Hello fellow OSSCC Members,

With July now here, I thought I’d give you all a quick update on how we stand as a club as we continue to navigate the covid crisis and its effects on our club’s reopening.

As I have said before, due to Covid-19, the City of Waterloo has kept its facilities closed, which includes access to our canoes. The target date for a soft opening with restricted use and reduced capacity is July 13. This includes Wing 404 and some senior programs.  The last update can be found here (scroll down to Senior Services): link to notice

Also affecting us, the province has  not changed the number of people allowed to gather, which is still 10, although this may change with stage 3.  Until we get more information from the city, region and province that allows us to resume club activities safely,  we will stay temporarily closed.

I have been in touch with the President of the Ancient Mariners and they are following the same protocols as us and have cancelled all their scheduled trips until they can reopen safely.  The Waterloo Wellington Canoe Club has also suspended all their activities until further notice, so we are not alone.

It cannot be emphasized enough that as a board, our first priority is the safety and continued good health of our members. So, at least for now, until restrictions are lifted by the various levels of government, and until we can do so safely, we cannot proceed with scheduled canoe trips just yet.

Once we have clear direction, the board will come up with a plan to commence our season in a way that is safe for everyone. If anyone has ideas or suggestions, please post in the comments below, or email me directly at eugene.marion@gmail.com.  Thanks to those who have already done so.

Eugene Marion, President

Please note that the final membership list has been posted. Some emails and phone numbers have changed so please discard any old lists you may be currently using.

Today’s update is to talk about training, our canoe trips and membership with an updated membership list.

Training

In case you missed it……

Due to the timeline  and uncertainty we are experiencing in the coming weeks, our training with Beth Jones has been cancelled. Refunds will be issued to anyone who has paid for these lessons, including the pool sessions.

Until this crisis is over and we can get on the water, we don’t know what our training will look like this season.  For now, we can offer some virtual training……check out these links:

The Club Handbook & Rules has lots of great information in it, particularly in the “Safety” section.  Want to learn how to read the river?  There are pages dedicated to this topic with colour pictures to illustrate points. Curious about river hazards that we may encounter? Examples are shown in the handbook. There’s lots of other goodies in the handbook, so please check it out.

For those of you who don’t have access to a printer and would like a hard copy, we do have those available for $10 per book. We have limited copies, so reserve yours by contacting info@oldsaltsclub.com

One of the first things we learn in our lessons is to know our equipment. Check our our Canoe Basics page!

Do you know your strokes and what they do? Do you know when and how to use them? This page has great illustrations and descriptions showing the different strokes (also in the Handbook).  There are also videos showing how these strokes are done and why (also used in our Dryland Training).  Until we can get on the water ourselves to practice,  the resources on the Know Your Strokes page are a very good review.

Every year, our canoeing instructor uses canoeing terminology that some of us have never heard of. Wonder what “river left” or “back ferry” means?

Here you will find a collection of canoeing terms that have been collected over the last couple of years and that we may have all heard at one point or another during our canoe training and outings.

QUIZ (answers found here)

What are “painters”? a) people who paint your house b) mesh that is woven for canoe seats c) rope attached to the bow and stern of canoes

What is a “lilydipper”?  a) a slow moving paddler b) the bottom portion of a paddle c) throw bag

What is a “lead boat”?  a) a boat filled with lead b) the first boat down the river c) the boat that tips first

Canoe Trips in May Cancelled

Due to the the extension of the “State of Emergency” issued by the Province of Ontario to May 12th, and possibly longer depending on how this pandemic plays out,  we are cancelling all canoe trips for the month of May to comply with social distancing protocols. Fingers crossed that during this time, all the safety measures put in place will bring positive results so that we can get our season started!

Membership

Many thanks to to everyone who have sent in their registrations/waivers/fees and those who have let us know they plan on renewing their memberships.  It is very satisfying to see so many people supporting our Club as we navigate through these uncertain times.  We will have a season…..we just don’t know when it will start. For those of you who haven’t sent in your fees or forms yet, please do so at your earliest convenience. DO NOT send anything to Wing 404 as the facility is closed and we can’t pick up mail there. Mail or drop off at 132 Kesselring Crt. Kitchener, ON N2E 2P2

Please extend a big welcome to our new members who have joined in spite of the COVID-19 crisis.

Updated membership list:  OSSCC Membership 2020

As we try to have some sense of normalcy during this abnormal time, the first version of the membership list has been posted. The list includes:

1. 1. 1. Returning members who have submitted registrations forms/fees,
      2. Members who have indicated their intention to renew (fees/forms pending),
      3. New members.

If you aren’t on the list, it’s because of privacy considerations. We won’t assume you plan on coming back if you haven’t told us so.  The membership list will be updated weekly as we get notified of intentions/registrations.
Please note: Even if you have notified us of your intent to renew, please send in your registrations/fees as soon as you are able as directed in the President’s Report.

Once again, thanks everyone for supporting the Club in spite of the uncertainty we are all facing with this Covid-19 crisis!! Without members like you, our Club doesn’t exist, so “Your Membership Matters” is actually a phrase that is not only a slogan, but true! Our first priority is the safety and health of our members, so this season will truly be unique,  but we will adapt to get through it. At some point, we will be able to gather again so we can get back on the water and spend time with each other!

**TRAINING UPDATE**

Due to the timeline  and uncertainty we are experiencing in the coming weeks, our training with Beth Jones is being cancelled. Refunds will be issued to anyone who has paid for lessons, including the pool sessions.

Until we can get on the water, we do have some great resources posted on the blog that can be reviewed in the interim:

OSSCC Handbook & Rules (Hard copy available for $10 – see “It’s In The Print)
Know Your Strokes (includes videos)
Canoe Terminology
2019 Trip Videos (to remind you of how much fun we had last year!)

So until we can meet again, we will keep you posted as we get more information! If you have any questions, please post in the ‘comments‘ section below the post or email info@oldsaltsclub.com.

Stay safe. Keep healthy!