How to Backpaddle in Whitewater Rafting

Video Transcript

"Back paddling is a skill your crew is going to need to learn earlier on too. Back paddling enables you to slow down the river a little bit so that you can evaluate where you want to go. Also, it's a great way to avoid trouble. So with the back paddling the shaft of the paddle stays pretty horizontal across your lap with the blade behind you and then you're pulling on it and this you can be a whole body stroke. So you're leaning back into that back stroke nice and strong. We'll start off with some easy back paddling over here and then we'll pick up the pace a little bit. Nice and strong back paddling here. You can see with the back paddling that it's hard to coordinate that paddle stroke. Person in the front of the raft leads, they set the pace and then it's your job as a crew member to sort of keep pace with each other, try not to trip over your paddle, when you're paddling against the current the paddle blade catches a lot of the time. So the paddling backwards takes practice, it's a skill that you should learn early on if you can or practice often."