East Midlands Regional Coach Update

Lincoln  28th April 2013

Venue: Lincoln University, Human Performance Centre,

Main Lecture Theatre, Brayford Pool, Lincoln. LN6 7TS

9.00 Booking in – Tea and Coffee

9.30 Introductions to Team, Lincoln Canoe Club & Housekeeping

10.00 Keynote Delivery Ben Seals

11.15 An introduction to the Human Performance Centre of Lincoln University  Sandy Willmot

12.00 Lunch Break

13.00 Workshops

A. Paddleability                        Ian Dennies

B. Inland Navagation               Colin Broadway

C. Open Canoe Skills               Paul Taylor

D. 2 Star Skills                         John Liquorish

E. Intro to Ruddered Craft       Gary Quittenton

16.00 Feedback All back together in Club Room

16.30 Finish

To register Contact: Paul Taylor - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it - 07534912178

Heart of Birmingham Paddle  - 8th June 2013

Last Year saw a very successful gathering of paddlers, meeting in the Heart of Birmingham,  having started from various points around the city.

The event is to be repeated this year with a date of 8th of June planned.

Details have still to be confirmed but the date for  this pleasant little paddle  should be put in your Diaries.

More information will be added when it becomes available.

The CKT Midlands Canoe Show will be held at the Nene White Water Centre on the  21st April 2013  running from 10:30am - 18:00pm.

Canoe Kayak Trader is running a free demo event at the Nene Whitewater Centre, Northampton. This is a fantastic opportunity for recreational and whitewater paddlers to try the latest boats and equipment from the industry's leading brands (Jackson, Dagger and Pyranha).
They will also be taking a selection of the latest clothing as well as some fantastic offers ideal for the beginning of the summer season.
Demo Boats will be available on the flatwater 10:30am - 5:30pm and on the whitewater course 11:30-18:00. They will have our friendly staff on hand to give advice on  purchases.

There will be no charging for demo's on the R.Nene but normal course fees will apply to the course.

The Centres Cafe will also be open for food and drinks so you can make a day of it.

They will also be running white water and flat water classes on the day for £10 per person plus course fees for white water classes. The list is below.

Go to the appropriate web page to book :- http://www.leisure-boat.co.uk/product/3263/MCS_Flatwater_Workshops ;

http://www.leisure-boat.co.uk/product/3264/MCS_Whitewater_Workshops ;

or http://www.leisure-boat.co.uk/product/3456/Guided_Tour_of_the_Nene_Loop

Flatwater Workshops

Introduction to Kayaking

11:00 - 12:00
Designed to teach you the basics of kayaking from getting in and out, to efficient forward paddling, stability, control, turning and moving sideways.

Intoduction to Open Canoe  
12:00 - 13:00
Canoeing is a great way to get on the water as a family. This workshop will cover the techniques required to safely enjoy this aspect of paddling.

Flatwater Freestyle 
13:00 - 14:00
If you can do it on the flat, you can do it on whitewater! a great opportunity to nail the technique and develop skills which you can transfer on to the feature.

Introduction to Sit on Top Kayaking
14:00 - 15:00
Thinking about buying a sit on top? Then try one out here and learn the basics at the same time!

Introduction to Sea/Touring Kayaks 
15:00 - 16:00
This workshops looks at the basics of getting the most out of a sea kayak or touring kayak so you can enjoy your time on the water more.

Whitewater Workshops : Additional Course fee payable

Introduction to Whitewater 
10:30 - 11:30 and 16:00 - 17:00
This is a session designed for people with little or no whitewater experience, water confidence and basic flatwater paddling skills are required. You'll cover the basic whitewater techniques, including breaking in, breaking out, and ferry gliding.

Introduction to Freestyle 
16:00 - 17:00
This is a session designed for people with little or no freestyle experience. An ability to roll is ideal! You'll be looking at surfing, enders, spins and the basics of cartwheeling.

Junior Introduction to Freestyle, with mini competition
10:30 - 11:30 
For our younger superstar paddlers, this session will get you started with the basics of freestyle paddling, and then give you a chance to show off your new skills with a friendly competition at the end of the session.

