2026 Schedule for Group Sessions on the Ocoee River
The Ocoee is an incredible training ground with reliable flows, simple logistics, and a wonderful blend of technical moves and powerful water. For southern paddlers there isn’t a better summer training ground, and the river is the perfect venue for group sessions focused on a range of disciplines:
Work the Ocoee Sessions: Here we are milking the most classic Middle Ocoee river for all its worth, hitting hard lines, eddies, surfs, attainments and other moves. Repetition and workshopping each sequence with the group creates an exciting, collaborative opportunity to up your game. Work the Ocoee Sessions can also be geared towards milder, more conservative goals of dialing in the friendlier lines on the river - you’ll just need to coordinate a group that has this goal and book an exclusive session. Reliable Combat Roll is required.
Upper Ocoee/Olympic Sessions: While we’ll paddle the entire length of the Upper Ocoee, and snag a few laps on Alien Ledge, the meat and potatoes of this session is an intensive workout session on the Olympic Section itself - the most advanced section of the Ocoee, where a continuous Class IV environment allows for high pressure s-turns, slalom movement, and stout lines. There is no better training ground in the south for rivers like the Cheoah and Gauley than the Olympic Section of the Upper Ocoee. This is an advanced session.
Beatdown Sessions: Sure you can style the lines when everything goes well and you stay away from the holes, but what happens when things go sideways? This session allows a challenge-by-choice styled instruction experience, where we’ll start off setting you up with some basic hole surfing, stabilization, and extrication techniques, before applying it by actually getting into and out of holes. This is a classic Ace experience. Reliable combat roll is a must, and a willingness to fail and support you fellow sessionaires!
Broken Nose Sessions: Broken Nose is the technical piece de resistance of the Ocoee, and serves as both a nemesis and refinement course to paddlers depending on their skill. With an easy portage trail which allows multiple laps, this is a creeker’s training ground come true. Students will rotate out setting safety, practice cross-river communication, and learn to dial in both the safe standard lines, as well as have the opportunity to hit the hard eddies and drop-surfs if so desired. Solid combat roll required.
Long Boat Sessions: Paddling a long boat is a true art form. Controlling the eternal glide that a 12 foot boat allows within the context of a techincal river like the Ocoee forces a paddler to step beyond their normal understanding of what “close enough” means, where slight miscalculations of angle and timing hurt. The boat demands an adjustment of stroke portfolio and line selection strategy that is a delight when done right, and makes your creeker feel easy. These sessions are a must do!
Full Slice Sessions: Back in the day, they weren’t called full slices, they were called playboats. Unless you’re looking for big air and comp cred, the full slice is really the boat to play in, and the Ocoee has lots of good stuff. Let’s get out there and squirt, splat, blast, and surf our way into Ocoee bliss!
HERE’S WHAT’S AVAILABLE FOR 2026:
Group sessions last 4-6 hours and are physically very demanding.
Work the Ocoee Sessions focus on hard moves and creativity on the Middle Ocoee. Broken Nose Sessions spend most of the day at Broken Nose working on eddies, with repeated walks back up for laps. Upper Ocoee/Olympic Section Sessions focus mainly on the Olympic Section with lots of hard moves and ferries. Beatdown Sessions focus on getting into and out of holes and associated skills. Longboat Sessions focus on the unique skillset, approach and rewards to getting the most out of a full 12 foot long kayak.
August 1st (Saturday) - Beatdown Session
August 2nd (Sunday) - Upper Ocoee/Olympic Section
August 3th (Monday) - Work the Ocoee Group Session
August 7th (Friday) - Work the Ocoee Group Session
August 8th (Saturday) - Beatdown Session
August 9th (Sunday) - Upper Ocoee/Olympic Section
August 10th (Monday) - Full Slice Group Session
August 21st (Friday) - Work the Ocoee Group Session
August 22nd (Saturday) - Beatdown Session
August 23rd (Sunday) - Upper Ocoee/Olympic Section
August 24th (Monday) - Broken Nose Session
August 28th (Friday) - Beatdown Session - Middle Ocoee
August 29th (Saturday) - Work the Ocoee Session
August 30th (Sunday) - Upper Ocoee Session
September 28th (Monday) - Broken Nose Session
September 29th (Tuesday) - Work the Ocoee Session
September 30th (Wednesday) - Full Slice Session
Cost to attend is $160 per person, per session.
Sessions are capped at a maximum of 6 students. A minimum of 3 registrants is necessary for a session to proceed. Once 3 paddlers have registered for a session, a full, non-refundable payment will be taken to secure paddler’s spots in the session.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
To secure your spot, you must pay the full cost of all selected group sessions. Once paid, your spot(s) will be held for you. Unfortunately we can’t offer refunds. It can be very difficult and time-consuming to fill last minute cancellations, and may threaten the viability of the session for other paddlers planning to attend. You may choose to find a competent replacement in the event of the need to cancel, and we’re happy to help in finding someone as well. If they attend and pay the full session cost, we’ll get you squared up.
To register for one or more sessions, fill out the registration below!