The Complete Paddler is now offering Introduction Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) courses! The SUP sport is growing at a rapid pace and TCP wants to keep up. Whether you’ve never been on a board before, are new to the sport or have just never had any formal training, the TCP SUP course is designed to be that first stepping stone in your SUP career.
Areas Covered in the Course:
– Board terminology and picking the right board for you
– Safety equipment and proper apparel
– How to carry the board
– Choosing a paddle
– Falling off the board
– Forward Stoke
– Sweep Stroke
– Rescues
Thursdays from 6:30 to 7:30 pm, May 17 to June 21
$90 for 6 weeks (drop in $20 if space is available)
Do you want to improve your paddling skills?
Do you love rolling but don’t feel flexible enough?
Do you want to find a way to increase your strength and flexibility at the same time?
Come out and enjoy yoga designed specifically for paddlers!
Heather from Flow Yoga and Wellness has designed a yoga practice for that will benefit your paddle skills. All levels can be accommodated.
For information or to register contact Heather at heather@yogaflow.ca or call 647-444-1101
We are proud to announce today the opening of our new Facebook store. You can find it by going to our Facebook page and looking for the shopping cart. We are offering free shipping to most areas in Ontario. Yes even canoes and kayaks have free shipping! We called the cart “Staff Fav’s” because we only have a selection of items from our inventory… just our favourites!
February 24th- 26th, 2012 International Centre 6900 Airport Rd.
Hours: Feb 24th 12pm- 9pm, Feb 25th 10am- 6pm, Feb 26th 10am-5pm
Tickets can be purchased at the door for $12 Youths 12 – 17: $10 Seniors 60+: $10 Children 11 & under are free. Here is a link for Directions.
For amazing sales on canoes, kayaks and accessories check out The Complete Paddler booth #740 where all boats and accessories will be marked down for special Outdoor Adventure Show pricing or stop by our store for the same great deals.
Then join us poolside as The Complete Paddler will hit the Demo Pool to WOW you with some serious paddling expertise.
Here is a little taste of some of the deals we are doing….
Free Spring delivery within 200km
Lowest price guaranteed on boats and accessories
Free storage until spring
Free kayak lesson with boat purchase
Come out to the show and say hello! If you are in our store over the next week ask for a two for one coupon or print out this photo below for a $2 discount on admission.
PALMER RAPIDS, ON, FEBRUARY 10, 2012 – The 7th annual Reel Paddling Film Festival premiered last night at The Royal Cinema on College Street in Toronto, hosted by The Complete Paddler. The keen audience was treated to the first screenings of some of the year’s award winning films. The full list of winners are:
Best Sea Kayaking Film: In Rescues – Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown, you’ll see exciting and practical rescue coaching sessions from one of the world’s top coaches.
Best Canoeing Film: Tracing the Columbia brings together two historical moments: David Thompson’s charting of the Columbia River in 1811 and the 45-day journey paddling the river to mark the 200th anniversary of Thompson’s achievement.
Best Whitewater Film: In Wildwater, journey into the places only river runners can go. It’s a visually stunning feast for the senses, and an expedition into new ideas.
Best Kayak Fishing Film: ExOfficio Presents Kayak Fishing: Game On 4 Jim Sammons hooks up with Paul Harwood on the Fraser River in BC with the goal of catching one of the areas enormous sturgeon.
Best Environmental Paddling Film: The Pipedreams Projectfollows 3 kayakers on their epic two-month expedition to oppose a $5.5 Billion pipeline project in British Columbia.
Best Paddling Documentary: Chasing Water is the story of Pete McBride, a child of the Colorado River, as he decides to follow the water from his ranch in Western Colorado to see where it ends up.
Best Amateur/Short Paddling Film: So Fine sees Zac Crouse develop banjo paddling with the help from a Muppet.
Best Instructional Paddling Film: Advanced Classic Solo Canoeing with Becky Mason will leave you spellbound by the advanced strokes and maneuvers she shows and the stunning underwater camera angles.
Best Stand-up Paddling Film: In Standup 4 Greatbear, Norm Hann takes us on a 400km SUP expedition through the Great Bear Rainforest, and along the proposed North Coast oil tanker route.
“We have more screenings in more cities than ever before,” says Scott MacGregor, Founder and Publisher of Rapid Media “With so many new paddling shops, clubs and events hosting the World Tour, we’re well on our way to blowing 100 showings right out of the water.”
Katie Mutton, Assistant Manager of The Complete Paddler, the host of the Premiere said “we had over 190 people attend, with lots of prizes and giveaways from sponsors, this was definitely our most successful show yet. It’s nice to see the word spreading and more and more people taking part in this event.”
