Professional, World-Class Kayak Instruction

Anna Levesque has been praised with providing the “best instruction anywhere.” She has a passion for inspiring and teaching women. Her experience as an accomplished international competitor, instructor and guide has placed her as the leading expert in her field. She’s been quoted in TIME Magazine, offering her expertise on kayaking to the mass media.

Taking a workshop with Anna will help you improve your paddling skills in a helpful, relaxed and supportive atmosphere. She’s dedicated to helping you improve your skills and build your confidence on the water. She’ll help you face your fears, confront new challenges and take you beyond what you imagine is possible.

Anna combines her expertise in kayaking with her experience as a yoga instructor, a student of meditation and personal transformation to provide a holistic, confidence-building experience for her students.

Workshops are hosted by the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Bryson City, NC, “the nation’s premier paddling school” according to the New York Times.

For a full description of available workshops please click on the links below. Call (800) 905-7238 to book.

Beginner Whitewater Workshops
Intermediate Whitewater Workshops
Playboating Workshops
Silver Surfers Beginner Whitewater Workshop
Whitewater Teacher Training
Women’s Weekend: Discover your passion and inspiration!
Recreational Kayaking Workshops
Private Instruction

For dates please click here for the Girls at Play Instruction Calendar.

Learn to paddle in a friendly, supportive and safe environment with a world-class instructor. Some women are apprehensive about learning to kayak because they worry about being too old or holding the group back. They may not be interested in learning in a testosterone-filled environment, or they may just prefer the infectious support and enthusiasm that spreads when women learn together.

Anna understands that building women’s confidence in their skills is the key to their progress in and enjoyment of whitewater kayaking. This course will be paced according to the comfort and skill level of the participants to provide a successful and confidence-building progression.

This workshop is designed to cultivate a strong, basic on-water skills-set including the flatwater roll, stroke technique, edge control, river reading and basic river running skills and river safety. The course starts out with a morning on flatwater and progresses from there.

Teaching tools include goal setting, video review of on-water sessions and the viewings of Anna’s instructional DVD Whitewater Kayaking Basics for Women.

Cost: Weekend $495, Four-day course $995
Includes seven meals, lodging and transportation starting on the evening before the course begins. All equipment, world-class instruction and morning yoga sessions are also included.

River Difficulty: Flatwater, Class II and –III (Little Tennessee, Tuckaseegee, Nantahala)

Call (888) 905-7238 to book

 

The Girls at Play Intermediate 1 Class is designed for women who have learned the basics and want to further develop those skills and put them into practice on more difficult water. Specifically, this workshop will focus on getting comfortable with performing the roll in moving water and whitewater, refining strokes, eddy turns, peel outs, ferries and river reading skills. This class will also put heavy emphasis on learning to use the water to your advantage so that kayaking feels effortless.

To help you feel more comfortable on the water and take your skills to the next level, Anna focuses on confidence building within an appropriately paced progression. By the end of the course you’ll be feeling more confident and graceful on the river.

Teaching tools include goal setting, video review of on-water sessions and the viewings of Anna’s instructional DVD Whitewater Kayaking Basics for Women.

Cost: Weekend $495, Four-day course $995
Includes seven meals, lodging and transportation starting on the evening before the course begins. All equipment, world-class instruction and morning yoga sessions are also included.

River Difficulty: Flatwater, Class II and III (Nantahala)

Call (888) 905-7238 to book

The Girls at Play Intermediate Workshop is designed for women who are successfully performing their rolls in whitewater 60%-70% of the time or more. When paddlers are hitting their rolls in whitewater their learning curve skyrockets because they’re no longer worried about flipping over – they know they can roll. With this knowing, paddlers are able to focus on pushing their skills to the next level.

In this course we’ll be working on upgrading and refining our existing skills set as well as incorporating more advanced and combination strokes like the bow draw and the boof into our river running. Basic playboating is also a key part of this workshop and we’ll spend time surfing in holes and on waves.

The supportive, non-judgmental atmosphere of an all-women’s course is very beneficial at the intermediate level as it invites students to push their limits without feeling intimidated.

Teaching tools include goal setting, video review of on-water sessions and the viewings of Anna’s instructional DVD Girls at Play.

Cost: Weekend $495, Four-day course $995
Includes seven meals, lodging and transportation starting on the evening before the course begins. World-class instruction and morning yoga sessions are also included. Please bring your own yoga mat and gear.

