2014 09 newsletter

Newsletter

Frome Canoe Club

Volume 38 Issue 9: September 2014

Congratulations Chloe!

Promoted to Division 2 at Cardington, 31st August Chloe only started slalom this year with her first one in May at Winchester. A promotion straight away to Div 3 was rather good., but it gets better!

A promotion to Div 2 at the end of August. Is this a club record?

A really good response from the membership!

Here is just one of the many positive comments:

“I would change nothing. I think the club is amazing!�

The committee now wants your views about an additional way of paying session fees. See back page.

BBQ races - the winners

P10 for more

Frome Canoe Club is affiliated to Canoe England and is a Registered Charity (Number 1104728) 1

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THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President Graham Warnecke Vice Presidents Richard and Jane Arney Jim and Catharine Croft Chairman Alun Jones Vice Chairman Gareth McGiveron

In this issue CALENDAR: details

3 4 4 4 5 5 5

Calendar in brief Surf trip Wye trip Tiverton training Starwars event Barle trip An afternoon paddle

SLALOM

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Harefield slalom report

Treasurer John Kent Secretary Pam Dixon 16 Blagdon Walk, Frome, BA11 2YH Committee Members Arthur Belbin Rich Carter Richard Heal Jonathan Howell Tracey Lemon Stuart Miles

Kit Officers Tim and Sally Smiles

REPORTS

8 9 10

A Rebel in our Midst Caroline’s Bradford on Avon Summer Barbeque

SPECIALS

12 15 16

The Survey: a summary of results Other courses An alternative way of paying for club sessions - your views requested

Send articles for the next issue to th pam@dixon.org.uk by 27 September 2

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Calendar 2014 Date

Event

Standard

Contact

September 7

Surf trip (surf dependent!)

Adults

Rich C

7

Starwars light sabre challenge

All

Stu + Tracey

17

LAST WEDNESDAY SESSION

All

Pam D

21

Wye Rapids or local trip

Passport/One Star

Rich C

24

Open Clubhouse (every Wednesday through the winter, All but no organised sessions

Pam D

28

Afternoon paddle at the club

All

Rich C

Moving water weekend

Passport/One Star

Pam D

10

FIRST POOL SESSION

All

Pam D

17

Polo at the Pool (contact game) All

Pam D

19

River Barle

A good One Star + moving water training

Gareth

24

Polo at the Pool (non contact)

All

Pam D

31

Pool session: a coaching night

All

Pam D

Passport/One Star

Pam D

October 4/5

(+ 10 years or over)

November 15/16

Dart Weekend

(+ 10 years or over)

30

Passport/One Star

Local trip

John K

Strict adherence to the Club’s code of conduct is expected at all times on club events .

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Calendar in detail SURF TRIP

TIVERTON TRAINING WEEKEND

7th September 8am at the Market Yard Cost £15

4/5th October Meet Market Yard : 8.30am £40

A day on the waves! This will take place on the north Devon coast, most likely Croyde area.

A weekend to learn the skills of paddling on moving water (rapids).

The trip is for competent paddlers, around the 2 Star level, and over 10year olds. If you are not good at rolling yet, I would suggest that you borrow one of the club’s sit-on -tops.

We stay in a bunkhouse overnight and so you need to bring overnight things and a sleeping bag.

Transport, food (except Saturday lunch) is included in the price.

Limited spaces. So booking is essential. £10 deposit secures your place.

If there is no surf we will cancel so watch out for news on the webpage and fb.

We paddle the River Exe on both days, working in very small groups so that you get quality coaching.

WYE RAPIDS

This course is essential for new paddlers who want to take part in some of the winter trips coming up.

21st September 8am at the Market Yard Cost £15

We teach how to break in and out of the flow, how to ferryglide, and surf waves, as well as showing you how to stay safe on moving water.

Today we will be having fun as we mess about all day on the rapids at Symonds Yat. You will need a packed lunch, change of clothes for paddling, a towel, and you can borrow club kit on the morning.

We have an option this year of being able to book a climbing wall and instructors for the activity. This will cost an additional £10. When you sign up, indicate if you are interested.

