Recognizing Our Board

From building snow forts to sunny days spent on the water, SaskOutdoors supports year-round outdoor skill building and experiences. For nearly 20 years, SaskOutdoors has sponsored a Paddle Canada Lake Skills Canoe Course for school teachers, outdoor educators, and interested members of the public. The three-day weekend course is held at John Avant Pond in Saskatoon and taught by Bill Morris, Howie Sproat, and Kim Archibald of BHK Outdoor Experience.

The course follows the Paddle Canada curriculum and provides 24 hours of instruction on tandem canoeing, solo canoeing, and canoe safety. At the end of the course, participants will qualify for introductory, intermediate, or advanced certifications in tandem and solo canoeing. The course is self-paced and can support attendees with a broad range of skill levels. According to instructor Kim Archibald, even participants who have been canoeing for years “are often shocked at how much there is to learn and how thankful they are to learn it.”

The three-day course is fun but intense. At all learning levels, students are introduced to new paddling skills, combinations of skills, and scenarios that mimic the regular challenges faced during canoeing. Many students are tired by the second day, but with persistence, “people surprise themselves and will feel so good about it!” By the end of day three, the goal is to help paddlers over their learning curve so that they leave inspired and “understand what it takes to be skilled. And with being skilled comes being safe.”

Bill, Howie, and Kim are retired school teachers with over 100 combined years of teaching experience and many decades of experience instructing camping and canoeing. These individuals know how to teach and how to learn, with Kim readily acknowledging that paddling is a lifelong pursuit, and “I keep working on even the simplest strokes every time I paddle. I just want to keep getting better.” Canoeing is a beautiful way to be physically active and to continue learning and building skills throughout your life. In the words of Bill Morris, “You need to be careful . . . because paddling can be highly addictive!” SaskOutdoors offers this canoe course to help participants improve their own paddling skill set and to help teachers and educators enrich the paddling skills of others.

When his students are frustrated and exhausted from paddling, Kim likes to joke that he “really doesn’t like paddling either. But I love canoeing! I love where it takes me and the people I’m with.” Whenever a person enhances their outdoor skillset, they are offered a new way to commune with others, explore our province, and to be curious and to play in the natural environment. The Winterful Adventures for Little Learners workshop and the Paddle Canada Lake Skills canoe course are just two ways that SaskOutdoors supports outdoor learning and recreation in Saskatchewan. For more information on our other programs and offerings, visit our website www.saskoutdoors.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

SaskOutdoors receives financial assistance from the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association, through the Saskatchewan Lotteries Trust Fund for Sport, Culture and Recreation.

TJ Biemans, President of SPRA’s Board of Directors

and self-professed policy governance enthusiast, has been working in the parks and recreation field for over 17 years. TJ is Principal of Prairie Grave Care LTD and Biemans Consulting and recently served as the Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Association of Recreation Professionals. In addition to being an avid golfer and traveler, TJ and his wife Merry have two young sons that keep them busy.

What do you find most rewarding about working in the parks and recreation sector?

We help people live their best lives!

Why did you decide to become a SPRA Board member?

There are two reasons I decided to become a Board member, to actively engage in creating a supportive member environment for this organization to move forward, and to gain a broader perspective of parks and recreation in this province.

What do you like to do for fun?

I enjoy traveling, learning, camping, fishing and social activities.

What does recreation mean to you?

Freely chosen activity for the mind, body and/or spirit that brings joy to one’s life.

What advice would you give to people considering becoming an SPRA Board member?

You’re crazy not to consider becoming an SPRA Board member. Regardless what your skill level is, this Board is about growing individually and collectively as a team to actively advance the Recreation Sector. Best part is, we govern through policy so no hands on operations!

Visit the SPRA blog at www.spra.sk.ca/Blog to learn more about our other great Board of Directors.