Manchester Canoe Club is one of the oldest Canoe Clubs in Great Britain. It was founded in 1933, and since then has been involved in the development of the sport, particularly in the areas of river touring, both placid water and white water, and the competitive disciplines of White Water Racing and Canoe Slalom.

Contact Names
Chairman	Mark Davies
Treasurer	Richard Scaife
Membership Secretary	Georgina Clarke
Baths Officer	Mark Davies
Training Officer	Vacant
Slalom Training	Dave Bradshaw
Polo Representative	Graham Helsby
Secretary	Simon Harper

Where we are:

The club has its own site on the river Goyt in Marple (SE of Stockport). Access to the site is down Dale Road, a turning off Stockport Rd opposite the "Railway" public house. The road becomes a narrow track, which eventually leads to Dale Farm. The MCC site is through a locked gate on the right hand side 200m before the farm. See Map

What MCC has to offer:

We have club sessions on a Sunday morning 10.00 to 13.00hrs, Tuesday and Thursday evenings 19.00 to late. The Thursday evening session is primarily for slalom training. On the Sunday and Tuesday sessions the site is open for club and prospective members, although there is rarely any structured coaching going on, as this is done on an ad hoc basis. We do however do a number of structured courses each year including 1 - 3* training and assessments, introduction to moving water, slalom courses etc. These generally have to be booked through our training officer who publishes all details on the web site and the newsletters. The costs are minimal compared to commercial outlets and all the coaches are BCU qualified.

The site it self is on the River Goyt in Marple. It is only grade 1 to 2, with a number of pools, eddies and a couple of small rapids. At higher water levels we would strongly recommend novice paddlers to think twice about getting on. Experience alone can tell you what you can and cannot cope with. The clubhouse is our pride asset, having been built only a couple of years ago. It has changing rooms for males and females, showers, kitchen, storeroom that doubles up for the control room during slalom events and a boat store for club boats. Also on site we have two containers for use as boat stores for club members.

As for other activities our club members paddle all aspects of the sport including river tours, surfing, sea kayaking, slalom, polo, play boating and wild water racing. See our calendar on the web site for these activities, dates and contact details. Note that the polo runs quite separately from the club so you need to contact the polo officer (contact details on web site) if you are interested. They take no prisoners, so a bombproof roll is essential. During the winter all club sessions are still run at the site, the evening ones being under floodlights. Because of the cold and frequent high river levels, only the hard core tend to be on the river, almost exclusively the slalom paddlers.

We run a number of slalom (Div 3-4, entry level) and river ranking races during the year. These are something that the club takes great pride in and we encourage our members to participate in, if not to help out on the day. As well as the paddling itself, the café and the socialising, it's also very great fun.

During the winter months (Oct to April) we run pool sessions at Hazel Grove swimming baths on Sunday evenings (19.00 to 20.50 hrs). These are very popular so you need to prebook before hand. At these baths we also run a number of 'introduction to kayaking courses' and 'rolling' courses. Again because of high demand the rolling courses are for members only.

Paddling at MCC

Everybody wanting to visit the canoe club and paddle on the water is required to have an appropriate level of experience to be able to make decisions regarding water levels, clothing and equipment etc. This is due to a lack of available coaches and the risks associated with the river environment on which the club is based.

If you are interested in paddling at the club site this can be done in a number of different ways:

Come down to the site as a guest of a club member. You can do this three times before you are expected to make a decision as to whether or not you want to join.
You can gain the appropriate knowledge and skills by joining one of our regular introductory courses, these include:

'Introduction to Kayaking' course. These are run at Hazel Grove Pool 4 times per year between October and April each winter. This will introduce you to the basic skills involved, associated equipment and includes a day on the river at the site.
'Introduction to Moving Water' course. These are run at the site in 2 times a year over the summer. The course covers the basic moving water skills needed to paddle at the site and includes a river trip where water levels permit.

If you already feel you have the appropriate skills and experience to use our equipment, or your own, at the site then please make yourself known to the Duty Officer or one of the committee members before getting on the water. Previous suitable experience might include being a former member of the club, holding the old BCU 2* award, or new BCU 1* award or previous white water paddling experience.

Prices

Water fees Members - Free
Non-members - £2.00* per day (max. 3 times per year)
Boat Hire - £3 per session (includes paddle, buoyancy aid, helmet and spray deck)

* This covers you for third party liability insurance whilst on the water

Note: Please sign the register at the entrance to the club house and record you details before getting on the water.

Although we take safety very seriously you will find the club a relaxing and informal place to be. At the end of the day we would class ourselves as catering for the novice to experienced paddlers. Many club members' families are members, including many juniors that also have the opportunity to join the MCC youth squad. I hope you take the plunge and come down to see us. There's a good reason why canoeing and kayaking is one of the fastest growing sports in the country.