As angry whitecaps crashed around him on Okanagan Lake, the looming waves dwarfing his tiny Laser dinghy and threatening to dump him into the frigid waters, Brad Coyston thought “Gee. This is fun. I‘m glad I‘m not in a classroom.” While others in his class were probably playing dodgeball or square-dancing, Coyston and seven others were earning credits towards graduation, becoming the first of the Sailing 11 and 12 programs through the Central Okanagan Sailing Association. No other schools in B.C. offer this option.
“This is a brainchild of Ron Rubadeau,” said his son, COSA director Devin Rubeau. “You can get credit for participating in all sorts of different sports in B.C. – football, basketball – but it‘s usually a bit more onerous to try to access those credits. So we wanted to offer a way for youth who are interested to access those credits to use their sport hobby as an opportunity to get credits.”
Originally conceived in 2005, it was only this season that the collaboration between COSA and the school district created an official curriculum, which students can put towards their graduating credits. Students put in about 110 hours in the programs, learning everything from racing theory and boat maintenance to sport-specific fitness training.
“They have tasks you have to compete, then they check those off the lists. You fall out of the boat a lot,” said a laughing Coyston, a senior at Kelowna Secondary School. “We actually were out in the early spring, and we were bouncing around in these huge waves, trying to get to this little buoy we were going to ’rescue.‘ I‘m pretty sure it was dangerous . . . but it was a lot of fun.”
Other seniors in the program were Tyler Churchman, Katie Rasmussen, Brian Hardy and Geoff Cameron, all from KSS, along with Daniel Ludwig of Mount Boucherie and Geoff Harris of Rutland Senior. KSS‘s Chaley Ross completed the Sailing 11 course. Ron Rubadeau, the former superintendent of School District 23 and now an instructor at COSA, was the driving force behind developing the courses. The original idea was to create a sailing academy, akin to some of the golf and hockey ones that already exist, to allow students who sail for a hobby to work towards high school credits.
“So we‘ve kind of borrowed and stolen from a bunch of different sources, and created what we thought was a pretty cookin‘ curriculum,” said Devin Rubadeau. “It‘s gone a little differently than we thought. In order to make an academy, you really need a lot of kids from the same grad year, preferably from the same school.”
Even if you did that, you still have a problem with seasons, because the summer months make the best for sailing, rather than January.
“Those were the two big obstacles – getting the numbers suitable to make it work, at the right time of year so we could still get in the water.”
It was a blessing for Coyston, who has raced with COSA the past six years. He can now combine his sport of choice with his education.
“It‘s nice. Now I don‘t have to worry about picking up an extra credit class, and I get a free block this year,” he said. “Now I get to sleep in,” he continued, before hastily adding, “but I guess I could also do homework.”
Coyston had no hesitation in recommending the course. Sailing provides a different sensation of speed than in powerboats, and requires a different approach to getting where you want to go,” he said.
“Definitely, it was fun. It‘s a great atmosphere down there at COSA,” said Coyston. “If I had time in the summer, and I liked the water, I‘d definitely give it a try. With powerboats, you create your own speed. In sailing, you have to learn to harness the wind and play with nature. You definitely feel like you‘re going faster than you actually are . . . but especially when the boat starts humming. That‘s how you know you‘re going fast.” Top of Page