The premiere kicks off the Reel Paddling Film Festival World Tour, an international paddling film tour with 34 short-listed films screening in 100 cities hosted by paddling shops, clubs and events. Visit reelpaddlingfilmfestival.com for the most up-to-date tour schedule and to learn how to bring the World Tour to your city.
This year The Complete Paddler is once again hosting the Premiere of the Reel Paddling Film Festival on Thursday Feb 9th 2012. We are extremely grateful to Rapid Media for once again giving us this honor. We have hosted this Film Fest every year since its beginning -over six years ago- and have enjoyed seeing it grow year after year. Hosting the Premiere is different than the other Reel Paddling Film Festivals you might see on the world tour. This is the event where the winning films are shown from each category. The winners are top secret so we have no idea what films will be shown, and it is the first time most of the films have ever been screened. All the 2012 film entries are listed at the bottom of this page if you are interested in checking them out (and guess about which ones will win!). Even if you do not paddle, these film are sure to entertain.
Check out RPFF (Reel Paddling Film Festival) website for other tour dates and information. Need more incentive to come to the Toronto premiere? This year The Complete Paddler has thousands of dollars worth of door prizes to give away! No need to buy extra raffle tickets either, you are eligible to win with just the purchase of your $12.00 Film Fest ticket! You must be in the audience to win! Buy a ticket here.
Spread the word to your friends and family about this event! It promises to be a very entertaining night, even for your non paddling friends, and who knows… they may win a canoe or kayak and become your new paddling partner. Visit our website for more information.
And the nominees are…..
Advanced Classic Solo Canoeing
Becky Mason takes you for a spin in her cedar-canvas canoe on the crystal clear waters of Lac Vert, Quebec. Be spellbound by the advanced strokes and maneuvers she shows and the stunning underwater camera angles. During the ride, Becky shares her tips, techniques and stories that surround these heritage strokes.
Director and Producer: Becky Mason and Reid McLachlan
Follow Matt and Dave as they pursue their Riverbugging dream all over central northeastern Ontario.
Director and Producer: David Hartman
Chasing Water
Pete McBride grew up on a ranch in Western Colorado, a child of the Colorado River. After a life spent visiting other countries to tell stories as a National Geographic photojournalist, in 2008 Pete decided to follow the water from his family’s ranch to see where it ends up. This is the story of Pete’s journey, and a story about the lifeblood of the American West.
Director and Producer: Pete McBride
Currents – First Descents Canada
In 2011, First Descents came to Canada for the first time to give the experience of the river and paddling to young adult cancer survivors.
Three degrees of latitude separate the northern and southern tips of the Hawaiian Island chain. In April 2010, Morgan Hoesterey and Jenny Kalnbach struck out on the adventure of a lifetime to standup paddle these three degrees for an important cause.
In this special film festival version, Jim Sammons hooks up with Paul Harwood and Bluewater Rockies Sportfish Guiding Company on the Fraser River in British Columbia, with the goal of catching one of the enormous sturgeon that inhabit the area.
I Just Love to Paddle is the story of Nappy Napoleon, a man who lives, loves and perpetuates an ancient tradition in the contemporary world. In July 2008, Napoleon and five paddling companions attempted to cross nine Hawaiian channels in six days, each in a one-man outrigger canoe.
Director and Producer: Marta Czajkowska
International Whitewater Hall of Fame 2011 Inductees
This tribute reminds us of whitewater firsts that we now take for granted: rafting on the Zambezi and Tatshenshini; playing kayak polo or wearing a PFD produced to a standard; and applying the rigor of sprint paddling to downriver racing.
Locals Only follows some of the world’s best paddlers to the places they call home and explores the unique attributes of each region. The idea is simple, let the locals showcase their home turf and explain what it has to offer from their perspective.
The Northern Gateway Pipeline Project is a proposed 1,170-kilometer oil pipeline from the Alberta Tar Sands to Kitimat, British Columbia. The pipeline would cross 773 watercourses and bring supertankers bound for Asian markets to B.C.’s pristine North Coast for the first time ever. In the summer of 2010, filmmaker Frank Wolf and his friend Todd McGowan biked, hiked, rafted and kayaked the GPS track of the pipeline. Their journey reveals the severe risks and consequences associated with this $5.5 billion mega-project.
Musician Zac Crouse begins his 82-day sea kayak journey from the Ottawa Valley back home to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Crouse paddles through class IV rapids and tidal bores, down four major rivers and across the Bay of Fundy while touring his new solo album.
Whitewater paddling has many different aspects: big wave surfing, steep creeking, expedition and freestyle paddling. This film captures it all, featuring stunning locations and kayaking’s biggest stars.
Exciting and practical rescue coaching sessions from one of the world’s top coaches, mixed with a spectacular journey to St. Kilda, a remote cluster of islands in the North Atlantic. Essential rescue techniques are demonstrated in calm water and rough, with on-screen graphics emphasizing key learning points.
