Submitted
The Nelson Paddling Club will be hosting workshops with former world-champion standup paddleboard racer, Lina Augaitis, on August 17 and 18.
The sessions will start Saturday with a kid’s camp (youth to age 14) and adult beginners program while the Sunday session is advanced for adults. The classes are small (less than 12 with an assistant). Equipment will be supplied for both beginners’ programs on Saturday.
Although these workshops are not specifically about learning how to standup paddleboard (SUP) from one Hawaiian island to another, Augaitis could accommodate that.
She was the first female Canadian standup paddleboard champion in the Molokai 2 Oahu race. She also won the ISA World Championship Sprint race and became the first female on standup paddleboard to officially complete the 750-kilometre Yukon River Quest.
Augaitis also just finished fourth for Canada in racing in the Pan Am Games as a leadup to having surf and paddleboard races in the next Olympics.
Nelson-based racer Dan Gaudreau, who has experienced Augaitis’s training, says, “Lina is one of the most humble professional athletes you’ll ever meet. Her love for SUP racing is an inspiration to all and her dedication to get SUP racing as an Olympic sport shows her true passion.”
For more information and registration links, visit nelsonpaddlingclub.ca or contact Nelson Paddling Club vice-president Brooke Campbell at nelsonpaddlingclub@gmail.com or 250.354.8668.