Local Kayak Club Making a Splash with New, Veteran Paddlers by David Disnmore
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or the Pott County Kayak Club, timing is everything. Starting as a Facebook page near the end of last summer, the group has seen interest level accelerate quickly from a few dozen to hundreds of people in the last couple of months. “It has exploded, and people are falling in love with it,” said Denoda Rutherford, one of the co-founders of the club. The response to the novel coronavirus pandemic has likely played a big role in the growth and interest in the group, Rutherford said. Kayaking provides many of the elements that people currently look for in an activity that reduces risk of transmitting or contracting the virus. Obviously, it is an activity that gets people outdoors and doesn’t require them to get together in a small, enclosed space. Kayakers can each get in their own boat and stay a respectable distance due simply to the size of the boats and the fact that most only incorporate one paddler each. Yet, even with all the emphasis on dis14
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tancing, people still want activities they can share with others. The environment, pace and nature of kayaking makes it a very social activity as everyone floats together on the lake or river. Whole families have taken to the water together locally in the last few months after one or two members tried it and decided to bring everyone in their house aboard. Rutherford got her first taste of kayaking last August when she saw a Facebook post by former teachers, Kelli Parsons and Theresa Dame, stating they were going kayaking on Shawnee Twin Lakes and asked if anyone else would like to join them. Rutherford had been curious about it but had never had the chance to give kayaking a try. “I got hooked and decided to buy two kayaks, one for me and one for my daughter,” Rutherford said. Her two friends mentioned something about a “Poor Oklahoma Teachers Club," but the more Rutherford joined in with people hitting the lake, the more she thought there should be some kind of “formal” way of or-
Denoda Rutherford, Theresa Dame and Kelli Parsons helped organize the Pott County Kayak Club Facebook group as a way to organize kayak enthusiasts and novices who want to try their hand at paddling on Shawnee Twin Lakes and area waterways. Photos submitted
