Paddleboarding big at Nickle Lake, group formed

It's clear to those who've been out onto the lakes this summer, that paddleboarding seems to be a popular activity all around, including at Nickle Lake Regional Park.

For Weyburn's Tara Neuberger, it has become another way to socialize and have fun, while also getting some core-strengthening exercise.

She said using it has been a learning curve, to say the least.

"I bought it in November. I'd never been on one, and I just thought it looked like so much fun. So I had seen like three or four people out on them, and then I watched Ashley Hodgkin, and she's out here doing her yoga on it. It just looked so relaxing." 
 
Neuberger noted once she ordered it off of Amazon in November, she was tempted to take it out onto the lake then, as we were experiencing plus-digit temperatures. However, instead she chose to spend winter watching 'how-to' videos about paddleboarding on Youtube.

But seeing is different than doing.

"It looks easy, like, you just pop out, and do it, right? No. Not at all," she shared. 

She said the first attempts were rough, because she kept falling off the board. However, she was joined by her neighbour.

"So we struggled with getting out, but we're just laughing, we were having so much fun, and this other gentleman comes by, and I'm like, 'do you want to try it? And he's like, 'no, I'm enjoying watching you two'."

Neuberger said another friend of hers wanted to try it, and they learned together that you can't stand on it like a surfer, but you have to stand on it like a snowboarder to keep your balance. Children, however, she noted, usually have no trouble balancing on a paddleboard.

"It is a good workout. I know me and my friend really noticed our arms, and our core, legs, and feet." 

Several people have been purchasing their own paddleboards since trying Tara's, and they've now formed a Facebook group to share tips, tricks, and experience paddleboarding together rather than alone. 

"I think everybody should try it," she said, inviting anyone who is out at Nickle Lake to try hers if they want to see how much they like it before purchasing one.

For Neuberger, paddleboarding is a special kind of freedom. 

"It doesn't have the constraints of in a kayak or a canoe, so you're out there, the wind's blowing through your hair, and they do go a good clip."
 
She added the inflatable boards are available in different sizes, need to be strapped to your ankle like a surfboard, and can even roll up into a backpack.