A New Werner Paddles SUP Ambassador in Western Canada

We are super excited to announce that Genna Flinkman of Edmonton, Alberta is the newest Werner Paddles SUP Ambassador in Western Canada and member of the Nikki Rekman Sales Team.

Genna is a fantastic edition to our team, on and off the water. She is fun, generous and in her words, "Loves spreading the love for all things SUP!" She's smart too, with a degree in Kinesiology and Psychology, she uses this knowledge when training herself and others. It also helps her to educate people on how to stay healthy and fit. Genna has been playing competitive sports her whole life. Most recently she played college basketball at Augustana University College (part of the University of Alberta) and was a member of the Alberta Development Team for Skeleton.

She was introduced to stand up paddling by a close friend, who knew her athletic background and figured Genna and SUP would be a great fit. He was right. The day after her first time on a race board, she was hooked and bought her first board.

We met Genna at the West Kootenay River SUP Race where she placed 1st for Women, in the Distance Race and 1st for Women, in the SUP Cross (her first ever, river competition).

Having trained with some of the most notable SUP paddlers in the world, Candace Appleby to name one, we expect that Genna will be one of the women to beat in the future.Genna will be spending more time in California training this winter and we expect she will do amazing things in SUP in the next months and years ahead.

Genna is also sponsored by Infinity SUP Boards, Virus Action Sport Performance, CJC SUP Fins and Spy Optics.  Please follow Genna and her SUP adventures via Instagram @gflinkman. 

Paddler Kate Hives Joins Our Team!

We are very excited to announce that West Coast Paddler, Kate Hives is joining the Nikki Rekman Sales Team for 2014.  Kate will be helping us represent our premier brands of Kokatat Watersports Wear, Werner Paddles and Seals Sprayskirts.

Kate always has a smile on her face and is happy to share her passion for paddling with paddlers of all abilities.  Working with Ocean River Sports and SKILS, Kate has fantastic relations with a key dealer and outfitter of ours - bonus!!!

Kokatat is also pleased, to now have Kate as one of their Regional Team Members!!!!

Here's Kate's bio:

With a quirky and often infectious personality, Kate has a passion for kayaking that began when she was just a wee little Salmon Fry, if you will excuse the coastal reference. Now she cruises the seas paddling surf kayaks, sea kayaks and surf skis in search of her next grand adventure.  Kate grew up in midst of the rocky playgrounds and long sandy surf beaches of Vancouver Island, BC, so it is no surprise that she is now pushing the limits of 'longboat' surfing as a member of The Hurricane Riders. Kate is a coach with SKILS and holds certifications as a Sea Kayak Guide Trainer and Examiner with the Sea Kayak Guide's Alliance of British Columbia, Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Level 2 Instructor and Level 3 Instructor aspirant.  An active member of the paddling community, working for Ocean River Sports on Vancouver Island and coaching on the North American Symposium circuit,  Kate is also a  Surf Kayak competitor in Western Canada and the USA. She brings over 15 years of experience in outdoor education and coaching combined with solid technical boating, safety and seamanship skills, giving her programs and her lifestyle their own unique twist.

Update from our Canadian Junior SUP Champion - Eli Fischbuch

Now that winter is here my paddling season is over for this year and I am just spending my time trying to stay in shape for next season!  

Here in in Cochrane, Alberta it gets cold and snowy very fast which means it is basically impossible to go out and paddle.  I do try to go out on the Bow River as long as I can.  Me and another group of paddlers from Aquabatics Junior Development group got out at the very start of the season when there was still some snow and ice around and paddled down the Bow for a little bit and then we saw an iceberg in an eddie and we decided to all jump on it and started doing down the river on it - paddling an iceberg was something different!  

Claire Clarkson and Eli Fischbuch both on the Aquabatics Junior Development SUP team!  photo: Vanessa Fischbuch

A few of us also went out this fall - our last day was on October 12th. This was World Paddle for the Planet Day and we thought we might be able to get some other kids to come out and paddle with us. But it was cold and no one seemed to want to come!

Since I cannot actually practice paddling here I just try to stay in shape over the winter.  I joined a climbing club to get stronger so I climb two days a week.  I also ski a lot.  I am really starting to like backcountry skiing, so you have to tour up the mountain before you ski down.  This should really build on my endurance.  These are the main ways that I try to stay in shape over the winter when I cannot paddle.