Guided Trip of the Nene Loop
1pm to 3pm
£10

The Doggy Paddle this Year will be on the 12th May 2013

The Doggy Paddle is a recreational canoe and kayak event in aid of the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association run by the Royal Leamington Spa Canoe Club. The trip runs from Royal Leamington Spa, along the rivers Leam and Avon, and ends in historic Stratford-upon-Avon. The run takes you through the spectacular grounds of Warwick Castle and Charlecote Manor,  and the club will get all the permissions so that you can run this beautiful and fascinating stretch of river.

This is a flat-water trip open to any competent paddler who is capable of paddling 18 miles. The cost of entering the event is £10 for adults, £5 for under-18s (providing they are accompanied by an adult and capable of completing the trip). It starts at about 09.30 and you can either race it or make a day of it. Any sort of boat can be paddled but it is a long way for playboaters  :-).

The Club will also assist in shuttling but you will need to get there a little earlier.

You can enter in advance by sending in the form below, or you can enter on the day. If you send in your form they will have a printed copy waiting for you at the check in and you can pay  then. If you prefer to wait you can still enter on the day.

Full details at http://rlscc.com/page/doggy-paddle .

East Midlands Region Division 4 Series 2013

Poster (PDF)

The Club attended the Soar Down River Race on 24th February, and had a really good day. All managed to survive the cold weather, and we even had some sunshine for a while. There were 22 Break Out Canoe Club members on the water, with some of the more experienced paddlers escorting the younger ones down the river.

The race was over a three kilometre course, with paddlers being set off at one minute intervals. At the end of the race we warmed up with a round of pie and chips in the Boat House public house at Barrow-on-Soar, which conveniently is at the finish of the race.

Most of our members paddled slalom competition boats. However, John (who felt particularly unsafe), Joe Tallis, and Sam Pateman all braved the Wavehoppers, and Patrick Marriott took our battered C1 whitewater racer for an outing. Patrick was our fastest junior, and Jack Perchard our fastest slalom paddler.

We won several prizes, and some paddled sufficiently fast to also be awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze placid water racing awards. For some, it was a first experience of both competitive canoeing, and paddling in cold weather! So a big 'well done' to our novices: Ethan Clarke, Ollie Row, Tom Kelly , Toby Knott, Aaron Kirk and Kerry Christie.

Congratulations to Patrick Marriott on his selection to paddle for England in the Celtic Cup. Patrick was promoted to Division 1 of the national slalom league in both the C1 and K1 classes in 2012, and his end-of-season ranking in C1 was sufficient to get him the J16 place in the national team.

The C1 canoe slalom class involves paddling from a kneeling position with a one-bladed paddle and is an Olympic sport. Patrick also paddles C2 with team-mate Sam Pateman. They were our highest ranked pair in 2012, gaining 11th position in the second tier of the National League.

Patrick joined the Club in 2009, and competed in his first competition at Stone in Staffordshire at the end of that summer season. He has worked hard ever since - and now trains most days. It's pleasing to see his hard work paying off.

Race 4 (PDF)

1st to 6th January 2013
Having deliberated for some years about going for a 5 Star Assessment, I took note of comments and recommendations from Andy Oughton who, like me, had been talking about it but who eventually did it. I decided that, like Andy, a 4 day refresher course followed by two days of assessment would be a good way of doing it.

Unfortunately the first 6 day course I booked on in early December was cancelled due to snow! I got onto the next course and I landed up driving up to the North East on New Years Eve a mere four and a half hours towing my caravan!! Finding a site open over New Year had been difficult; the site I found was remote but had very good facilities being virtually on Hadrian’s Wall, this meant there were walkers and mountain bikers at the weekend but most of the time only me and the campsite wardens.I thought that I had been clever by looking at the programme of proposed rivers for the course and working out that where I was camped it wouldn’t be to long a journey each day. WRONG!!! Due to the lack of water I landed up driving an hour and a half each morning to get to the river Tees, leaving in the dark at 07:00 and returning anytime after 18:00 Hrs (In the dark).

