By Tina Murray & Team
The leadership team of the WI Women’s Fly Fishing Clinics has discussed extensively which of the clinics we can offer safely given the structures of the clinics,  where we currently are now with Covid numbers, best practices, changing landscapes, Vaccinations and all the other aspects that make our heads spin.

We have collectively determined that we can safely (following best practices and adapting our activities) hold the WOWSC-intermediate clinic where 90% of the teaching and learning occurs outdoors. By asking people to be vaccinated and following CDC best practices we feel it is safely doable with these considerations.

Sadly, we realize that it would be impossible to hold the beginners clinics this year in a safe manner. The beginners clinics specifically is designed to offer personalized instruction in a framework that would be very difficult to adapt given the facilities and activities.  We do not feel that the teaching would be effective, nor that the participant would get the value of a typical clinic due to the constraints that would be imposed. For the Basics 90% of the instruction is intensive and it would be difficult to follow best practices or maintain safety to a high degree.  Above all else the instructors are committed to keeping everyone safe and are very disappointed in not being able to offer participants the full experience or value the clinics are known for.

We have polled the Clinic Instructors and the WOWSC-I guides and they resoundingly indicated they feel confident and will commit to the WOWSC-I Clinic – taking women out on the water skills clinic June 16th and 17th, 2021 and follow all the required procedures to keep everyone safe.

However, given that the landscape continues to shift on us the Wisconsin Women’s Clinics will reserve the right to cancel all the clinics entirely if our states numbers are not in decline, the weather throws us a curve ball not allowing us to use the outdoors or for any reason unforeseeable at this writing.  If we were to cancel, we would do so between June 1 – 3rd leaving people more than 2 weeks notice.

Additionally, we realize that Covid has offered us an opportunity to spend more intentional teaching time with our River-buddies.  These are the women who come to the clinics to support the beginners.  Each year we offer a training session and each year there are more requests for training and teaching opportunities in the clinic.  During the clinics we are short on time and never really get to indepth training for the river-buddies.  This year we are creating an intensive Riverbuddy Leadership Institute.  The current Women’s clinics instructors will share their teaching strategies and the river-buddies will be offered opportunities to practice teaching using these strategies and building their own skills and confidence.  They will receive feedback from the other riverbuddies and instructors and work on becoming comfortable teaching in their chosen areas.  Those who participate will leave with a certificate of completion and be invited to teach at the 2022 Basics Clinics.  The instructors will be standing back to allow the Riverbuddies the space to grow their abilities knowing they have the support of experts should they need it.  The clinics always strive to build both confidence and competence in all who participate; this is the next step to creating a strong team of capable women instructors across the state.  The ripple effect of our clinics have already paid off in many communities by having women step up to leadership roles.  This leadership institute is an exciting next step for the clinics and the benefits boundless.

Though we are very disappointed about not offering the basics in 2021, we are maximizing the gift of time the pandemic offers and improving our program, investing in our teaching staff and planning program improvements for the future!  This evolution for the clinics and the up and coming river-buddies to begin the process of becoming instructors is very exciting and will ensure the sustainability of the clinics. Great programs generate new leaders by investing in others abilities. This ensures longevity of program independent of one or a few individuals and promotes passion and future continuation.

Thank you to everyone who makes these clinics an amazing experience that adds values to many people’s lives.

Here is a short video on the clinics for all to enjoy. It won first place at the 2019 Greatwaters Fly Fishing Expo film festival in Minnesota https://vimeo.com/325794212/50145f0cf9  Check here for more about the Clinics. https://www.swtu.org/learn/womens-flyfishing-clinic/

Please contact Tom Thrall if interested in helping teach women during the clinics. tpthrall@gmail.com  or 608.219.4249