Next year I am planning on continuing racing SUP as well as hopefully getting on the river some more here in Alberta.  There are lots of different races that I keep hearing about - there is one on the Hood River I heard about that sounds like fun and I’d like to maybe try that one.  There was also a river race up in Edmonton as well as a surf competition at West Edmonton Mall this summer - if that happens again I’d like to go check that out. There’s alot to do! I just have to hope my parents are keen to drive me!

Our team decked out in Werner Paddles gear!!!

So proud to have all of these amazing paddlers and people on our team!!!!

(thanks so much you guys and gals)

Luke Vollmerhaus - all things whitewater and SUP (flatwater/river)!!  Great shot Luke!! photo: Liam Fournier

Laura Demers - whitewater (kayaking/canoeing), SUP (flatwater/river/racing) and kayak fishing!!!

JF Marleau - sea paddler, kayak angler and instructor representing Vancouver Island!

Lina Augaitis and Mike Darbyshire - SUP.  Keep an eye on Lina as she is prepping for the Molokai Crossing and Mike as he tackles not only the competitive racing scene but the river as well.

Lina and Mike - also proud members of the Werner Paddles SUP Team

Eli Fischbuch - SUP (racing and river) and our youngest team member (yes, he got his own hoodie too)

Lina and Mike - love this one!

 

Kayak Angler - Len Zilkowsky aka The Fish Whisperer

missing:  kayak angler Stephen Laurie

The Nikki Rekman Sales Team Expands to Vancouver Island!

Welcome to Jean-Francois (JF) Marleau the newest member of the Nikki Rekman Sales Team.

Photo: Stephan

 JF has four intense passions: kayaking, fishing, surfing and hunting. He also loves to combine these passions: kayak fishing, kayak surfing and kayak hunting. 

We are excited to have JF on board for his very well-rounded resume of paddlesports experience but notably for his experience with kayak fishing and hunting. 

On the professional level, he has taught kayaking and guided expeditions across Canada since 1998.   JF spends between 100-175 teaching and guiding annually.  He is a certified Full Guide Level 4, Guide Trainer and Examiner with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of British Columbia (SKGABC). He is a certified Level 4 Instructor and Level 2 Instructor Trainer with Paddle Canada.

 He also enjoys teaching kayak fishing and guiding kayak fishing expedition. He has been a pioneer in promoting kayak fishing in Canada.  

When he is not having fun on the water, he runs SKILS and works as a professional hunter to protect farmers’ crops.

JF holds many diplomas, including a Master's degree in Industrial Relations and a Bachelor of Art degree in Political Science. Among his many attributes JF is also the author of several books and kayak training manuals.

If you have never met JF before, it is easy to pick him out of the crowd as his strong French Canadian accent cannot hide him for long.

Introducing the Men of the Nikki Rekman Sales Team

It's not just a couple of great women paddling for Nikki Rekman Sales and our brands but some great guys as well.

They do it all from Kayak Fishing, Stand Up Paddle Board racing and river running to "hucking" themselves down waterfalls!

Mike Darbyshire (SUP/River SUP)

 

Mike currently works for Deep Cove Kayak School as the School Director as is a graduate of the Outdoor Recreation Management Program at Capilano University.  Mike’s passion for paddling comes from the amazing places a kayak or SUP board can take you, along with teaching all levels of paddlers.  In more recent years, Mike has spearheaded the Stand Up Paddling Programs at the Deep Cove Kayak School and been a founding member of the BC SUP Cup Series.  Mike competes in SUP throughout Western Canada and the Western USA and is often seen on race podiums.  It’s not just about racing either, Mike has embrace the river too so watch for him on local rivers like the Seymour or surfing at Skooks!  Follow Mike’s blog here.

 Eli Fischbuch (SUP/River SUP)

I have been paddling most of my life – my family has some kayaks and a canoe and my brothers and I were  on a dragon boat team for one year when I was about 9yrs old. We have a cabin near Shuswap Lake in BC so we have always spent lots of time playing in the water.
About 4 yrs ago my family was on vacation in Vancouver and I saw some people on Stand up paddle boards.   I wanted to try it so we did a lesson with Kalavida Surf Shop at Lake Kalamalka.  After that I was hooked and I’ve been paddling SUP ever since.  Over the past couple of years I’ve entered some fun races which I really like.  This year I took part in the BC SUP Cup Series and ended up being the Junior Champion.
During the fall of 2012 I took part in a few River SUP Clinics through Aquabatics, Calgary.  I had a lot of fun paddling on the river and we spent a day trying some river surfing in Kananaskis.  I am looking forward to getting out on the river some more in 2013 as well as competing in the BC SUP Cup races again.

