CORA COVID updates for 2022 (10 January 2022)

Erik Ages 2 Comments

Happy New Year, individual members and member clubs, 

For the purposes of CORA’s third party liability insurance coverage, member clubs must renew their CORA club memberships as soon as possible so that your club remains in good standing and your club’s paddlers (provided they are also CORA individual members) are covered for third party liability during club-sanctioned activities.  CORA’s third party liability coverage applies to member clubs’ club-sanctioned activities, such as practices, time trials, races and training (on or off the water), so CORA individual membership isn’t only for CORA-sanctioned races. Member clubs that rely on CORA insurance must ensure that all of their paddlers have renewed their CORA individual memberships, as those who have not renewed may not be covered during club-sanctioned activities.  

Annual club and individual CORA membership renewals can be completed by CLICKING HERE

Paddle sports in Canada continue to adapt to local, regional and national health directives in response to the COVID pandemic. CORA’s guidance on COVID mitigation continues to support full vaccination for all of its members and participants across jurisdictions, as stated in CORA’s September 17, 2021 statement (below), together with compliance with local, regional and national health orders that govern the programs and events of our members and member clubs.  For those of you in British Columbia, viaSportBC’s current Return to Sport Restart 2.0 Summary Chart (January 5, 2022) is available HERE.

In response to COVID-19 exposure risks that may affect group or crew activities, CORA’s board of directors issued the following statement to its members and member clubs:

  1. CORA supports the recommendations of the Public Health Agency of Canada regarding the health benefits of vaccination in preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 and its variants. 
  2. CORA supports the full vaccination of those recommended to get the vaccine by federal, provincial and territorial public health authorities, including vaccine “boosters” as recommended by Canadian health authorities.
  3. As paddlers gather and train together in physically close environments, Member Clubs have a duty to protect their members and enhance the safety of their training environment.  As a result, CORA supports full vaccination of those participating in outrigger group or crew activities for the safety of their members and to mitigate the risk of future infection events at Member Clubs and in our communities at large.
  4. In order to achieve the above, the CORA board strongly encourages Member Clubs to consider ongoing review of their COVID-19 policies and updates to vaccination compliance among those participating in outrigger group or crew activities, accounting for demographics, location and relevant specific vulnerabilities with respect to COVID-19.  CORA also recommends the continued implementation of longstanding risk mitigation measures such as physical distancing and the use of masks where physical distancing cannot be maintained.
  5. Member Clubs continue to be bound by the Orders of applicable provincial and territorial public health authorities in respect of all gatherings, events and activities. 

CORA Townhall #1: Intermediate Steering Technique – VIDEO & Drill Sheet

Erik Ages Leave a comment

More than 100 members from across Canada attended our first townhall video forum of the 2022 year. The recording of this video session along with an inventory of drills to improve steering technique are now available for viewing and download here:

  • CLICK HERE or on the video image below to view the recording of this session
  • CLICK HERE to download drills and exercises to improve your steering technique

Steering is a never-ending master-class of how to get better. Our guest speaker, Cheryl Skribe, will describe how to set yourself up to learn without settling, and to set yourself challenges for improvement, in as much detail as 90 minutes can hold. Here’s what you’ll see in the video…

Cheryl Skribe and members of the CORA board (including Cindy Wright, Erik Ages, Leanne Stanley, Ron Chin and Val Simmons) discuss a range of techniques and technical decision-making for review by people who have some or plenty of steering experience. Non-steering paddlers as well as novice and aspiring steerspeople are encouraged to soak it in too, bearing in mind this isn’t the start of a life-long conversation, but the middle: we don’t, for example, discuss “how to poke,” but rather WHERE and how long and how deep to poke for the best result in specific conditions. We don’t discuss “how to post,” but rather WHY a poke may be better than a post in many instances and not all, and how to choose one over the other. We discuss how other seats in the boat can support the responsibilities of seat six, and how to train to nurture those supporting roles within a crew. And we’ll summarize some of the key skills to gauge conditions, as well as how to remain oriented in terms of short and longer-distance navigation, as well as how to challenge yourself, as a steersperson, to get better.

This session forms part of a series of skill development sessions over the year ahead. Future sessions will continue this first conversation, and will include tactical and strategic discussions about short- and long-distance racing (and steering), navigation, safety…and yes, surfing.

Click on the video below, as well as the skills sheet that Cheryl Skribe has prepared, and enjoy the banter, humour, insight and experience that Cheryl and CORA’s merry band of board directors bring to bear on the age-old dilemma of what to do and what not to do when you hear “ready, set, go.”

  • CLICK HERE or on the video image below to view the recording of this session
  • CLICK HERE to download drills and exercises to improve your steering technique