World-renowned coaches Shawna Franklin and Leon Sommé, co-owners of Body Boat Blade International, join forces with award-winning filmmaker Bryan Smith. Visually stunning slow motion combined with exciting real time footage of rescues in tidal races, coastal environments and protected bays gives paddlers the tools they need for simple and effective rescues.
Searching for the River God – The Journey Continues
Extreme Kayak World Champion Sam Sutton and filmmaker Olaf Obsommer spent a year searching for the most spectacular runnable whitewater on the planet. Their journey took them to Russia’s remote Altai Mountains, to Iceland—the kingdom of waterfalls, and to Chiapas in the south of Mexico.
Seeing Nature is a trip into the mind of a paddler as he daydreams during his English class. He would much rather be on the river; something we can all relate to.
Nicknamed “shark boy”, nine-year-old Hunter navigates the Gulf of Mexico by kayak with his dad Kevin Stevens. Hunter became an overnight celebrity when the video he shot of his first big catch—a seven-foot shark—went viral.
Canoeist Becky Mason and musician Ian Tamblyn combine their artistic talents in this remarkable convergence of video, audio and paddling. Alone in her cedar-canvas canoe with Tamblyn’s original score as the backdrop, and seen from some astonishing underwater camera angles, Mason gracefully links a myriad of strokes and maneuvers.
Director and Producer: Becky Mason and Reid McLachlan
Norm Hann’s 400-kilometer standup paddling expedition through the Great Bear Rainforest, and along the proposed North Coast oil tanker route, visited First Nations communities and highlighted the area’s rich marine ecosystems, bringing awareness to the threat of an oil spill in this world-class natural environment.
A stop-motion film depicting the trials and tribulations of camping during Halloween. Filmed entirely with a Nikon D60 DSLR.
Director and Producer: Malcolm Taliano
The Grand Canyon in Winter
In this short documentary, follow filmmaker Chris Gallaway as he and six friends raft and kayak over 200 miles of the Grand Canyon in mid-winter. Along the way they encounter a severe winter storm, rockslides, wildlife and the riches of the wilderness.
Director and Producer: Chris Gallaway
Seeking to oppose a $5.5-billion pipeline project that would introduce crude oil tankers to the North Coast of British Columbia, three kayakers embark on an epic two-month kayak expedition along the length of the B.C. coast.
Director and Producer: Ryan Vandecasteyen & Faroe Des Roches
Learn to roll in stunning locations—including Vancouver Island, Wales, Scotland and Italy— with two of the world’s leading instructors. This film teaches you three different rolls that complement each other beautifully so you can avoid swimming, no matter how you are knocked over.
Director and Producer: Justine Curgenven
Tracing The Columbia brings together two historical moments: David Thompson’s charting of The Columbia River in 1811 and the 45-day journey of 200 modern voyageurs paddling the river to mark the 200th anniversary of Thompson’s achievement.
Director: Jay Macmillan
Producer: Louise Bentley
WildWater WildWater is a journey into the places only river runners can go. It’s a visually stunning feast for the senses, and an expedition into new ideas. We wanted to communicate the essence of whitewater and put its soul on film. After thousands of hours of effort, borrowing Hollywood film tools and techniques, WildWater brings new images to kayaking and adventure cinema.
First of all, The Complete Paddler would like to thank all of our customers for supporting us in 2011. We would not be here without you! We greatly value all of your support and we have made it our new years resolution to give you the best service yet for 2012. We have been busy this first week of 2012 working on many different projects to help serve you better.
This winter we are focusing on bringing you more courses, social paddles and pool time. For opportunities to borrow and test out boats/gear you may be interested in, and for you seasoned paddlers… just to help alleviate some of that paddling withdrawal and maybe learn some new skills.
We will be announcing the dates for our brand new Intro to Winter Paddling course soon! So keep checking our website, Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus or this new Blog for updates. Better yet stop in and say hello as we are very excited about this new winter course and would love to chat about it with you.
We are also working on some trade show sale events that will be starting soon, like the (in store only) Toronto International Boat Show sale starting January 14th to the 22nd. We will be attending The Outdoor Adventure Show (above pic) from February 24th to the 26th with more great deals. Moving into March we will be having our last trade show sale for the Spring Cottage life Show (in store only) from March 30th to April 1st.
The biggest change coming in 2012 for us is our brand new website! Due to be released in a few weeks, it will have many new features like…
Online shopping
Social paddling forum
Upgraded boat/accessory catalog
Social media updates
Event calendar
We have some more winter surprises coming for you but we wouldn’t want to give it all away just yet and we will not even mention what’s in store for you this summer! We hope to see all of you soon for some winter fun! From all of us here at The Complete Paddler, have a busy and prosperous new year!
The Complete Paddler 