Am I good enough to go rafting?
The answer to your question is yes, yes you are! It doesn’t matter how bad you think you might be, you are good enough. Rafting is a team sport and the crew will make each rafting trip unique, but paddling is not about being fit or strong, it is all about the togetherness of the crew. Some people worry they are not strong enough, sporty enough, or fast enough, but none of that matters if you listen to the guide and work as a team. Rafting is a good tool for team building because the success of the trip is related to how good a crew can work as a team.
Everyone is good enough to go rafting and there are only two things that can keep you off the river, if you are intoxicated or pregnant. The minimum age to go rafting is 12 years old, and there is no age limit or weight limit. If you have any medical conditions, we ask you to tell the guide in advance. It won’t keep you from rafting, it will just make the raft guide aware of any precautions he or she might need to take and it can prevent future confusion and stress.
Once at a rafting trip, a member of the crew fell of the boat and swam, he went one way down the river and his leg went the opposite way. The raft guide in charge started to freak out watching his costumer’s leg drift downstream while the costumer said to him: “Get my leg! Get my leg!” It would have been nice to know in advance that this costumer had a prosthetic leg. He would still go rafting, and probably wouldn’t have scared the raft guide as much. I had a girl told me half way down the river she was blind from one eye, that would have been nice to know from the beginning.
Any medical conditions are best dealt with by talking about them before you go on the water. Now, if you don’t have any medical conditions and you still think you’re not good enough, come rafting and you’ll realize you are much better than you might take credit for. Every year we take hundreds of people down the river that explicitly state they aren’t good enough. It is beautiful to see how much their confidence grows throughout the trip and how much fun they have.
Whether it’s the mom that is only rafting to please her children and ends up having the most fun; whether is the scary camper that came with a group, overcame his fear of the water and had a blast. Whether you are the guy that thinks he’s too out of shape for this and ends up enjoying the experience and surprising himself and his own views of what his body is capable of; or whether it is any other reason you might have that can make you think you are not good enough, get ready to surprise yourself! Because the answer to your question is yes, yes you are good enough to go rafting!
By: Laura de Leers
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FAMILY FUN FOR ALL AGES! JON HALL WAS AWESOME! First let me say we had 5 people. Ages ranged from 18 to 42 and everyone had a blast! Jon Hall was an awesome and experienced rafter who really seemed to know his stuff. He was there to make sure... read more 10/31/2019jineshFun Packed Rafting We were a group of friends and each of us enjoyed the ride. The company believes in the complete satisfaction of the customer. We had Phil as our guide and he was amazing. He gave us a really wonderful time... read more 10/15/2019lorihaginsJon Hall makes the experience!!! My husband and I went white water rafting on the Ocoee for the first time and had an absolute blast! This was in part due to the nature of the activity but also because Jon made it such an experience!... read more 10/11/2019 - RonnyRequest Jon Hall Man, this trip was awesome. We did a half day in late September, so the water was still warm but it wasn’t insanely hot outside. We were a more adventurous group, and our tour guide, Jon Hall, did his best... read more 9/29/2019JenniferFantastic company, fantastic experience! There are a lot of choices in this area for white water rafting. I'm glad we chose this one! The proprietor made us feel welcome and is clearly committed to creating an unforgettable experience for his customers that lives through... read more 9/25/2019mammothfilmsAwesome Experience I have nothing but great things to say about OAR. I would recommend anyone looking for an Ocoee rafting adventure to use OAR. The guides are great at what they do and it is easy to see they love doing it. 9/23/2019
- Nina1121Team trip It was great! We did paintball, white water rafting and rock climbing and repelling. John was our instructor for the white water rafting, and for a party of 20 it was the smoothest trip I had ever been on. 9/22/2019JackBest bang for the buck! If you want to float down the river and watch people actually hit rapids repeatedly go somewhere else. If you want to get in the stink, go to OAR. Our guide Jon was the trip leader and he definitely set... read more 9/21/2019imranmeghjiAwesome experience - better than other companies we saw The OAR team did an awesome job to provide an action packed yet safe adventure. John started us off with the most entertaining (yet informative) safety session I have ever seen. All the guides were super knowledgeable and... read more 9/16/2019
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Outdoor Adventure Rafting
629 Welcome Valley Road
Benton, TN 37307
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