Philadelphia Canoe Club, Philadelphia

Seems lame must have visited the wrong club There are no mandatory attendances at anything, no rituals I'm aware of , membership not required to participate, no common shared beliefs as in a cult, just a bunch of people who enjoy paddling

Very welcoming group! They do a ton of trips - from flatwater to whitewater - pine barrens, philadelphia rivers, poconos, adirondacks, canada, etc. They really make a great effort to help people access boating! Very safety-conscious, inclusive, and welcoming! Anyone can join in the activities - including paddling trips! you don't have to "join" the club to participate! This makes it really easy to paddle, and if you want to get to know people in a new city, this is a great way to do it!

A mandatory attendance at social functions so they can find out if we're the right "material" for their private club? Sounds snooty, ludicrous, and wholly unnecessary. You're in a city where people have busy and varying schedules, not Mayberry. We're experienced paddlers from NYC (go, Gowanus Dredgers!) and could only laugh when we visited this website and read all their obsessive rules; sounds like you're joining a country club instead of a canoe club. No, thanks. It's very simple, we just want to go paddling and are happy to pay a fee to do so, not go through a bunch of self-important rituals and ass-kissing to be accepted into the fold like we're joining a church or a cult. Get real, people.