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Calendar in detail A paddling event with a twist! 7th September, 2pm (No charge to take part. And fancy dress is optional) A Starwars convention (in fancy dress) on the banks of the River Frome, followed by the light-sabre challenge in open boats.

(PS You might get wet in the light-sabre challenge, so be warned!)

Judging of the fancy dress will take place first, and then we hop into canoes in teams for the challenge.

AFTERNOON PADDLE AT THE CLUBHOUSE

RIVER BARLE TRIP 19th October 8am at the Market Yard Cost £12

SUNDAY 28th September 2pm at the Market Yard

This is a beautiful river on Exmoor, graded at 2. It has rapids almost all the way down and is a good river if you have just done the Tiverton Training weekend.

(No charge to paddle) You suggested, in the survey, some weekend paddles at the clubhouse, so here we go!

You need to be 10 years old or over, be a good One Star standard and be able to wear a spray deck.

Bring a packed lunch, warm clothes and borrow any club kit you need on the morning.

The first one is 28th September!

It will be like a normal Wednesday session: fun and games, polo, slalom open boats, and so lots to choose from.

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What happens after Wednesdays stop?

WE CONTINUE TO MEET AT THE CLUBHOUSE We carry on paddling at the clubhouse on Wednesdays till it gets too dark to see.

But sessions are not organised. So on 24th Sept and after, you need to be a competent paddler and go in a group of at least three. Or catch hold of a coach and ask if they will go with you!

Open house every Wednesday You don’t need to paddle on Wednesdays: you can come for the company, the chat and the cup of tea!

When it gets too dark to paddle, we stop the paddling but we carry on meeting all though the winter. Sometimes organise activities like a DVD night etc.

AND POOL SESSIONS START OCTOBER 10th Frome Leisure Centre Fridays, 8-9pm Cost £2.80 young people, £3.30 Adults

The pool session will be divided into two sessions, so you get half an hour in the pool kayaking.

Bring a swimming costume and towel. We provide the boats, paddles and spray decks. We don’t wear helmets and buoyancy aids in pool sessions. It’s easy.

Pool sessions are for canoe polo, practising capsizes, rolling and for play boating (stay in the deep end). Or you can just paddle about and be sociable. When you are not paddling, you can mess about in the small pool or stand and chat on poolside. If you want to bring your own boat it has to be very clean and you should bring it through the fire exit door.

Deliberate sinking of boats is not encouraged, because it puts people’s backs at risk when they empty them. Normal pool rules apply and so we do what the lifeguards say.

Pool sessions are for everyone!

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Pool sessions are for ...

HAVING FUN You can paddle about with your friends, or practise some play moves at the deep end. We have a Sit on Top and a couple of play-boats for you to use as well as normal kayaks.

We also plan to organise a games night once a month.

You will get a guaranteed half hour in the pool.

PLAYING CANOE POLO Twice a month we will organise a polo game: once for experienced paddlers (contact game), and the other for less experienced paddlers (non contact game).

Polo is really good fun! It improves paddling fitness because of the speed of action and it improves paddling skills.

The contact game will be in the second paddling session (8.30pm).

The non contact game will be in the first paddling session (8pm).

We use the club pool boats and we provide the specialist kit (helmets, BAs and paddles). First contact game is 17th Oct. First non-contact game is 24th Oct.

LEARNING SKILLS (CAPSIZE DRILL, RESCUES, ROLLING ETC You can book an instructor for part of a session by signing the booking sheet when you pay at the desk.

Then in the pool, you ask the instructor to help you with whatever you want to learn!

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A rebel in our midst! (Bradford on Avon, 3rd August) This was our annual ‘Sink the Instructors’ trip. It was warm and sunny today. The company and the beautiful scenery through the centre of Bradford on Avon made for a brilliant day.

We hadn’t done this trip for a couple of years because of the grief given to us at the top weir a while ago, so we were slightly on edge as we approached it after lunch. It was Mike who clinched it. He said quite boldly that no one was going to stop him from paddling over the weir!

Yes, indeed we do have a rebel in our midst! No holding back, Mike was going to shoot the top weir come what may!

And so he did, along with a few others.

It was a joy to behold!

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Bradford on Avon continued This from Caroline: As a recent One Star pass, I was slightly apprehensive about the day. This was my first paddling away from the comfort of the club’s stretch of river. I was soon put at ease as we all paddled off downstream, sun shining and a lovely view from the river.

