The Red and Black

Issue date: 3/28/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: JENNA FINDLAN University faculty member Steve Cramer practices kayaking skills during a Whitewater Club session. The club meets at the Ramsey Center rec pool Tuesdays from 8-10 p.m.

Tuesday nights from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Ramsey Center recreation pool is not the time for lap swimmers or divers.

The University's Whitewater Club takes over the pool to practice and perfect their kayaking skills. Many come to learn how to roll while others just sharpen their kayaking techniques.

Rolling is when the kayaker flips himself over and then rolls back up out of the water. It is necessary to learn this move so when the kayak is flipped over on a run, the kayaker is prepared to flip himself above water immediately.

"The intermediate paddlers come out to get their rolls down better, and the beginners are out there to learn how to roll," said co-captain Ike Roy, a junior from Sandy Springs.

The club has about 28 members. Not all members are at every meeting but about 15 come to Tuesday night meetings to plan adventures and get together with fellow boaters, Roy said.

Roy and co-president Hunter Creekmore, a junior from Fort Smith, Ark., both agreed that the club is a great way to meet people with your common interests.

"I kayaked in high school and wanted to meet friends I could paddle with and I figured this was the way," Creekmore said.

The club, which has been on campus since the late '70s to early '80s, sponsors two excursions a year but most members go paddling every weekend, Creekmore said. Their weekend excursions hit many rivers and creeks not far from Athens, including the Tallulah River and Raven Fork in North Carolina.

Raven Fork, which begins in the Smokey Mountain National Park and ends in the Cherokee Indian Reservation, is the favorite run of Sean Thompson, a junior from Alpharetta.

"I just went there over Fall Break," Thompson said. "It's a great run."

Sometimes they head out for the weekend and camp out and kayak. Other times they just go for the afternoon on Sundays.

On their trips, they either run the whole river, which takes about four hours on average, or they just play in one spot for the afternoon.

The members are of all skill levels. They encourage anyone to bring their bathing suits and come out on Tuesday nights.

Roy and Creekmore hope to see more people gain interest in kayaking and to hang out, have fun and splash around on Tuesdays.

"Come out and don't be shy just because you've never tried it before," Roy said. "If you have any interest in the outdoors, kayaking is a great sport to get involved in."

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