It’s not too late to register for City Water, Light and Power’s Kwedar Safe Boating Clinics for youth. In cooperation with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), CWLP has scheduled its annual boating safety and instruction courses to be held at the utility’s Property Management Center at Lake Springfield this spring. As of January 1, 2016, boaters in Illinois born after January 1st, 1998 have to carry the IDNR card or the United States Power Squadron boating card while boating in Illinois.
The clinic will be held this spring over two-day Saturday sessions on June 3 and June 10 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at CWLP’s Property Management Center at 200 E. Lake Shore Drive, located east of the Spaulding Dam Boat Launch.
The free classes are open to anyone 12 years or older but are especially geared to teens. Everyone who successfully completes a two-day session will earn an IDNR Safe Boating Certificate. Course content includes: basic boat knowledge, equipment, navigation, safety on and in the water, emergency measures, and skipper’s duties. The Kwedar Safe Boating Clinics are free. Persons wishing to attend must pre-register by calling 217-757-8660, ext. 1003. or email publicinformation@cwlp.com.
Children under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Participants may bring snacks and drinks for breaks. The Kwedar Safe Boating Clinics originated as a memorial to Melissa Kwedar, a Springfield teen who was killed in boating accident on White Lake near Waverly, Ohio in 1982. For that reason, there is special emphasis on the safe boating habits of youth.
