Stand-up paddling website

Kathy Verigin has brought two passions together with her Stand-Up Paddleboarding Guide. — Photo courtesy Kathy Verigin

When she first tried stand-up paddleboarding in Hawaii, Kathy Verigin knew she had found a sport to love. She’s back home in Castlegar, B.C., and has launched a website geared towards those who are also ready to give the rapidly growing pastime a try.

“I was hooked the first time paddleboarding,” said Verigin. “In the meantime I was deciding on what topic I would like to build a website and voila! I knew I was going to ease out of contract work in 2014 after 23 years in business and wanted a project that would continue to deliver revenue without the pressure of answering to a higher up.”

As a digital designer for print media, Verigin already had many of the skills needed to design a web page. More technical aspects, however, offered a new challenge. She purchased a website-building package and got to work.

“It took me a year to write the pages and create the artwork, find appropriate keywords for each page and basically school myself to understand how it all works,” said Verigin. “Once I was happy with the finished pieces I then started uploading the pages at the end of December 2013 and officially launched the site January 1, 2014.”

With its increasing popularity, Verigin believes stand-up paddleboarding is an activity that needs an online presence such as the one she’s offering. In the future she hopes to monetize the site, using her design experience to make it compatible. The site will also be growing in other ways, with new pages and video being added regularly.

“To date I haven’t found a website that has everything in one place for people who would like to start up, maintain, and explore all the disciplines,” said Verigin. “That is my goal—to offer all one needs to know, all in one place, in an easy-to-follow, easy-to-navigate, website.”

Visit the Stand-Up Paddleboarding Guide online.