Canoe and Kayak Club
Caitlin O'Dell
Issue date: 10/9/07 Section: Opinion
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Caitlin O'Dell
Contributing Writer
An old controversy has come to the forefront recently: Do the Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club and the Lake Lanier Rowing Club have the right to close the Clarkesville Road boat ramp and should the community call for the clubs to be shut down?
Since the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, all but one facility used during the Games have been shut down or turned into museums. The rowing and kayaking clubs are the only ones that remain in use for their original purposes today, eleven years after the Games took place.
Athletes from around the world come to Gainesville to train at the Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club because it is a world class facility. In fact, it's ranked third in the world.
The foreign athletes, though, find it hard to believe that we who train in Gainesville do it under the circumstances that we do. It is extremely hard to stay in a canoe or kayak when a motor boat goes flying by, ignoring the no wake zones that we usually train in.
LCKC generates a lot of tourism money for the Gainesville and Hall communities. For example, on Sept. 8, we hosted the 12th annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival. There were more than 4,000 people present. Many of the teams had to travel and stayed in Gainesville are hotels. Even if the teams didn't travel, many ate out at local restaurants. For parking alone, LCKC earned more than $1,500.
Canoeing, kayaking, and rowing are all considered green sports, meaning that our boats operate without loud noise, gas, or environmental disturbance. Our venue is smoke free and our events are nonalcoholic. After every event we host, our athletes pick up the trash left behind.
Power boating, however, often leaves smelly residue in its wake. It's loud, between the radios and motors. A lot of times, there is trash around the edges of the lake, especially near the boat ramp. More than a few times, our athletes have been injured by effects of power boaters.
For example, an older woman was tipped out of her kayak and pushed into rocks, breaking her shoulder. This was because of the wake of a power boat. Another athlete was tipped and sliced his foot open on broken glass trying to reenter his kayak from the shore.
Most, if not all, athletes who train at LCKC and LLRC enjoy water skiing, jet skiing, and tubing on the lake. The lake is a great place to go out and have fun.
The problems come with disrespectful people who don't obey basic laws, like no wake zones.
Contributing Writer
An old controversy has come to the forefront recently: Do the Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club and the Lake Lanier Rowing Club have the right to close the Clarkesville Road boat ramp and should the community call for the clubs to be shut down?
Since the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, all but one facility used during the Games have been shut down or turned into museums. The rowing and kayaking clubs are the only ones that remain in use for their original purposes today, eleven years after the Games took place.
Athletes from around the world come to Gainesville to train at the Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club because it is a world class facility. In fact, it's ranked third in the world.
The foreign athletes, though, find it hard to believe that we who train in Gainesville do it under the circumstances that we do. It is extremely hard to stay in a canoe or kayak when a motor boat goes flying by, ignoring the no wake zones that we usually train in.
LCKC generates a lot of tourism money for the Gainesville and Hall communities. For example, on Sept. 8, we hosted the 12th annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival. There were more than 4,000 people present. Many of the teams had to travel and stayed in Gainesville are hotels. Even if the teams didn't travel, many ate out at local restaurants. For parking alone, LCKC earned more than $1,500.
Canoeing, kayaking, and rowing are all considered green sports, meaning that our boats operate without loud noise, gas, or environmental disturbance. Our venue is smoke free and our events are nonalcoholic. After every event we host, our athletes pick up the trash left behind.
Power boating, however, often leaves smelly residue in its wake. It's loud, between the radios and motors. A lot of times, there is trash around the edges of the lake, especially near the boat ramp. More than a few times, our athletes have been injured by effects of power boaters.
For example, an older woman was tipped out of her kayak and pushed into rocks, breaking her shoulder. This was because of the wake of a power boat. Another athlete was tipped and sliced his foot open on broken glass trying to reenter his kayak from the shore.
Most, if not all, athletes who train at LCKC and LLRC enjoy water skiing, jet skiing, and tubing on the lake. The lake is a great place to go out and have fun.
The problems come with disrespectful people who don't obey basic laws, like no wake zones.
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