Stephen Laurie (Kayak Fishing)

Although born in St.Johns, Newfoundland Stephen grew up in Victoria, B.C. and it was Salmon fishing trips as a child with his family that his foundation for and love of fishing comes from. A move to Calgary, Alberta and days spent fishing the local river systems is all that it took to cement his addiction to fishing . It was on those same rivers and lakes that kayaks, having the unmatched ability to catch fish where most can’t, became his platform for exploring  those waters. As director of The Eastslope Kayak Fishing Classic and through his blog ,Fishnhound, Stephen shares his passion for kayak fishing while promoting sustainable fishing practices. Stephen can be found spending most of his free time on the waters of Alberta looking for that next trophy fish with friends, family and fellow members of Canada’s kayak fishing community “Canadian Kayak Anglers.com”. 

Website: Fishnhound – Kayak Fishing    http://fishnhound.canadiankayakanglers.com/

Luke Vollmerhaus (whitewater kayaking/sea kayaking/SUP/River SUP)

I was introduced to sea kayaking when I was seven on a base camp style trip in Belize. My family fell in love with the sport and continued to hit different destinations around the globe on week long trips including Tonga, Fiji, Bahamas, Baja and some home turf on the west coast of Canada. When I was 14 we decided to take our love of kayaking to a new level and get onto the river. Through Aquabatics Calgary we took a couple of courses and dove into this new branch of kayaking. I comp got into Slalom kayak racing early in my White water career and attended the Alberta Summer Games and brought home a few medals. I am now an avid White water kayaker and work as an instructor and shop personnel at Aquabatics while trying to earn a degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Calgary. Recently I have found a new passion in River SUP boarding. I fell in love with Surfing during two separate yearlong stints living in Australia and I am so stoked to find a sport that replicates the feeling of surfing on my home rivers.  I look very forward to being a part of a sport that is as young as River SUP and helping it grow to whatever it will be!

Len Zilkowsky (Kayak Fishing)

I am lucky enough to have been raised by parents who absolutely loved the outdoors, in what I consider, to be one of best places on earth to live.  I have been fishing for as long as I can remember.  My first memories of fishing are fishing from a canoe where my father taught me how to work the fly rod on numerous lakes throughout the Okanagan.  His passion was dry fly fishing, so that is what I focused on for most of my earlier life.  It was love at first cast.   Like a lot of fly fishermen, we bought into the Belly Boat trend and started accessing remote lakes on our quads with boats strapped to the bikes.  During the summer months my brother and I visited my mother on the Sunshine Coast where we spent many days chugging up and down the inlets around Sechelt in a forty foot fishing boat that was converted to a live-a-board.  Amazing memories there as well.  Cod, salmon, sea-run cutthroat, shell fish………  Awesome!
Now that I am older with kids of my own, I look back at how simple things were back then and how those memories have helped make me the man I am today.  Respectful of the environment, people, and the creatures that share this earth with us.  I currently live in Chilliwack, BC with my wife, two daughters and two dogs.  Fishing has continued to be a big part of my life.  I am extremely lucky to have parents in the Okanagan and on Vancouver Island that allow me the opportunity to fish those areas on a regular basis for very little cost. When I am not visiting family I am only fifteen minutes away from one of the most amazing river systems.  Over the past 5 years since I moved to Chilliwack I have enjoyed fishing the Vedder/Chilliwack, Harrison and Fraser rivers making new memories.
Around the same time that I moved to Chilliwack I was looking for a way to fish more areas that I couldn’t reach on foot, belly boat, or through a friend with a boat.  That’s when I realized that I could combine fishing and kayaking.  I did some research and bought my first sit-on-top fishing kayak.  I have been hooked ever since.
Follow Len’s fishing adventures on his website here.

Why I Fish from a (Jackson) Kayak

Hey folks, it's been awhile I know...EPIC adventures were calling!

Check out this great video from our sponsored kayak angler, Stephen Laurie and get stoked for kayak fishing in 2013!

THANKS Stephen, such a pleasure having you and Len (The Fish Whisperer) on the Nikki Rekman Sales Team!!!