Frome Canoe Club
We wish all our members and their families a Prosperous New Year, and ... ‌ happy paddling with us in 2018!
Fun on the Barle trip. See Gareth’s report on p13.
More information on p5
Volume 42 Issue 1: January 2018 Frome Canoe Club is affiliated to British Canoeing and is a Registered Charity (Number 1104728) 1
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THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President Graham Warnecke Vice Presidents Richard and Jane Arney Catharine Croft Chairman Andy Vowell Vice Chairman Gareth McGiveron Treasurer John Kent Secretary Pam Dixon 16 Blagdon Walk, Frome, BA11 2YH Committee Members Rich Carter Jonathan Howell Linz Kimber Tracey Lemon Stuart Miles Emma Slevin Jack Smiles
In this issue CALENDAR 3 Calendar in brief 4 River Dart trip River Usk trip 5 Saturday sessions Club Social and Awards Night 6 Pool sessions Canoe Polo at the pool Wednesday sessions SLALOM 7 Slalom dates from John REPORTS 8-9 Nominations for our Annual Awards 10-12 Exe trip by Binkie Heather 13 Barle trip by Gareth OTHER THINGS 14 Dancing With Rocks 15 The things we do - A collage 16 Bits and Pieces
Send articles for the next issue to th pam@dixon.org.uk by 27 January
SmokefreeSports
Please help us to promote a smokefree club by refraining from smoking publicly at all our events.
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Calendar 2018 Date
Event
Who for
Contact
1
New Years Day Paddle
One Star/ Passport +
tbc
5
No pool session
All
Pam D
12
POOL SESSIONS RESTART
All
Pam D
12
Polo at the pool - contact game Experienced paddlers Jack S
13
Saturday afternoon session
All
Rich C
14
River Dart trip
One Star/ Passport +
Chris W
20
CLUB SOCIAL and AWARDS
All
Pam D
26
Polo at the pool - non contact
All
Jack S
28
Dulverton Training Day
Slalomists
John K
January
February 9
Polo at the pool - contact game Experienced paddlers Jack S
10
Saturday afternoon session
All
Rich C
11
River Usk trip
Two Star +
John K
21
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
All
Pam D
23
Polo at the pool - non contact
All
Jack S
3/4
Dulverton Slalom 3/4/Open
All
John K
10
Saturday afternoon session
All
Rich C
March
25/26/27 August - Surfing Weekend
Gareth 3
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Calendar in detail RIVER DART
RIVER USK
14th January Meet Market Yard: 8am Cost £15 Organiser: Chris Wilde
11th February Meet Market Yard: 8am Cost £15 Organiser: John Kent
There are three sections for us to choose between. So we can cater for a variety of paddling abilities.
We plan to paddle the River Usk from Sennybridge to Aberbran, a distance of 5 to 6 miles.
The Loop is for paddlers at a good Two Star standard with moving water experience.
There are three rocky ledges in the first mile then the remainder is similar to the Barle.
The Lower is for paddlers at One Star standard. Open boaters also enjoy this section. The Upper section is for experienced paddlers. Ask Jack or Rich if you are not sure. Nearer the time we will see what the predicted water levels are to be and we will make decisions about who does what.
It's always cold at this time of year so you need to have warm kit and a packed lunch. This trip is open to paddlers who have done some winter paddling with us this season, and for example, have run the Barle, Lower Dart or equivalent. This river is rather water dependent so keep watching in the run up in case we have to change it. 4
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Calendar in detail MONTHLY SATURDAY AFTERNOON SESSION
CLUB SOCIAL AND AWARDS CEREMONY 20th JANUARY
2-4pm at the Clubhouse Cost: £3 (or use your Paddle Pass) Organiser: Rich Carter
At the Clubhouse £5 adults, £3 U-16 7pm for a 7.30pm buffet
A club session every month over the winter season
Please bring your own alcohol – there will be plenty of soft drinks available
Second Saturday in the month. The sessions will be informal and paddlers can do their own thing. There won’t be any of the groups organised, but you can do slalom training, paddle up and down or just chill.
We celebrate all that was good about 2017 in this event, and we give out the awards to recognise members’ successes. Do come to share this evening with us.
This is also your chance to stay in touch over the winter, sign up on the trip lists and catch up on club news.
A buffet is included in the ticket price, so we need to know numbers - please sign up or let Pam know if you are coming. After the buffet we will have the presentations.
Dates are:
13th January 10th February 10th March
Dress is informal. It’s all very chilled. All the nominees for the awards are on p8/9.
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Calendar in detail FRIDAY POOL SESSIONS
CANOE POLO AT THE POOL
FRIDAYS, 8-9pm . FROME SPORTS AND FITNESS CENTRE, BA11 2SA
TWICE A MONTH A CANOE POLO GAME AT THE POOL Experienced paddlers, on the second Friday of the month.
