This International Women’s Day, I reflected on my experiences of being a woman in the world of male-dominated, stout kayaking. Here’s some advice I would give my younger self, and hopefully inspire other women in our paddling community.
Be bold and back yourself
Class V is all about pushing yourself on some of the hardest whitewater around. You have to take calculated risks and have full faith in your abilities that you are going to nail your line. I have been in situations where my friends who have run eighty foot waterfalls say they want to paddle 140 foot waterfalls, and that is okay and the crew will support it. Whereas I would be very surprised if I got the same reaction. I feel like people are quicker to consider my goals to be overambitious, dangerous, even if just a small step up from my current paddling. Now I’m not saying that the guys shouldn’t dream big, I’m just saying why can’t I? Advice I would give would be trust your gut and if you think you’re ready, listen to that voice and let the feeling grow. If you find people that trust your judgement and support your dreams, well, that brings me to my next point …
Find others that support you and keep them close
There are amazing people out there that will support your goals and help facilitate them. When you find your people that you click with, tell them you love them. There is no way I would be where I am today without countless incredible individuals who invited me into whitewater from freestyle and had the patience to show me they way. I am still learning so much from the people around me and I am incredibly grateful. These people are the ones you should listen to. If they believe that you are in a good place to step up, that’s great. If they think it is a bit much too soon, value that this is coming from a good place. It is the opinions of people who rarely paddle with you that you can disregard.
You don’t have to be perfect
Of course, in class V, you can’t afford to make any errors. You’re not learning anything new on stouts, you’re simply testing the skills you should already have. Having said that, you weren’t completely bow dry on a boof, skipping out? You took a roll but came up in a split second because you’re a freestyle ninja? Although not perfect, you had a good, safe line? It will often feel like more eyes are on you than anyone else. Some may criticise you more than the doofus behind you barely holding it together behind. This links back to my previous point about the company you keep.
Your body is an instrument, not an ornament
‘You look like a man’ or ‘you could probably beat me up in a fight with the size of those shoulders’ have been said to me more times than I’d care to admit. Body image can have a direct impact on someone’s relationship with food, a potential desire to eat less, to be ‘smaller’, ‘prettier’, etc. According to the National Institute of Health, women have a much greater amount of body dissatisfaction compared to men, with a peak during young adulthood. Most of us have been there. But trust me, food is fuel and strong is the new sexy. Your body is going to adapt to its environment and as a kayaker, that probably means a bigger back, biceps and shoulders. Don’t neglect your upper body in the gym. Be proud of your muscles, it’s what enables you to do amazing things.
It’s not easy and that’s okay
Sometimes kayaking will feel like an uphill battle. You step up to harder kayaking and the hike in and portaging gets harder, the water gets more powerful and the ferry’s get harder. Men are often taller, stronger and have this cheat code called testosterone. It’s normal for you to find things harder. Don’t beat yourself up when you need help lifting your loaded boat on a portage. Your kayak might be half of your body weight and step half as tall as you. This doesn’t mean you can’t do it. It may mean that you’ll have to use the water more instead of rely on power. That just means that you’ll have great technique and boat control, it’s not a bad thing.
Bring everyone up with you
There’s room for all of us in this epic kayaking community and comparison is the thief of joy. With so few women in the sport, it may feel like you must compete against each other. Remember that we’re all in it together and the more badass ladies there are in this world, the more accepted it will become. Use other women’s progression as motivation to spur you on. Let your stoke shine and share it with others around you. Do the style of kayaking that you enjoy, not the style of kayaking that people think you should be doing. Show people down the river for their first lap, encourage others to push themselves like your friends did with you.
Happy International Women’s Day, ladies. Let’s go and do epic things.
Heidi