We managed to avoid the rowers, and soon arrived at the weir downstream.

Over we went. Everyone managed to negotiate it except for me: my first unplanned capsize ! After lunch we paddled upstream arriving at the top weir. Here we all had more fun playing in the white water and some even went down the weir backwards.

Thanks to all the coaches and especially Stu for helping me back into my kayak (twice). Note to self….need to practice support stokes !

Paddlers and points Girls: Aimee C, Bee T, Chloe C, India T, Isi M, Philippa T and Poppy Boys: Alfie L, Jack K, Jamie E (3), Joe T, Ollie and Theo M, Ladies: Caroline T, (6), Jane T, Karen R, Kath N and Pam Men: Dave P, Dav L, Jack S, Mike H (1), Rich C, Rich H, Stu M and Tom K. And joining us for lunch: Alfie’s Mum and Nanny, Linz, Andrew P and Claire.

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Barbeque 2014 All change!

We heeded the weather warning and relocated to Market Yard, which meant frantic emails, messages and all the rest. But we managed and the verdict at the end by those who gave it was ‘Let’s have it at Market Yard next year!’

The Jelly Babies at the polo goals

The races were before lunch and the 6 teams were: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

The races comprised       

Chloe H, Chloe M, Aimee Alfie, Theo, Jamie Chloe C, Millie, George Dave, Wendy, Rich Eleanor, Jack, Rich Xander, Neil, Graham

Paddles go through the hoops

Throwing balls into the polo goals Passing paddles through hoops Negotiating slalom gates, Standing and paddling Reversing Picking up floating balls And some fast paddling 10

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Barbeque continued Meanwhile Gareth and Tom with occasional direction from Jack, got going with the cooking. They found a sheltered spot in the front space of the large container, would you believe? It worked perfectly and with the new club BBQ (a gas affair haven’t we moved up market!), they produced the most spectacular spread.

Team Ten

The Posers

The turnout was good, the races were good and in the end the weather came good too!

Thank you to the cooks and all the others who helped on the morning to set up the banquet.

Also thanks to Alex for the photography.

Ed: it was indeed a good day and it was great that the dire forecast didn’t put people off.

A special thank you must go to Chloe C and Jamie E for sorting out the teams and the races. We definitely had some fun that day!

Jack’s Crew 11

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Survey 2014 Thank you to everyone who took the time to answer the questions.

Alex has analysed the results and passed them to the committee for deliberation. Here are the committee’s initial responses: The over-riding message coming through was extremely positive, indicating that we are bang on track and we are doing the right things.

Comments like the following were sprinkled all the way through the responses:  ‘I get to paddle in a relaxed environment with no pressure.’ 

‘Good fun, good exercise and great for social time.’



‘A wide range to choose from, well organised. The coaches make it fun.’



‘Communication is exceptionally good; prompt responses and friendly.’



‘The club has a very welcoming and friendly atmosphere. It is great to paddle in a safe and controlled river environment, to receive excellent coaching and have the opportunity to practise new skills.’



‘An inclusive club.’

You asked for these things and the committee has already agreed to pursue/decided to change:  More time in the pool and more structure to pool sessions.  More/better helmets.  Provide a group on Wednesdays to bridge the Yellow and Green groups.  Allow young people to organise a group for what they want to do.  A course for coaches to help improve knowledge about disabilities.

Some other requests which the committee has discussed but hasn’t made any decisions about:  Move adult sessions to another night.  Buy more slalom boats.  Improve communications using more block emails or text messages.  Talk to parents so that the young people know what is coming up.

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Survey continued  

More courses.

Bring in a Paddle-Pass (more about on the back page).

Of interest there were sometimes suggestions with equal numbers of ‘opposite’ requests! For example we had a request for more courses to be on weekday nights and in contrast a request for more on weekends. (Which just goes to show you can’t please all of the people all of the time.)

Some other suggestions which we can’t progress at the moment  

  

Organise sea trips (we have the wrong sort of boats) Buy sea kayaks (specialist kit like this needs to be purchased by individuals) Buy competition paddles and buoyancy aids (specialist kit ...)

