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Programs: | |||
| • Intro Sessions • New Player Sessions • Club Practices and Games • Tournaments • | |||
| NYKP programs are open to men and women of all ages who know how to swim, and we have programs to suit paddlers of all skill levels, from complete novices to experts.
All participants must be current ACA members, pay a $5 ACA fee per event, or purchase a $15 6-month trial ACA membership. Adults must sign our ACA insurance waiver and youth under 18 are welcome, provided a legal guardian signs the ACA insurance waiver. If you're interested in joining us for a session, email us at nykayakpolo at gmail.com and let us know. That way we can contact you in the event of schedule change or cancellation due to weather. | |||
Intro sessions: | |||
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NYKP schedules Introduction to Kayak Polo sessions about once a month, winter and Summer. See our schedule page for exact dates and times.
Our intro sessions are designed for polo novices. If you already have some paddling skills we'll teach you the rules of the game, ball-handling technique, and give you a chance to get accustomed to our specialized boats. If you've never been in a kayak before we'll teach you how to fit the boat and gear correctly, how to wet exit, some basic paddle strokes, help you get comfortable with paddling and then begin to integrate polo-specific skills at an appropriate pace. Many of our members have taught kayaking skills and polo for many years and we often have close to a 1:1 student to teacher ratio at intro sessions, so we can accommodate a wide range of ability levels and learning curves. These sessions are free to participants including gear use and we have everything you'll need: boat, paddle, spraydeck, pfd and helmet. Stay tuned to our yahoo group for dates to be announced. | |||
Friendly Fridays / Summer Season New Player Sessions: | |||
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Back by popular demand, our New Player Sessions continue during the Summer season.
Friendly Friday sessions will be held Friday evenings in the Hudson River at pier 66 (check our schedule page for exact dates). Recommended for people who have attended one of our intro sessions and/or are comfortable in a closed cockpit kayak with a sprayskirt, these sessions are perfect for those who have played a few times before and want to play more, or for those who want a recreational game rather than competitive training. Friendly Friday games are slower-paced and less aggressive than our more advanced practices and allow players to learn the game in a fun, non-competitive environment. There is also the opportunity to learn and practice kayaking strokes, rolling, and polo-specific skills (ball-handling, shooting and goal-tending). Friendly Fridays / New Player sessions are included in your $150 annual NYKP membership. Cost for non-NYKP members is $10 per session, and includes boathouse facility and gear use (boat, paddle, spraydeck, pfd and helmet). | |||
Social Saturdays / Winter Season New Player Sessions: | |||
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New in the 2009-2010 winter season, our Social Saturday / New Player sessions are held every other Saturday evening in the pool at Saint Peter's College in Jersey City (check our schedule page for exact dates).
These sessions are perfect for those who have played a few times before and want to play more, or for those who want a recreational game rather than competitive training. Participants will play games that are slower-paced and less aggressive than our more advanced practices. There is also the opportunity to learn and practice kayaking strokes, rolling, and polo-specific skills (ball-handling, shooting and goal-tending). Social Saturdays / new player sessions are included in your $150 annual NYKP membership. Cost for non-NYKP members is $15 per session, and includes pool time and gear use (boat, paddle, spraydeck, pfd and helmet). | |||
Club practices and games: | |||
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Regular club practices and games are generally held 2-3 times a week in the summer (1 or 2 weekday evenings and one weekend morning) at the pier 66 boathouse, and twice a week (Wednesday evening and Sunday morning) in winter at the Saint Peter's College pool.
These open practices consist of skills drills for those with a working knowledge of paddling and kayak polo technique, followed by fairly fast-paced games between pick-up teams comprised of club members and guest players from other clubs in the US and abroad. Expect a good workout and come prepared to play full-on. Pricing: Summer practices Members: Summer sessions are included in the $150 annual NYKP membership fee. Non-members: First 2 practice sessions are free, additional practices are $10/session Winter practices are subject to pool fees as follows: Sundays 9am - 12pm: Non-members: $20/session Members: $15/session or $130/prepaid full season of Sundays Wednesdays 8:30pm - 10:30pm: Non-members: $15/session Members: $12/session or $110/prepaid season of Wednesdays | |||
Tournaments and Tournament Teams: | |||
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NYKP hosts 2 tournaments each year: an indoor winter tournament at the end of January in the pool at Saint Peter's College, and an outdoor summer tournament for which the venue and date vary, based on site availability and the schedule for the year's national championships. In the past we have held summer tournaments at the ACA camp at Lake Sebago in Harriman State Park and at Spruce Run State Park in New Jersey.
We also field teams for away tournaments several times a year, typically in Boston, Charlotte, NC, and Montréal, plus teams for the annual national championship games, the location and exact dates of which change each year. Some tournaments are organized into divisions of gender or skill level, and some into club teams of mixed skill levels. Members are welcome to join our tournament teams and to use our club gear for these events. Tournament fees vary but some member discounts do apply for home tournaments. In certain cases non-members may join our teams but must pay a small gear-use fee if they use our equipment. | |||
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