By the boards: A water activity for all ages
Sandy Steffan gets ready to give paddleboard lessons on Canonsburg Lake.
Youngsters try their paddleboarding skills on Canonsburg Lake.
Sandy Steffan opened Northeast Paddleboard in 2011.
Eleanor Bailey / Staff Young Avery Piroski demonstrates that she, too, can lift a paddleboard paddle.
Eleanor Bailey / Staff Sandy Steffan demonstrated paddleboarding on Canonsburg Lake.
Peters Township teenagers Emma Scarton and Juliette Plummer were a little nervous while waiting for their turn to rent paddleboards at Canonsburg Lake during a recent sunny summer afternoon.
“I am excited, too,” said Scarton, 14.
Plummer, who had been on a paddleboard during a trip to Hawaii, reassured her friend.
“It’s all about balance,” said Plummer, 15.
For the past two summers, Northeast Paddleboard Co. has been offering rentals and lessons on the boards at Canonsburg Lake.
Interest in the sport has grown and continues to grow, said Sandy Steffan, owner of Northeast Paddleboard, a company the South Hills native started in 2011.
”It’s empowering for people,” said Steffan, who has locations in downtown Pittsburgh and along the Youghiogheny River in Elizabeth Township. “We try and make it approachable for everyone. I love sharing new experiences with people.”
Steffan, 34, a self-admitted water rat, always has been active in water sports and activities like swimming and water skiing.
The Duquesne University graduate first encountered paddleboarding in 2010 while on vacation in Florida, and it was love at first sight.
“There was no place to rent a paddleboard in Pittsburgh,” said Steffan, who at the time was working as a victim’s advocate at the Mon Valley office of Center for Victims, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit organization.
“That was when a light bulb went off,” she said. “My family and friends thought I was nuts, but it was a good fit for me.”
Paddleboarding, which originated in Hawaii, combines the balance of standing on a board and using core muscles to paddle through water. It is a sport that doesn’t need an ocean and one that is attracting all age groups.
Also, a person who spends an hour on a paddleboard can burn anywhere from 500 to 1,000 calories, Steffan said.
According to the website channelsignal.com, in 2013 paddleboarding had the most first-time participants of any sport in the United States, and 1.2 million tried the sport in 2011, up 18 percent from the year before.
“It’s easy once you get up,” said Eva Blatz, 11, of Bethel Park, a member of the Century V Soccer Club whose members were paddleboarding on the lake. “It’s fun. Lots of fun. It definitely helps with balance and balance is important when it comes to playing soccer.”
Added Sara Felder, 10, of McMurray, also a member of Century V Soccer Club, “I liked turning around and going straight. It was really fun. But, it was hard to keep your balance.”
Northeast opened its first location in June 2011 in Elizabeth Township. At the downtown location, Steffan also operates a retail shop that caters to her fellow paddleboard enthusiasts. She opened her Canonsburg Lake location at the suggestion from friends at the state Fish and Boat Commission.
“It’s a shallow lake with little current,” Steffan said. “The lake is clean, too.”
Her pop-up office at Canonsburg Lake consists of a trailer, which carries 20 paddleboards, each weighing 20 to 30 pounds, plus safety equipment.
Steffan, or some of her 12 employees, are at the lake most days, with the exception of Mondays and Tuesdays, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Hours on Saturday and Sunday are noon until 5 p.m.
Paddleboarders either stand or kneel on their boards. Steffan offers lessons to first timers for $45. Boards and safety equipment can be rented for $25 an hour, $45 for two hours, $65 for half a day and $85 for all day. For groups of three of more, those rates are reduced.
“I have had people as young as five and as old as 83 on a board,” she said. “We’ve been well-received by the community.”
Steffan also offers stand-up yoga on a paddleboard. Each class includes basic paddling to get to the class area. Once there, the board is anchored. SUP instructors will then assist each person to accommodate their individual skill set.
At Canonsburg Lake, Steffan, or one of her employees, will help people onto their boards and launch them into the water. They will also offer tips and encouragement to their clients as they start paddling.
“It’s important to keep your feet apart,” Steffan said to a teenager she helped into the water. “Balance is easier if you’re barefoot because your feet do all of the work.”
“Keep your head up and don’t look down,” she advised.