The Outside World has blended together one of the oldest American sports together with one of the newest. For the past few Wednesday nights, a band of kayakers have come to Dawsonville and met at Thompson Creek Access on Lake Lanier to play a new sport called kayak football. The rules are simple and you need very little skill to play although plenty of energy is required.

The paddlers break into two groups and try to score by throwing a football to another team member waiting in the end zone. Sounds a lot like classic American football until you see that all of the players are in kayaks. Things can get pretty zany when three or four paddlers are all trying to get the ball at the same time. Some people prefer whitewater types while other like the sit-on-top style. Flipping is allowed but only if the paddler knows how to do an Eskimo roll.

The Outside World started the games after one of their new staff members, Trey Dix, came to the store. He used to play the game at a store he worked at in Augusta, GA, and introduced The Outside World staff and others to this wacky but fun water sport.

The Outside World, which is a full service outfitting shop in Dawsonville, specializes in kayaks and canoes. The owner, Brent Troncalli, said that the game has brought all types of paddlers in, from first-timers to experienced whitewater kayakers.

If you want to join, just give the store a call. You can either bring you own boat or borrow one of theirs for free. Get there early or call to reserve a boat so they don’t run out. For more information, call The Outside World at 706-265-4500 or 1-866-375-2628.

See you in the end zone...on the lake.