Thanks to those who’ve already booked or expressed interest in next Sunday’s trip:
- Edith (booking TBC), Huw, Lee (WWA), Mel (IWWS, WWA), Phil H, Sam C, Sam H (IWWS) [plus leaders Pete, Simon & Steve]
HOWEVER, we think there may be one or two more aspiring white water paddlers out there who we’d like to prioritise for these ‘easier’ trips [and there’s still space for more experienced paddlers who’d also like to join us, especially if they’d like to refresh their boating or safety skills!]
So, if you’re interested in joining us, please book on the website or contact Steve (even if the trip appears to be ‘full’ on the website) as soon as possible (by midnight Mon 16th absolute latest). Here’s a little more information that might help you decide:
The intention of these ‘easier’ trips is to break newer paddlers in gently, which means they will start fairly easy but will get harder throughout the winter (as long as water levels permit). So, if you’re interested in developing white water skills, the sooner you can start joining trips, the better!
Most of these trips will focus on developing skills, so they’re likely to be relatively short (at least to start with) and include coaching on boat handling, river-running and white water safety, the idea being to develop everyone’s ability to be an ‘active participant’ (rather than just a ‘passenger’) on the river.
We will aim to include elements of the new Introduction to White Water Safety course, because this provides knowledge and skills that we think everyone on club trips should have. If we manage to cover all these on the first 3 trips, anyone who has taken a full part would be eligible for the award (even if you hadn’t registered formally in advance). NB the reason for this being restricted to 3 trips is because British Canoeing stipulates that this award must be delivered over 6 hours, but within an 8-week period (or thereabouts), so it needs to be orchestrated carefully in advance.
The option to be assessed for the White Water Award is more flexible and can be done at any point when candidates feel ready.
We hope this additional information might entice a few more of our ‘less experienced’ paddlers to join us 😉
Apologies for this information coming a little later than intended, but next Sunday’s trip has been complicated by Steve’s (somewhat ambitious!) plan to include the new Introduction to White Water Safety course in our first 3 ‘easier’ trips. Nevertheless, outline information and booking are now available at Sun 22 Oct 2023 ‘Easier’ White Water Trip, with final details to follow nearer the time.
Book places NOW using the ‘get tickets’ and ‘RSVP’ links on the event listing. Places will be strictly limited and priority will be given to (a) candidates registering for the IWWS course; and (b) the WWA course (you can book for one or both!); followed by (b) other ‘less-experienced’ paddlers (especially those who’ve already expressed an informal interest to Steve); then (c) experienced white-water paddlers. For this reason, places will be released by ‘drip-feed’, so if the trip appears to be ‘full’ or ‘closed’, do check with Steve in case he’s keeping places up his sleeve! Also, if you’re not sure whether this trip – or the course(s) – are suitable for you, please check with Steve before booking.