Watersport weekend adventures

Although July's been tolerable so far, boiling-hot summertime temperatures are biding their time, just waiting to blow up your air conditioner (and your electric bill), sap your strength, and leave you sprawled in the backyard kiddie pool, wearing a garden hose like a fashion accessory. So, when the temperatures get hot, the hot get out and explore a few weekend watersport adventures.

Yaks over Zorinsky...kayaks, that is

Call me naive (or Stuart--I've always liked that name), but prior to this morning, I'd never heard of kayak polo. Water polo, yes. Rich-dudes-in fancy-clothes-on-horses polo, indeed. I'd even heard of bike polo in the Omaha area. But until I checked out the Nebraska Kayak Polo website (and a few youtube videos of theirs), I was a kayak polo neophyte.

Luckily, according to their website, Nebraska Kayak Polo takes a "beginner-friendly approach" to their sport, starting participants with the sit-on-top variety of kayaks, which only require that the user a) have the ability to sit and b) have the ability to paddle.

In the summertime, on Sunday afternoons, the group plays on Lake Zorinsky. In winter, instead of donning wetsuits and/or winter coats, the group moves the game indoors to a local pool. If you plan on participating in the action, make sure you check out their website and make reservations, since space (and by "space," I mean the number of available kayaks) is limited.

Whatever floats your tube

Last month I wrote a little bit about river tanking, the practice of taking an empty livestock tank, filling it with your family and friends, and floating it down a river. If that seems too newfangled and high-tech for you, perhaps you should revisit the idea of good old-fashioned river tubing.

Unfortunately, good inner tubes are getting harder and harder to find. Luckily, Nebraska outfitter Tubing and Adventures will supply these necessary items, as well as transportation, coolers, and cooler tubes, for a scenic and relaxing float down the Elkhorn River.

If you'd prefer to canoe (or if you're of the do-it-yourself variety), further information on the Elkhorn River canoe trail can be found at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission website.