Outside, snow fell in torrents, a stiff north wind blowing it sideways.

But inside the Bartlett High pool it was hot and humid on a recent Thursday night. Twenty boaters -- mainly in Jackson white-water kayaks -- paddled. The most skilled played a game of kayak polo, while others practiced Eskimo rolls and paddle strokes in a separate section of the pool.

Though solid water continues to hold sway on many Alaska waterways, it was easy to dream about summer and splash around the pool as though it were a hot July day.

This was the third of a 10-session class by Alaska Kayak Academy designed to teach paddlers strokes, bracing skills and Eskimo rolls, combined with a fun -- and sometimes cutthroat -- game of kayak polo.

The class is academy owner Jim Gonski's brainchild, a way to bring people to a sport he loves during its off season. He hauls a trailer-load of kayaks to the pool, though some veteran kayakers bring their own.

"My ultimate goal is that they find a new sport that they can have fun with, especially during the winter," said Gonski.

And a new sport is always refreshing, no matter your age.

John Beebee, 67, decided to try kayaking three years ago and now was playing kayak water polo against paddlers a third his age.

"I decided to take up white-water kayaking in my retirement. I used to be a surfer, and I'm getting bit too old to run and climb mountains," said Beebee on Friday after a long ski around Spencer Loop.

He's not alone.

"It's the best combination of bumper cars and water polo imaginable," said Rick Kullberg, 65. "We're playing with teenagers. We're lucky -- my son plays, and John's son plays too.

"It really is thrilling. That adrenaline kick just doesn't wear off with age. Granted, maybe it takes you a little less to get you excited."

Learning the Eskimo roll, a maneuver to bring an overturned kayak upright, is essential for beginning kayakers, particularly those headed to white water.

"It's a critical thing, a required stroke," Gonski said. "People who really need to learn how to roll are people who do white-water kayaking.

"I'd say 60 to 65 percent of all new students, that is the major fear they have," Gonski said. "We want you to get past it right away, so that you're comfortable, you realize you're not going to get stuck in a kayak."

So the class works on a technique called a "T-rescue" -- once you flip your kayak you put your hands up out of the water and slap your hull.

"Everyone knows that's a signal that person needs help," Gonski said. Someone will paddle to them, they'll bump their wrist, the person grabs hold of that boat, and then by using that boat, they can snap their hip and they can bring their boat upright."

Some students pick up the Eskimo roll technique quickly; most don't.

"Usually we do rolling as a private deal because it's so instructor intense," Gonski said. "People get frustrated -- either frustrated or tired.

"We'll take them until they hit the wall then send them back out to the game.

"It's all muscle -- muscle memory, muscle coordination. As soon as people roll, the first thing they say is, 'How did I make this so difficult' "

And guess who says that most

Young men, generally 25- to 30-year-olds. Engineers have trouble too.

"They're used to getting their way," Gonski said. "They want to muscle the boat up. You're constantly trying to break them of pulling down on the (paddle) blade."

Teenage girls, on the other hand, pick up the Eskimo roll quickest.

"They'll use their hips, and when they do, they roll the boat over easily."

Gonski calls the girls and his two seniors "my star students."

The latter pair comfortably run Class 3 white water during the summer. Both are avid Eagle River paddlers. Kullberg plans to try the Chickaloon River this summer.

"They're lean and mean and practice a lot," Gonski said.

And there are no shortcuts around that maxim.

"You need to practice it every season, so that when you flip there is no thinking," Gonski said. "Your body goes into autopilot."

Kayak water polo helps ensure that happens.

"You're constantly being pushed over and have to roll up," Kullberg said. "You get used to functioning at all 360 degrees. You do it enough and you know you're going to get out, so there isn't that panic."

Find Mike Campbell online at adn.com/contact/mcampbell or call 257-4329.

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