Meet your instructor(s) and other participants at Ocean River Sports, 1630 Store Street, Victoria, BC. Please arrive 10– 15 minutes early for your program and check in at the Adventure Centre at the rear of the store. If you are driving, there is pay parking available beside Ocean River Sports or in other pay parking lots in the downtown area. You are responsible for payment of the parking fee. If you are parking a vehicle, we cannot be responsible for damage to or loss of your personal items, so please don’t leave valuables locked in your vehicle.

If you are bringing your own SUP, you can drive to the end of the parking lot beside Ocean River Sports to drop off your SUP, then carry it down the ramp to the dock. If you are providing your own SUP for the program, please allow yourself enough time to unload your SUP and park.

If you are renting a SUP from us for the course, your SUP will be reserved for you and located on our dock.

After meeting and greeting all, we will get into our paddling gear and be introduced to the sport of stand up paddling. Specifically, you will learn the following:

• Towing
• Launching into waves
• Paddling in wind chop
• Foot positions
• Pivot turns
• Efficient forward strokes
• Draw strokes
• Cross draw
• Bracing
• Edging
• Downwind paddling

For this course, you will need:

• Stand up paddleboard
• Paddle
• Surf or coil leash
• Throw bag
• PFD with sound signaling device
• Warm clothing and footwear
• Immersion clothing (wetsuit or preferably dry suit)
• Water bottle or thermos for hot liquids

*Stand up paddleboard, paddling gear, and wetsuit are available for rent if you do not have your own gear or do not want to bring your own gear.