[quote:4afa5a3814="kayaker0678"]girls can rip just like the guys the river is the ultimate equalizer.


it will thrash you the same if you are girl guy black white green or yelllow[/quote:4afa5a3814]

Amen. Check out the 04 and 05 ir big gun show female winner for some CRAZY
air.

I just got back from Ecuador a few weeks ago and am thrilled to report that the female guests outnumbered the male guests by 1. There were five guest and if you count the 3 guides then the male to female ratio was exactly even! It was great being on a trip with more women than just myself. I can definitely see where our "caution" slowed things down a bit. When we stopped to scout a rapid most of the guys jumped out, took a look and were ready to go. We women however, congregated together, scrutinized the river for every available option. After finally choosing our line we then picked out the areas most likely to give us trouble and decided what option B would be if we did indeed run into trouble in those areas. After going through that process we finally felt secure and hopped back into our boats and had great runs. Occasionally, I would miss a move and was always glad that when it happened I already knew what I would do to correct myself and get back on line.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip. We had a great group dynamic. I left that trip sort of thinking of women as the cheerleaders of a group. It's natural for us to always want to offer support. When anyone had a great run or pulled off an awesome move it was all whoops and cheers from the girls. And gentlemen, if the trip was an indication of prevailing male attitudes, then you guys are on the right track. On the very last rapid one of the guides offered to take myself and one of the guys down a bigger wave train to punch through a huge wave hole. Now, I've surfed a couple of holes, but this thing swallowed me. I did know enough to make sure I was on the right edge, but after that my mind was filled with one emotion only--FEAR! Looking back now, I laugh, but at the time I was terrified so much that I actually didn't breathe the whole time I was side surfing and tumbling around in the hole. I was out of breath before I went over. After hitting a few rock and getting twisted all around while upside down, it didn't take long to rip off that skirt and get the heck out of the boat.

My guide was right there and had me and my boat in an eddy in no time. I was shaken up to the point of tears and embarrassed that I had panicked and swam without even trying to roll. Instead of allowing me to berate myself he just started laughing and telling me how awesome I was for giving it a go in the first place. He reminded me that a year ago he wouldn't even have asked me if I'd like to try it, and that even if he had I would probably have declined. He was very supportive and by the time we had paddle the last 100 yards of the rapid I was feeling a bit better about myself.

Keep up the work guys! There may not be many of us women out there, but our numbers are increasing and we really do like paddling with you!

Nicole

Hey,

I used to be just about the only female paddler in my club. Now, although the club is still dominated by men, most of the up and coming paddlers are female. That said, we're all teenage. There remains only three adult female paddlers in the entire club... On the other hand, all the coaching I've had has been superb, even if it does generally take the line of encouraging me to try things.

good glad to hear of some women paddlers

agreed just wish there were more in my area. haha!

me too i know of 3 or 4 women paddlers around the cedar park area

lucky for some i only know 1 and i rather wish i didnt