River Difficulty: Flatwater (1/2 day to refine strokes), Class III –IV (Nantahala, Ocoee, Chattooga, Pigeon)

Call (888) 905-7238 to book

Have you wanted to perfect your freestyle moves? The Girls at Play Playboating workshop helps you develop good freestyle technique. Starting on flatwater with edge control drills such as the double-pump, we’ll build the foundation necessary to learn basic and advanced playboating moves. Students should come prepared to flip over a lot so they need to have a solid whitewater roll.

Teaching tools include goal setting, video review of on-water sessions and the viewings of Anna’s instructional DVD Girls at Play.

Cost: Weekend $495
Includes seven meals, lodging and transportation starting on the evening before the course begins. World-class instruction and morning yoga sessions are also included. Please bring your own yoga mat and gear.

Call (888) 905-7238 to book

This workshop celebrates women over 50, even if you don’t see yourself as silver, who want to whitewater kayak. Over the years Anna has heard many women tell her that they’re too old to try kayaking – an excuse she strongly feels is BS (please excuse her language).

If you’re over 50 and you’ve always wanted to try kayaking then join Anna for this four-day introductory course. Learn to paddle in a friendly, supportive and safe environment with a world-class instructor and other brilliant silver surfers.

This workshop cultivates a strong, basic on-water skills-set including the flatwater roll, stroke technique, edge control, river reading and basic river running skills. The course starts out with a morning on flatwater and progresses from there.

Teaching tools include goal setting, video review of on-water sessions and the viewings of Anna’s instructional DVD Whitewater Kayaking Basics for Women.

Cost: Four-day course $995
Includes seven meals, lodging and transportation starting on the evening before the course begins. All equipment, world-class instruction and morning yoga sessions are also included.

River Difficulty: Flatwater and rapids up to class II and III.

Call (888) 905-7238 to book

The GAP Teacher Training is open to both women and men who want to teach whitewater kayaking to other women or who want to deepen their knowledge of technique and improve their personal skills. If you want to better understand how women approach kayaking and you want to inspire their learning process, this course gives you the right tools!

Anna shares her valuable years of experience both as a top competitor and instructor. This course is also a valuable continuing education tool for paddlers who already instruct and who have taken the ACA instructor course. Even if you don’t aspire to teach kayaking the total immersion will transform your paddling!

Cost: $795
Includes transport and lunches. Accommodation can be booked separately.

River difficulty: Classes will be held on flatwater and class II and III whitewater. It’s important that students have a good handle on basic river running skills and knowledge of the roll before taking this course.

Call (888) 905-7238 to book

Discover your passion and inspiration in the natural magnificence of the Nanthala Gorge nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Integrate your soul with the flow of the rivers and the expansiveness of the mountains under the guidance of renowned kayak instructor Anna Levesque and celebrated spiritual teacher, Sharon Mitchell.

Women’s Weekend facilitates your personal transformation through intention setting, journaling, yoga, kayaking and hiking. Give yourself the gift of connecting with nature and with your inner light. Learn to view challenges as opportunities so that you can create the life that you want to live and empower your authentic self.

Cost: Weekend $495
Includes seven meals, lodging, transportation, morning yoga sessions, flatwater kayaking outing, hiking, sacred circles and a guided trip down the Nantahala River. Please bring your own yoga mat.

Sharon Mitchell Bio: Sharon Mitchell’s wisdom and experience living Native American spirituality for over twenty years inspires you to discover the power that you carry within. She has been honored to sit with Native American Elders in Ceremony and to receive the passing down of the tradition of the Arapaho Nation sweat lodge.

Sharon has been co-facilitating women’s retreats for the past fifteen years. She is a Science of Mind ordained minister who brings together New Thought and Ancient Wisdom. Sharon and her husband facilitate community healing circles, ceremonies and weddings in Asheville, NC. For more information visit www.enlightenyourheart.com.

Anna Levesque Bio: See above bio at beginning of page

Call (888) 905-7238 to book

If you like to paddle easy-going rivers and flat water, and want quality instruction mixed in with a guided outing, this one-day program is perfect for you! Learn or brush up on basic skills that keep you fit and safe while exploring a quiet section of Fontana Lake filled with lush vegetation and curious wildlife. You’ll learn on-water skills as well as tips for choosing gear, picking up and carrying your kayak, rack systems and more! No previous kayaking experience is necessary.

Cost: $149.95
Includes equipment, lunch and transportation from the NOC.

Call (888) 905-7238 to book

 

One-on-one, personalized, private instruction lifts your skill to the next level and breaks through plateaus by allowing you to focus on very specific details of your kayaking technique. You will improve in one day of private instruction with Anna, what usually takes an entire week in a group workshop. Private Instruction, in a very positive way, is all about you! Take advantage of it.

Cost: $349.95
Includes instruction, lunch and transportation.

Call (888) 905-7238 to book