How to Hold a Paddle for Beginner Surfski Paddlers 

In this video we provide a basic guideline to first-time paddlers on where to place their hands along the paddle shaft. It is important to stress that your hand placement can and will evolve as you paddle more and get more comfortable. It is also important to consider the length of your paddle, the size of the blade (the area that catches the water) as well as the glass to carbon ratio of the paddle.
The most simple method for hand placement is to hold your paddle above your head with hands equidistant apart and the middle of the paddle resting on top of your head. From here you can move your hands along the paddle until your elbows are at 90 degrees. If your hands are too close together then you will feel very restricted and 'squashed' during your paddle stroke. If your hands are too far apart you will actually get quite good rotation but too far apart and you will be limited in your stroke length.
It's very important to play around with hand placement and ask someone to have a look at your stroke whilst doing so. Once you feel you have the correct place for both hands then you have the option to ether strap a form of tape over that area, creating a grip like you would with a sports racket. I use a product called Silicone Tape which we can buy locally at hardware stores, it's a self adhesive tape which provides grip but doesn't stick to or rip your hands. You can also put O rings on the outside and inside of your grip so that your hand can't slide up or down the shaft. O rings can be sealed over with a few layers of electrical tape to make sure they stay in place. Other people recommend rubbing some wax on the area where you hold the paddle and some people use nothing at all. The choice is yours :-)
Feel free to ask questions and we would be glad to help further! Happy paddling!
Hayley explains How to Hold a Paddle for Beginner Surfski Paddlers in this video, if you want to know where to place your hands on your paddle when you are surfski paddling then this video gives you a beginnners guide to how to hold your paddle, where to put your hands and how far apart they should be. Hayley also shows you How far your hands should be from the end of your paddle.

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