Iron Ring Rapid

For the next three weeks we’re sharing the finalists from the Paddling Kids Story Contest. Read their stories and vote for your favorites to crown a winner! Comment below, or like and comment on Facebook and Instagram to register your support (maximum one comment each week per platform per user). Voting for “Iron Ring Rapid” is open from now until 5pm ET on Thursday, October 23.

Iron Ring Rapid

By Tove Curtis Lind, age 10, from Beachburg, Ontario

I always hear my dad say that kayaking can be fun and scary at the same time. After another summer playing in the rapids, I think he’s right.

My name is Tove and I’m 10 years old and I kayak. I’m lucky because I get to spend my summers on the Ottawa River. If you haven’t been here, you should come. It’s awesome. In the summer the water is warm and there are kayakers everywhere. I get to kayak almost every day. The best part is I can practice in small rapids during the week and on weekends I can paddle down the river with my family.

My most memorable kayak moment this summer was when I finally ran Iron Ring rapid. Iron Ring is the first rapid on the Middle Channel, and I was always too scared to do it. Every time my dad asked me what I thought, I got nervous and sometimes even cried. I don’t really know why I cried. I think it was because part of me wanted to run it, but the other part didn’t. It just looked too scary. So every time we got there, I walked around it. That made me feel frustrated.

Sometimes when I played in the small rapid near my house, I felt the same way. I was scared to paddle into the mini surf wave. I knew I could do it, but I was afraid to flip over. I did not know what it would be like. I was afraid to fail. Then I realized that feeling bad about not trying was worse than trying and messing up. So one day I took a deep breath and paddled into the wave. Water splashed in my face and I surfed the wave with a big smile. I DID IT!

That gave me courage for Iron Ring. In August, we went to the middle channel again. This time I didn’t say I would walk around it. I got out of my kayak and looked at the rapid. At first, I was scared again. The water spinning on the right side looked really bad. But on the left side there was calm water, and the middle looked smaller than I remembered. I told myself that even if I flipped, the water was deep and I could get out or maybe even try to roll. My dad gave me a high five, and I got back in my kayak.

I paddled toward the rapid, nice and steady. The first wave splashed my face, but I kept going. My family cheered as I paddled through. I was SO happy. I finally ran Iron Ring!

This summer I learned more about kayaking, but I also learned about being scared. Messing up or flipping over is how we learn and get better. The hardest part is the mental game. Now Iron Ring is my favourite rapid, and I can say for sure: kayaking is both fun and scary at the same time.

Vote for your favorite Paddling Kids finalists to crown a winner! Comment below, or like and comment on Facebook and Instagram to register your support (maximum one comment each week per platform per user). Voting for “Iron Ring Rapid” is open from now until 5pm ET on Thursday, October 23.