touring kayak, stable, ideally suited for straight line paddling and readily available to event organizers to provide) and “professional” division (racing kayaks which are are longer and narrower and thus much faster, but which can also be more unstable).

Training Location- Piney Run Park, Liberty Road, Sykesville, MD