I am amazed at the responce this thread is getting.... Thanks everyone!
A couple of point that I feel need adressed as to the way Boaters think VS non boaters
There are few on river venues that a non boater no matter what age they are can be exposed to whitewater kayaking. Remember I am talking from the non boaters standpoint that I talked to over the summer.
One is slalom, where people can see boaters using skills and tenique to move thru whitewater in a somewhat non threating manner, think the Golden Slalom series.
The next is a Rodeo, Where non boaters might/do think that looks hard, traped in a hole/rapid flipping over and over. To most non boaters that is their biggest fear stuck in a boat getting flipped, I heard this many times from the people watching the playboaters at Golden.
Another is somewhere like Gorefest or Pine Creek race, what I would refer as a video venue due to the size of the water and the possiable carnage factor, not a good place to get a non boater convinced that boating might be for them.
About Kayaking not growing due to no resorts, That was brought up at the WW symposium in Glenwood and I think that is not a valid point. First kayaking doesn't lend it's self to a resort setting like skiing does unless its from a playboat stand point.
But it can be looked at like this, Colorado does have 3-4 kayaking resorts already in place. Durango, Buena Vista/Salida and Glenwood Springs, you can include Golden in this too.
The Industry just needs to realize this and market it this way. Rivers already in place and hotels in place resturants there too, even camping, sounds like a resort to me. And it seems to be working for the Rafting company's.
About Snowboarding growing due to the Mtn Dew/X games mind set that is just not true, the Ski resorts used to not allow snowboarders and they were seeing a decline in dollar/numbers that were going to resorts that allowed boarding, dad and mom skiied but the kids snowboarded so that was a no brainer for the resorts. Then when the Olympics turned up their nose at Snowboarding and Skateboarding the X Games were born.
When I use the Mountain Dew crew reference, you know the jackasses from the commercials, itÂ’s all those guyÂ’s that give crap to the boaters that donÂ’t run the hardcore like they do, or think they do. You know, youÂ’ve seen the posts aimed at the people posting about running Grizzly and DeckerÂ’s and such. It's kind of like the weekend Harley rides throwin vibe to jap bike riders.
It does seem to me that even though kayaking has been around forever the industry/business of kayaking is in those awkward preteen years. I watched the same thing happen to the SCUBA industry back in the late 70's early 80's, during the change from the macho diver sport it was to the family lifestyle it is today.
By that I mean what you were talking about regarding "who are the demographics of kayaking"
After talking with several employees from different stores the biggest change they told me they have seen in the last few years other than boat design has been in the number of women getting involved in kayaking. And not doing so due to a boyfriend/husband but for themselves. That change seems to always signal a new era for any activity, with womenÂ’s involvement then comes family and so on.
As far as the Front Range Kayaker consumers they tend to be from all across the board from what I noticed during the pool sessions this past winter, paddling at Golden all season and from the customers I see coming thru the door. They span from, the broke collage kid looking for used gear at a deal price to get into the sport, the single guy/girl with some disposable income but not a lot, to the DR. and his wife looking to enjoy an activity during the off ski season and everyone in between.
One of the things that the kayak Industry needs to learn from demographics is that for the business to grow EVERYONE that comes thru the door needs to succeed at learning how to roll and have a good time on the river.
It is not the customer that is coming in the door that will make the kayaking business grow it is getting all the ones in that donÂ’t. And for that to happen the image of kayaking needs to change from, itÂ’s hard to learn and dangerous, to, its fun to learn and relatively safe if you boat at your comfort level.
I have seen the guide lines that the ACA uses for teaching beginners to paddle and that is part of what made me start thinking about how kayaking is taught, that and talking to several Instructors about their methodology. It seems to me that the ACA has a set list of skills to learn but no real method about how to approach teaching them.
After spending 20+ years as a SCUBA Inst. teaching Instructors and working with the students that everyone including themselves had given up on I am wondering why kayaking is taught the way it is.
“Read that” blind to learn a breath hold muscle memory skill, and an out and back paddle skill drill.
WouldnÂ’t the student be better served by having to paddle around some buoys in the lake/pool sessions that simulate the rocks they will be maneuvering around in their river classes, and using learning aids to work on developing the muscle memory and to help stop the diving paddle problem like I was having.
Thanks again everyone for helping me with this project.
