Membership info:
Note: See Latest News and Updates for details on our location and on practice schedules.
As of April, 2011, we are practicing 3 times a week, on our Spring/Summer Practice schedule.
Practices
Seattle Outrigger Canoe Club practices are scheduled for 5:45 pm on Monday and Wednesday nights and 9:00 am on Saturday mornings. PFDs are mandatory through the winter season and until the water warms up. We have a small selection of loaner PFDs if you are new to paddling.
The workouts run for 1 1/2 and 2 hours and occasionally longer on some Saturday mornings for competitive crews.
Novice paddlers are welcome to join us on Saturday. For more on novice practices, check with us before you come down to the beach at [email protected]
Racing
Seattle Outrigger Canoe Club welcomes all paddlers, recreational as well as competitive, and those interested in competing will find strong crews. For information on competitive racing with SOCC, see our Competitive Racing page.
Our membership fee as of 2011:
-
Individual – $150 plus mandatory insurance through USACK ($30).
The fee is good for one year.
Note: There is an additional $20 fee for November through March paddling. - Family – $250 plus USACK insurance.
- Full time student – $75 plus USACK insurance.
- Youth (18 and below) – $20 plus USACK insurance.
- OC1 use – $25 (in addition to above membership).
We offer option of a trial period of 4 practices or one month, whichever comes first. After this we ask that you join if you want to continue to practice with us.
In order to speed the process, you can get a start on the necessary paperwork by printing, reading and signing the following documents and then giving them to a coach or the club secretary when you come to your first practice (if you want to try out paddling a few times before deciding about joining the club, you just need to fill out an SOCC waiver and a USACK waiver):
Documents
(note: additional fees of 2.9% + $0.30 apply when paying dues through PayPal. listed fees reflect these amounts.)
Our paddling season:
The main paddling season start ups in mid-March and runs through the summer and on until the end of October. In late April the OC-6 summer races start. SOCC sponsors our own race, DaGrind, at Alki Beach . Most of the long distance races are between 6 and 12 miles, with a 26 mile change-out race on Lake Washington in late August. The sprint season runs from May through June, with roughly 5 different weekends of sprints (500 to 1500 meters) in the Seattle and Portland areas. More info is available on the association website at www.pnworca.org
- For paddling related equipment go to the Kialoa website: www.kialoa.com.
- Clothing is mostly poly-pro and windbreaker, with warmer clothing during the winter (neoprene booties and gloves). REI or any kayak outfitter has appropriate clothes for that purpose. Otherwise for summer paddling we use the same attire as in Hawaii.
- Reading material can be hard to come by, with some books available via websites like Kialoa and Kanu Culture (www.kanuculture.com).
Kanu Culture also had a 10 year series of annual volumes, with the last published around 2005. See their web site for back issues, as well as other books. - Web sites offer valuable information, but can be confusing or contradictory at times, especially if you are new to the sport.
- At least one magazine, Pacific Paddler, is available: http://www.pacificpaddler.com/