Winter is here, and that means all manner of kayak pool sessions. There are at least four I can think of in the NYC area, and I’m pretty sure I’m forgetting at least two. I got invited along to two on the same day, because hey – this cowgirl is popular. Despite icy sidewalks and a numbing winter’s rain, I made it downtown by 0830 to catch the carpool (poolcar?) to the first session, put on by New York Kayak Polo, in a small community college in Jersey City, NJ.
Kayak Polo, commonly known as canoe polo in some parts of the world, is pretty much what it sounds like: polo, but played in kayaks. Simplified versions get played in camps and clubs, often in whitewater boats, but it’s a discipline of its own, with its own kind of boat, reversible PFDS (to make team-matching easier on the fly) and faceguards over the helmets.
It’s as insane to describe as it sounds to the non-paddling laity.The idea is, you are in large swimming pool, lined up as two teams of 4-5 players with substitutes, and the teams compete to lob a ball into a goal on either end of the pitch. You can only hold the ball for five seconds before either passing or dribbling – which means tossing the ball forward and paddling after it. You cannot paddle and hold the ball.
![Kayak Polo 2015](http://www.kayakcowgirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2015-pool-1024x768.jpg)
It’s an exciting game and it really got the cowgirl’s blood flowing after two weeks of being down and out with an awful, coughing cold. I even managed to make a goal! I am thankful for my friend who nudged me to go when I considered backing out. I met up with other people in the community whom I haven’t seen in ages, including D&O, two friends I made last summer on a trip to Sedge Island.
They were heading up to an afternoon pool program not far from where I live, so I took them up on an offer to go along and have some fun there. It’s a more open-ended program, where we get to practice on our own a bit before instructing newcomers. So, I worked a bit on my rolls, and also took a shot at learning a hand roll. I have a long way to go on that. But, I’m happy to say, I managed hanging draws in whitewater boats with a Greenland paddle. I found it a lot easier to slice forward than with a euro blade.
That was easily twice as much paddling as I intended for the day, and coupled with a brief jaunt the day before, I was plumb tuckered by Monday. So 2015 is off to a good start. As slack as I’ve felt, I’ve kept paddling, at least once a week on average.
[…] went to my second session of kayak polo last night. I mentioned my first in an earlier post on pool sessions. I’d meant to go this morning, but when they added another “Saturday Social”, I […]