Performance Paddling Clinics

Our Performance Paddling Clinics bring celebrity instructors to Charles River Canoe & Kayak. These instructors are world-renowned and have years of teaching and paddling experience, and their classes augment our Paddling School offerings. A list of these currently scheduled clinics appears below. Make sure you’re on the e-mail list to find out when these celebrity instructors will be coming next.

Surfski Clinic with Oscar Chalupsky

Sunday July 23, 2023 10am-12:30pm
At the Historic Newton Boathouse

The clinic will cover paddling techniques and is aimed at improving surfski athletes of all skill levels.

Oscar is a 12-time World Surfski Champion and remains extremely active in the sport of surfski worldwide as one of the sport’s most prominent athletes, advocates and coaches. Learn more about Oscar Chalupsky>>
Also check out his book

Contact race@paddleboston.com if you need a boat or have any questions.

He’ll also be available to talk about his new book No Retreat, No Surrender is an inspiring account of his life as a world-renowned surfski paddler, an innovator of ocean paddling craft, a successful businessman, husband and father, and an intrepid soldier declaring war on cancer.

The book chronicles Chalupsky’s journey from his humble beginnings in South Africa to his rise to the top of the international surfski circuit. He shares the lessons he has learned from winning on the world’s toughest races, as well as the challenges he has faced in his personal life.

In 2019, Chalupsky was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable bone marrow cancer. He was given six

months to live. However, Chalupsky refused to give up. He continued to train and compete, and he has defied the odds by remaining cancer-free for over two years.

No Retreat, No Surrender is an uplifting story of grit, perseverance, talent, and attitude. It is a testament to the power of the human spirit to overcome even the most daunting challenges.

No Retreat, No Surrender is a powerful and inspiring book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

Clinic Structure:

• 30 minutes introduction and theories. Land exercises.
• 30 minutes forward stroke broken down.
• 30 minutes waist deep water drills.
• 30 minutes remount, balance and drill explanation on the water.
• 30 minutes doing the drills and the exercises on the water with your surfski

Clinic Topics:

Wing Paddles

• History of, and how the wing paddle works.
• How to decide your feather angle.
• How to choose your paddle length.

Paddle Technique

• How to do land exercises.
• How to improve balance with the brace stroke.
• The forward stroke for surfski.
• Breaking down the stroke in small parts of the body, hands, elbow, shoulders, core, and legs.
• How to improve your technique in waist deep water.
• How to remount in shallow water and deep water.
• Learn how to improve your balance and exercises.
• How to set up your surfski correctly.
• Analysis of each person’s brace and forward stroke.

Downwind Paddling

• Assessing the conditions basics of waves
• How to catch waves.
• Where to sit on the waves and why.
• How to turn a surfski.
• How to stay on top of the waves.
• How to link waves.
• How to see the best waves.
• How to race downwind.
• Most important things to remember when doing downwind races and paddles.