Look at that lucky date with three 7s! Our team in Akron, Ohio has been putting on a festival for many years! The venue is at a state park in the beautiful Portage Lakes. In 10 years of paddling and attending festivals, I may be partial in saying that we have one of the best venues around! The full course is viewable from our sandy beach. There’s also a ton of shade under the stately oak trees! We have an athletes’ village as well as vendors and massage tables. The state park recently built a beautiful visitors center with bathroom facilities. This year we had 12 BCS teams in addition to club teams, corporate teams, and community teams. Plus we are a short drive to Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Cleveland. There are so many incredible things to see and do in the area. Rent a pontoon boat and explore the lakes -14 total with 8 lakes and reservoirs connected together. From restaurants to fishing and swimming, Portage Lakes has it all (we don’t have alligators, sharks, or snakes in our waters!!)! Come for the festival and stay for a mini vacation. Akron and Cleveland are jam packed with great adventures! Who is putting this festival on their team’s calendar for next summer? We would love to host you!!

I am curious if others on here have had teammates become coaches. We have been an organized team since 2007. We have always had coaches who are not BCS team members. We have just begun to transition a teammate to become a coach in training. She’s doing a remarkable job! Great solid leader with clear and crisp commands. So my questions: 1) Does a coach have to steer or drum to coach or can you envision a world where a coach can be a paddler in the boat who coaches during rest periods as well as designs the workouts that the team will follow as called by the steerer or drummer? 2) If the only coaches on the team are teammates, can they still paddle competitively? If so, who decides if a coach qualifies to be on the most competitive boat rather than the second boat? *Thanks all! I am seriously considering becoming a coach, but I am SOOO competitive and I LOVE to paddle. I don’t mind steering some, but it isn’t my passion on the boat. I just don’t want to quit competing and I don’t want to give up paddling regularly (we practice 3 days a week).

What exercise do you do during your off-season?

Every community has its own level names and perks. I'm currently at Wash Rider ... and I'm the only one here 🤣. Can't ride wash if nobody is there to make it for me! Q. Why work on leveling up, isn't it just stupid nonsense? A. Nope. Well, maybe a little. But if you poke around other communities, including my other one, then you'll see that all sorts of things unlock as you level up. It could be a free course or training, it could be a killer resource or gift. As @Joann Fegley and I figure out what prizes to add to our levels, YOU can tell us what would be a good prize AND work on leveling up at the same time! How to level up: 1. LIKE this post (I wanna level up too, haha!) 2. Comment below: either ask a question you really want an answer to, make a recommendation for a Level perk, or give us an insight that you think will help others. 3. Go LIKE and comment on AT LEAST 3 other comments. Each time you LIKE a post or comment, you'll help that person level up. And when you help someone else, they'll help you. And while you're at it, answer this poll, so that we make the prizes something you actually want, not just what we THINK you want. What would make a good leveling up perk?

If you can get yourself to Level 7 by August 30, you can snag a free ticket to the November Virtual Summit, which was announced yesterday. 78% of you are at Level 1. That's NOOB level \(see attached image\). A few of you made it to Level 2, fewer still to Level 3, and fewer still to Level 4. Right now, I'm the only one at Level 5... so let's see if you can pass me and beat me to Level 7. How do you level up? By posting intentionally, commenting thoughtfully, and inspiring others to hit the LIKE button on your posts and comments. Each time someone hits that like button on your post and comment, you get 1 point. It's THAT easy. 🌟 What's the point of leveling up? It makes for a more vibrant and engaged community. It helps the community rank higher in Skool Discovery, which means more people are likely to find it and join us. It's going to unlock all sorts of goodies for you in the classroom at other levels too. Maybe that's a 1:1 coaching call with Liisa. Or Joann's secret sauce for training new coaches. Or an opportunity to get both of us on a call with your entire team. Or free access to a paid workshop. Or a merch! So get going. But don't just try and post for the sake of getting points. Answer other people's questions. Help others succeed. Share your insights and knowledge. Recommend great races. Be a good ambassador for your club! Right now the people at the top of our 7-day leaderboard are some of our newest! @Adrienne Hanlon @Claudia Perge, and @Cindy Cheong - thank you for coming in and getting right into the discussions!