How they work:
January 12th February 9th
Find us in the Frome Sports and Fitness Centre foyer at 7.45pm. Bring swimming costume, towel, session charge - £3.50. We divide up the hour into smaller ‘paddling slots’ so that everyone can get a go. This means that you may get 30 minutes in a kayak, but on a busy night the paddling slots will be 20 minutes. When you pay, choose the slot you want to paddle in. You don’t need to wear a buoyancy aid or helmet (unless you are playing canoe polo). If you want to bring your own kayak, it must be VERY clean. Bring it in via the fire exit.
Non contact game, on the last Friday of the month. January 26th February 23rd We timetable the polo games into one of the paddling slots of the night. So if you want to take part, let us know on the desk when you sign in. We provide buoyancy aids, helmets and club paddles for these games so that people are properly protected.
CHRISTMAS BREAK: NO SESSION ON 5th January
WEDNESDAY EVENING SLALOM TRAINING 6.30pm At the Club John leads this session. 6
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Slalom dates Here are some details of early slalom events in 2018 from John: Sunday 28th January a training day at Dulverton, on the River Barle. If you have ever done a Barle trip with us, you will know this section - it is the last bit we do. It is described as being ideal for both juniors and seniors new to slalom or those wanting to improve skills on moving water. It also gets you ready for the ranking competition coming up. If you look at the photos below (and more here), you can see what the water looked like last year.
3rd/4th March is a weekend at Dulverton on the same stretch of river as the training day, and is expected to take the form of free practice Saturday morning with a fun open team event in the afternoon. On the Sunday the ranking division 3, 4 and Open race is held. Another good weekend for those getting into slalom or wanting to improve skills on moving water. 17th/18th March - a harder division 2 and 3 race at Symonds Yat. 14th/15th April at Llandysul a division 2/3/4 race. Then a gap until May when there are a number of easy slaloms. More about that in a later newsletter. Let John know if you are interested in the training day on 28th January or if you want to know any more. 7
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AWARDS NIGHT - Our Nominees Langham Farm Trophy - for best performance at Langham Farm Slalom
The nominees are: Aimee C and Jacob L Bayman Trophy - for best performance at a national event
The nominees are: Finn J, Henry L and Jacob L Steve Allen Shield - for significant improvement made by an adult newcomer
The nominees are: Ed E, Lawrence S, Paul S, Peter N and Sam K Ivor Morgan Award - for contribution to coaching during the year.
The nominees are: Ben N, Chris W, Christian J, Kath N, Su F and Vicky B 8
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Our Nominees continued Youth Award - for significant improvement during the year. The nominees are: Aicha M, Alfie S , Emily T, Gio R, Henry L, Jaz W and Joseph W
Volunteers Cup - for significant contributions made to the club during the year.
The nominees are: Christian J, Christine L , Emma S, Henry L and Steve T
Editors Award - for best contribution to the newsletter.
The nominees are: Alun J, Chris W and Christine L
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Exe trip by Binkie Heather
Playing at Worthouse Bridge
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Exe trip continued
Playing at Walronds
Limbo… limbo
Continued on p12 11
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Exe trip continued
Playing at Bickleigh
Don’t we paddle in some beautiful places? 12
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The Barle trip - 23rd December The custom and practice in the club is that the organiser of trips has to write a report for others to read in the Newsletter. As Gareth was the organiser, he kindly gave this verbal report for us to enjoy:
Said Gareth “We paddled the River Barle today. “It was
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Barle trip - another version
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A Year in the Life of the Club! A collage by John
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CONTACTS Chairman: Andy Vowell 07584 069432 Vice Chair: Gareth McGiveron Treasurer: John Kent 01225 765168 jfkent@blueyonder.co.uk Secretary: Pam Dixon 07740 472982 pam@dixon.org.uk Head Coach: Rich Carter 01373 864623 Youth Rep: Tracey Lemon Volunteer Rep: Jonathan Howell Kit: Jack Smiles smiles93@googlemail.com Safety Officer: Rich Carter Welfare Officer: Pam Dixon 07740 472982
www.frome-canoeclub.org.uk
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This is a no-brainer! The UPFRONT CARD
Buy 5 pool sessions (£17.50) and get one session free.
Are you happy with the way the club is running? Do you want to see different stuff happening? There are lots of ways you can do this. Talk to a committee member. Or start volunteering for us. Or get yourself on the committee. We elect the 2018 committee at the AGM (21st February). Any club member over 18 can stand. And if you are a young person, why don’t you get involved in the YPC. Talk to Andy, Rich or Jack if you want to know more. We really do welcome your comments and suggestions, so please talk to us!
In Next Month’s issue: Otto was so shocked when watching the recent Blue Planet, that he thought it would be a really good project for the YPC to get involved in. And perhaps tie it into a More from Otto next month! AND A NEW RANGE OF CLUB CLOTHING is coming… Emma will tell us more next month.
Canoeing and kayaking are “Assumed risk” – “Water contact sports” that may carry attendant risks. Participants should be aware of and accept these risks, and be responsible for their own action and involvement. 16