For the second semester on our round two of Columbus to do list, to experience what Columbus has to offer I choose to attend three clinics at the OAC. The point of the clinics are to teach you and allow growth in outdoor adventure skills. The first clinic I participated in was the Belay clinic with fellow ENR members, as described in my first post. The second clinic I participated in was the Kayak Roll. A clinic that is based on fun and safety; the majority of the session revolved on safety and what to do in any circumstances of distress if you find yourself out on water in a kayak. Skills such as removing yourself from the compartment you’re sitting and freeing oneself if flipped. Then came the fun part of the event was rolling the kayak in circles. Being able to flip the kayak around and have no worries but also knowing you were prepared for the worst if your capped sized and must escape. The third and final clinic I participated in was the intro to Qajaasaarneq. Qajaasaarneq is seen as an exercise and training system. The whole thing itself is when you suspend yourself on two ropes parallel to each other and perform different actions on the ropes themselves. Contorting and spinning around and especially having a strong balance.
The Columbus to do list this semester I wanted to push the barriers that is why I choose to do the Outdoor Adventure Center clinics to broaden my skills and try something new. Overall from this semesters project of the to do list I found the Belay clinic to be my favorite activity. I preferred the belay clinic overall was fascinating to me because it was something I don’t get to see around often when it comes to rock climbing. Being from Florida kayaks and skills for being out in the water alone or with a giant group of people is more so a norm for me, therefore the clinic was a fun experience but wasn’t necessarily something new in my experiences. Especially being able to enjoy the experience with my roommate and learn together hands on climbing the wall and taking turns belaying for one another. Those were memories that make the semester special and skills worth learning when with friends.
This semester I learned that our school’s outdoor adventure center and its activities are one in a million to take advantage of. The center offers so many opportunities of clinics from learning sessions to our on the field hands on learning. Being able to take advantage of that allows for so much growth especially at this time in our lives. The three clinics I participated in have sparked my interest to get involved more when I return to school next year to keep learning and experiencing new skills. Overall the OAC offers so much and I would recommend anyone to go visit the center themselves. They have so many different clinics and sessions that anyone is bound to find something that interests them and meet people with similar taste.