4 DAY REFRESHER TRAINING

First day I arrive at the bridge over the river Allen a mere 25 minutes from camp, however no one else arrived by the allotted time! I rang Ken Hughes my coach and one of my assessor during the 6 days, it had been decided to change venue due to the lack of water; it appears e-mails had been sent as I made my way north! I had a 1 hour 15 minute drive through snow and ice to get to the group on the Tees. They had done the shuttle and were just about to get on as I arrived. No harm done, what followed was a shake down of paddling skills and getting use to the speed of the water as it was medium to high volume.
The river stayed this height for the next 2 days; we paddled all of the major rapids on the Tees from Eggleston Bridge, (We got permission to launch here!!!) Past Barnard Castle down to Winston Bridge We spent time poling, lining and tracking in big Grade 3 rapids. I had my nerve, skill and stamina tested. My paddling improved due to some subtle tweaking and the development of my power pry and micro trim. I will be coaching these at Three Star and definitely 4 Star.
Our day on Uleswater was brilliant, we had the required Force 5 wind conditions for sailing and paddling it was not quite so good for poling, the water level was low. I was introduced to paddling on the windward side when crossing the lake something you need to experience and like most things when you get it right you understand the reason why you are doing it. Navigation across and around the water took place with no real problems helped by the fact most on the course were qualified and experienced mountain leaders able thankfully to transfer their skills.
My good friend Likko arrived at the caravan on Friday night to paddle as a group member on the assessment and see what was needed to pass your 5 Star. It meant I also had someone to talk to and he also dragged me down to the pub for food and my first drink of alcohol in 4 days!

ASSESSMENT

Picture the start of the day 3 assessors, 3 on assessment and 3 would be 5 star paddlers, the river day was again on the Tees however the river had dropped and the falls and rapids changed accordingly; so as leaders we made different decisions in my case running rapids and drops we would not have done earlier in the week. The paddlers on assessment all knew each other and were comfortable with what we could do. The would be 5 star paddlers found conditions interesting and at times challenging, some tested our rescue techniques. This meant that at the end of the day again to our relief, we only had to do a timed all in rescue completed within sight of the finish, just as it got dark!
The open water day was assessed with all of us being successful paddlers, navigators and sailors in Force 5 wind conditions; we had also carried equipment and put up shelters as if staying for an overnight stay, in affect making lunch a more comfortable experience.
If you want to put your self forward for 5 Star I feel the 6 day method is ideal, however bear in mind you need lots of experience prior to assessment and I had already done two 5 star training courses with different coaches over the years, you do also have to comply with log book requirements. I am happy to talk or work with anyone who feels they want to make the step from 4 to 5 Star.
Thankfully all three of us on assessment passed. We were impressed by the style of the assessors they gave you confidence yet missed nothing, and mentioned everything!! We all felt we had earned the leader award and came away confident and assured we could give our groups a safe and exciting day on the water
Ian Dennies
5 Star Open Canoe Leader & Level 3 Open Canoe Coach

Leamington Spa 10 Feb 2013
After an early start 6 members of paddle plus headed to Royal Leamington Spa Canoe Club. There were 9 participants from 3 clubs under the tuition of Tibor Herbent. Emma from the club showed the group around the facilities including the ergo machines, gym, equipment storage and club room.

After getting changed we went in C1 or DC2. The boats ranged from adapted touring canoes to deltas. We started kneeling, paddling up and down the stretch of river outside the clubhouse. Everyone had a go at paddling although Laura stayed by the bank in the very unstable C1.

We then went into the gym and had a go on the pull down canoe weight deck.  This wasn't as realistic as the C1 ergo machine that we used later but was good to show arm and body position. Especially with Tibor using his cattle prod.
It was then time to go back on the water and put what we had been shown into action. Charlotte took a small swim after trying to turn the C1.
It was then time for lunch followed by circuit training in the gym which was quite amusing as we were all in dry suits and buoyancy aids. We went on the C1 ergo which was good for balance and stroke development.  Some of this was filmed so that we could see how we were doing.
During the last session on the water everyone had a go at kneeling on one knee with the other foot out in front. This was the hardest position to master which none of us actually did. Storme has the last run of the day and did really well but Tibor was not impressed with her exit of the boat.

Report by Kate Moir