Today we’d like to introduce you to Olaf Pippel.
Olaf, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
At the age of 19 roughly 9 years ago, I embarked a new journey in my life while participating on a dragon boat team in Dresden, Germany to currently racing in Outrigger Canoes all across the U.S. Team effort and camaraderie are a couple of key elements associated within dragon boat teams, consisting of 20 paddlers, plus a steersperson and a drummer who sits at the front of the boat. For several years, our dragon boat team participated in many dragon boat championships throughout Germany competing and winning in both the mixed and men’s divisions. I found dragon boat racing as a fun recreational sport with a lot of benefits meeting new people.
A few years later while living in Saarbruecken, I was first introduced to outrigger canoeing, a highly competitive sport and widely utilized throughout Hawaii. I found this sport much more fulfilling than dragon boat racing because of the long distance on flat water and more exposure to open water surfs. Most of my early training days were by myself until I came across another paddler who had trained and competed in outrigger canoes. Soon after learning more about this sport, I started participating in lots of different races on the Baltic Sea, the river Main and Rheine and smaller lakes throughout Germany. I finished my best season second place at the German Cup, a series consisting of multiple races. At that point, I became more interested in competing in outrigger canoes, not only in Europe but also within the US.
In the fall of 2014, I was relocated to Chicago for work but quickly connected to the paddling community within the city to continue my paddling journey. The former paddling director of LPBC had forwarded me another paddler’s contact information to get more acquainted with the boat club. Sue Chang is an outrigger canoeist and had similarly competed on dragon boats for several years. We started training together for a few months and developed a strong relationship together, later becoming a couple. With her support, I engaged myself more in the activities within the club and the paddling community throughout the Chicagoland area. We both participated on a local Chicago dragon boat team for a year and started to get more involved with Outrigger Chicago’s club after learning their commitment to racing a men’s crew in Molokai, the world championship of Outrigger Canoe Racing. Outrigger Chicago is a paddling club that usually trains on the lakefront north of Chicago. Committing to racing with my men’s team on an OC6 in Molokai required a lot of time and hard work but I still continued my duties as the paddling director at LPBC. Together with Sue and other committed paddlers in kayak, outrigger canoeing and SUP, Lincoln Park Boat Club is currently focusing not only on recreational paddling but investing more into competitive-level training and racing for its members.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As many people know, occupations come with time commitment. So does sport and volunteer’s work. It took a lot of time that could have been spend with my girlfriend and friends. Obviously I needed to find a better compromise and balance my activities. It’s an ongoing process so I’m still working on it.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
My position at Lincoln Park Boat Club is the paddling director. I am responsible to oversee the activities that the Club offers for paddlers i.e. the equipment, classes and instructors. Furthermore the organization of events for paddlers within the club and also people from the outside.
The club includes a wide range of water sports from sweeping, sculling over Stand Up Paddling, kayaking to outrigger canoe racing and even TRX fitness & performance training. The diversity offers something for everyone no matter which age.
What makes me proud of this organization is its status as a non for profit organization and the board consist only of volunteers. Also the different kinds of water sports are connecting all of the members and are creating a great atmosphere for competitive and recreational athletes.
What were you like growing up?
When I grew up I was also very focused on sports. Mainly track and field and soccer. My older brothers often brought me onto the soccer field with their friends so I had a tough time on the field which challenged me a lot and made me grow. Besides the sport my parents taught me to focus on school as well. I was and still am interested in basically any technical things. My girlfriend would say I am a nerd. I grew up with almost no electronic entertainment and spent most of my time outside. Water sports came into my life much later.
Pricing:
- Annual membership individuals $450, students $300
- Private boat storage $250
- Single Stand Up Paddling class $40, 8 sessions advanced class $240
Contact Info:
- Address: 2341 N Cannon Dr, Chicago, IL 60614
- Website: lpboatclub.org
- Phone: (312) 715-7220
- Email: president@lpboatclub.org, rowing@lpboatclub.org, paddling@lpboatclub.org, communications@lpboatclub.org
- Instagram: @lpboatclub (Instagram)
- Facebook: Lincoln Park Boat Club (Facebook)
- Twitter: LP Boat Club @lpboatclub (Twitter)
Image Credit:
Richard Hodgkins, Sue Chang, Kirsten Marina-Lefeldt,Snowy Mountain Photography
