Cross Currents Sea Kayaking
Intermediate Skills - Advanced Skills - Instructor Certification - Training Trips - Expeditions
3rd Annual Kiptopeke Sea Kayaking Symposium
September 27-29, 2013
Virginia Barrier Islands, Kiptopeke, VA
Cost: $410 (includes all classes, 3 nights room and 1 dinner)
Registration for the symposium is now open. Join us for three great days of sea kayak training, events and comraderie. There will be 10 rough water and calm water classes to choose from each day, with courses for all skill levels. All the old favorites are back (e.g. Wreckage in the Wave Train), along with several new courses, including a 21 NM crossing of the Chesapeake Bay and a Barrier Island exploration tour.
Use the PDF links on the right to view/download an overview of the daily schedule and the full course descriptions. See more info below.
All your favorite coaches will be returning including Alison Sigethy, Tom Noffsinger, Chris Raab, Ed Schiller, Kevin Black, Brian Blankinship, Jay Gitomer, Ken Fandetti, Mike Kunselman and Rick Wiebush. In addition, we are lucky to have a special guest coach this year - Jen Kleck, who is one of only a very few BCU Level 5 coaches in the U.S. Jen will be doing a BCU 4 Star training in the two days right before the symposium and then a 3 Star assessment and two days of 3 Star training during the symposium.
As always, we will all be staying in the fantastic lodges at Kiptopeke State Park. This is one of the things that makes the symposium so special. Instead of everyone going their individual ways after classes, they come back to the lodges where they can socialize, share meals and make new friends with paddlers from all over the East Coast.
So, have a look at the courses, read the instructor bios, and see what last year's participants had to say below. Then sign up!
Symposium Sponsors
Annapolis Canoe and Kayak, Annapolis MD
Blueworld Paddlesports, Baltimore MD
Up The Creek Expeditions, St. Mary's GA
Virginia Sea Kayak Center, Virginia Beach VA
2012 Participant Feedback
The 2012 Kiptopeke Symposium was fabulous - great weather, great coaches, over 30 courses, and 55 motivated and excited participants. Here's some of the typical feedback we received:
1. Thank you Rick for all your effort in making the Kiptopeke Symposium a great one. Great coaches, great facilities, and great weather! You made our trip from Wisconsin a worthwhile adventure. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
2. There was so much to like- location, organization, lodges, people, etc. What I liked most was how comfortable I felt - I was a bit nervous about attending as I have never done anything like this before. All the instructors made me feel comfortable to start where I am and try to learn & improve from there. I was able to try new things and be corrected, not criticized. It was Ok to fail. I can’t say enough about how comfortable I felt with the whole 3 days.
3. As a woman I appreciated that I was never dealt with in a condescending way or had less expected of me due to my gender, age, size, or physical condition, yet every attempt was made to help me compensate for the differences between my strength level and skill level of that of some of the very able men and women in my classes. I never felt like a failure, just that I needed more practice in some maneuvers. I felt safe in the courses.
4. I believe all aspects of this event were well planned and run – over all management, course offerings, instructors, location, lodging, etc. The reduced number of people per lodge definitely improved the experience. Personally, I really enjoyed the combination of familiar faces and new attendees who typically paddle in different environments like the large lakes. It made to entire event more interesting and fun.
5. We had a tremendous time this weekend, really awesome...we are so glad we came and we'll plan on doing it again next year. And great job on the symposium! It was fantastic!
6. I had an awesome experience and really valued the opportunity to participate. I was impressed with the symposium from beginning to end. As Ken mentioned - great weather (although I'm not sure we can credit you with that unless you prayed to the weather gods!), great location, and great people. I had the opportunity to work with amazing coaches and met so many new friends. Lots of fun all weekend!! Thanks to everyone involved!
7. Rick thanks again for the chance to participate in one of the most fun events I have been involved in in many years. Great weather, great location and even greater people
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