Buy more left handed paddles (so far haven’t run out) Provide neoprene spray decks (individuals need to buy own when they are ready for next steps)

And last of all – how about this comment?

‘I would change nothing. I think the club is amazing – it offers fantastic value for money and gets young people outdoors and active. It is a lovely social group. There is something for everyone and everyone is very friendly. Well done FCC!’

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Harefield Div 3/4 Slalom, 16th August Andrew's observations of the day This was a new slalom and close, so we thought we’d go and support it. Set on a weir with two fast moving jets of water and 18 gates, it was a very challenging but enjoyable course.

Narrow boats passing through occasionally didn't cause any problem, we just enjoyed the water and a sunny day, with no real pressure.

We saw our old 4 metre slalom boats being used by the young people of Sharks Canoe Club (we had sold the boats to them earlier in the season), and it was good to see them in use again.

Results: Kath Norton: Div 3 C1, came 2nd.

(See photo) John and Andrew Div 2/3 C2 came 1st.

Kath's thoughts after the Slalom "So run that by me again, I got more points than anybody else but I didn't win?

Are you sure?"

"Not going to swim, not going to swim, not going to swim....Didn't swim!!!"

"Did someone say there was cake?"

There are more photos via Frome Canoe Club website A Walkie talkie set Four more stop watches, and Masses of first-aid stuff for us to update our kits Get all your canoeing things from the Family Adventure Store at Hilperton. BA14 7PJ

Have you spotted that pool sessions timings have changed?

You get a full half hour in the water this winter. See p 6/7 for more.

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Other courses 4 Star Assessment 6/7th September in North Wales. Cost £150 4 Star Training 11/12th October in North Wales. Cost £140 A week trip to Scotland 25th Oct - 1st November, Classic creeks week. Cost £450 which includes a free lift up if needed, excellent self catering accommodation and all guiding and coaching.

Austria/Switzerland Northern Alps 27th Sep - 4th October. White water classics. Cost £595 which includes free lift over in minibus along with your kayak and gear. Excellent chalet accommodation and all guiding and coaching.

Contact Andy for more info or see website www.escapetoadventure.com

Weymouth Outdoor Education Centre BCU / UKCC Awards REC first aid course 2 Star Training 2 Star Assessment FSRT UKCC Level 1 Coach UKCC Level 2 Coach ‘Coaching the mind’ (Foundation module)

Weekend in Oct TBC 17 /18 Sept or 14/15 Oct 21 Oct or on request 19 Sept or 10 Nov

£120 £129 £68 £68

11 to 14 Nov 2 to 5 Dec 10 Dec (morning)

£275 £275 £35

Recreational events Kayak Skills Coaching 17 Sept or 14 Oct Canoe Skills Coaching 18 Sept or 15 Oct Sea Kayak Skills 24 Sept or 17 Nov Coaching

£68 £68 £68

For full details of these courses p.hurrell@dorsetcc.gov.uk www.dorsetforyou.com/woec 15

CONTACTS Chairman Alun Jones 01373 823513 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 Reps: Tracey Lemon and Stuart Miles

An alternative way of paying for club sessions A suggestion came from the survey about the possibility of an alternative way of paying for club sessions.

The plan is to offer a ‘season ticket’ which would allow people to take part in more weekly sessions if they choose. So you could paddle at the clubhouse during the summer months on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday using the ‘Paddle Pass’.

Here are two suggestions:

Volunteer Rep: Jonathan Howell

Purchase a ticket month-by month £10, OR Purchase a season ticket for all summer £50

Kit: Sally and Tim Smiles, assisted by Tracey Lemon

The other methods of paying (£2.50 on the door when you turn up and the Upfront cards for 6 sessions) would remain as they are.

This debate is in a very embryonic stage but we would welcome your views on the idea.

www.frome-canoeclub.org.uk

Follow us on facebook Check out the photos of club events on the website. And refer to the calendar for all the club activities.

Please let us know by any method you feel happy with: by facebook, by email, by text or by talking to us, what you think about this idea.

Its prime purpose it to encourage people to paddle more in the summer, keeping costs down, but it could also speed things up at the signing-in desk.

Let us know if you would be interested in a scheme like this.

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.

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