How to Run the Main Channel

1. leave keener village 2. Do flat water moves 3. Do more flat water 4. Do more flat water 5. Run the Lorne 6. Surf at waikiki 7. Do cool stuff at waikiki 8. Do a kick flip in the next wave train 9. Do a loop in that one eddy 10. Go into the world pools 11. Do more kick flips on the next rapids 12. Go down coliseum 13. Go down flat water till you get to WT

Taking a Break by Cian Bergin

The most important thing about keeners is having fun in order to do that though. Sometimes you have to take a break this week. My shoulders really hurt me. I didn’t want to take a break. I didn’t wanna stop doing what I was doing and stop trying to improve my kick flips and stuff like that however continuing to do so would just continue to make my shoulder worse, so I’m here to talk about how to take a break. Taking a break doesn’t mean you have to stop kayaking. It just means that you should take it easy for a couple days maybe stop doing stuff that could hurt you like kick flips getting beat down and any stuff like that. This proved to be pretty challenging for me because I wanted to keep improving and make the most out of my time at keeners, however I realized that in order to do that I needed to be the best possible me that I could be

The Odyssey by Charlie Woodward

Like the name suggests, initiation was the very first rapid we got to play in during keeners session 1 2026. We got to run down it and play in the features at the bottom of the rapid. One of those features named Odyssey gave us fresh keeners a glimpse into the many violent beatdowns they had in store. Odyssey isn’t an incredibly violent feature, it’s great for all types of tricks like cartwheels and spins but will retain you for one or two tumbles. I personally have face surfed this feature a number of times. When the water level goes down initiation gets really shallow and kind of scary. Of you don’t eddy out before odyssey you will be getting back endered and beat. If this happens to you expect a headshot to come along with it. We’ve also done races down initiation which always turn out to be a ton of fun.

Jacob vs. Ramen by Owen Hartley

Jacob’s first encounter with semi-spicy ramen went very differently from most people’s. Instead of enjoying the nice, subtle tang of spice, Jacob had to chug milk and give the rest of his ramen away. After that, Silky decided that Jacob should try some of his extra-spicy ramen, which still wasn’t all that spicy. Silky prepared the ramen, and Jacob hesitantly ate a single noodle. As soon as he swallowed it, Jacob immediately started yelling and ran to Robertson’s trash can to throw up. Afterward, he sprinted to Yakistan to beg for cake and milk. They gave him some milk, which he promptly chugged on their porch. In summary, Silky says that Jacob’s complete lack of spice tolerance is a sign that he simply hasn’t been through enough trauma in his life.

Youtube Videos by Eric Jackson's Son by Tyler Goldstein

I thought when I arrived at keeners I would watch a lot of kayaking on the thunder dome television. But I did not imagine that I could get sick of looking at the bright pink bow of the Jackson kayak famously paddled by Eric Jackson’s son. The first time we watched anything on the tv it was kayaking. I was stoked because I love watching kayaking. Videos of the stikene, the Rio Claro, play boating, creek boating, or really anything that has to do with kayaking. But as the days went on, I only saw that pink bow. His gnar, his clutch, his carbon dreamboat made by this sick super tall guy named Stephen Wright. My eyes began to burn. I simply could not look at another pink Jackson kayaks again. AND THEN I REMEMBERED - I HAVE A PINK JACKSON GNARVANA AT HOME

Ranking the Top Five Waves in My First Session on the Ottawa by Zander Capozzi

Ranking the Top Five Waves from My First Session on the Ottawa 5th Place: Right Side Horseshoe You can loop it, throw some pretty fun tricks, and it's a really good wave. It's a great place to warm up and have fun. 4th Place: Butcher's Knife An incredible wave, although it's really annoying to catch and usually requires you to hike back up afterward. That said, it's super bouncy, has great loops, and you could probably even throw an air screw on it. 3rd Place: Waikiki (not sure if that's the correct spelling) Bouncy, fast, and everything you could possibly want in a wave. It's just an all-around blast to paddle. 2nd Place: Three-and-a-Half-Foot Corner Wave An incredible wave, and the only one I've landed an air screw on so far, so it's absolutely legendary in my books. It's great for blunts, back loops, loops, and almost any other trick you can imagine. The only downside is the eddy access. Other than that, it's an awesome wave, although it's a little smaller than my first-place pick. 1st Place: Big Kahuna The one. The only. Big Kahuna. The bounciest wave on the river, the fastest, and the closest thing you'll get to riding a stakeout wave. It's incredible—very scary, very fast, and very, very big. Its biggest flaw is that there's no easy way to catch the eddy after riding it, so you'll most likely have to hike back up for another lap. But other than that, it's beyond superlative. One of the most awesome, awesome-sauce waves imaginable.

Why Facing Your Fears at Keeners is Important by Sila Griffin

While facing your fears in general is an important thing to practice, at Keeners is it crucial. It is so crucial because to progress in this program I had to push my self out of my comfort zone every single day in order to both get better at kayaking and grow as a person. Our first day on the water this session seemed incredibly huge and scary to me and the rapids were a lot bigger than anything I had ever run before so I was really nervous. However, I convinced myself to not walk anything and I am forever grateful that I made that choice. By pushing myself out of my comfort zone and running scary, but safe rapids in a safe, controlled environment, I progressed a lot in both skill and confidence. What seemed huge and scary the first day gets less and less terrifying every single time I run it, my whole perspective on what is “sketchy” has changed dramatically. Keeners builds a perfect environment of both support if you choose not to run a rapid but also encouragement if you choose to run it, letting Keeners do challenge by choice. While it is a choice whether to push out of yourself out of your comfort zone, it is important to choose to do so. Over the last two weeks that I have gotten the privilege to spend at the Keener program, I realized that you get out of it what you put in. The more a Keener pushes themselves throughout the three weeks the more they progress as both a kayaker and a young adult.