Slalom News
Manchester's Own Make the Grade!
Written by Nathan Stevenson Saturday, 10 December 2011 19:41
The hard work has paid off for three of Manchester Canoe Club’s talented junior slalom paddlers as they are selected for the National Junior Winter Squads.
Amy and Jade Hollick in the Ladies’ Kayak class and Alastair Paterson in the Canoe singles, all seek to make their mark in the slalom world as they train to perform over the coming months. You all have the full support of the club!
HPP Training Day
Last Updated on Sunday, 12 June 2011 11:11 Written by Dave Bradshaw Friday, 03 June 2011 16:58
Holme Pierrepont - 31st May 2011
It being half term Nathan had the bright idea of organising a session at the artificial white water course at Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham. Some of our more experienced junior paddlers came along, but the main purpose of the day was to get some of our less experienced paddlers out on the course.
Bala Mill Slalom
Last Updated on Monday, 02 May 2011 17:31 Written by Dave Bradshaw Monday, 02 May 2011 08:18
Bala Mill Slalom
Division 2/3
30th April/1st May 2010
This race takes place below Bala Mill falls on the Tryweryn. The division 2 course starts immediately below the falls to take in the next rapid, while the division 3 course starts on the flat pool below this. This year the race took place on the long bank holiday weekend that included the royal wedding.
After a long dry period, there was a concern that the slalom may not run as the dam might not be releasing at the top of the Tryweryn, but the Trywyern web site confirmed that the dam would be releasing both Saturday and Sunday.
This year the division 2 course started with the first gate in a small eddy on the left, with the second gate being an upstream in the tight eddy on the left at the bottom of the rapid. The division 3 paddlers did their first two gates on the flat before breaking into the jet coming off the bottom of the rapid. The race was organised so that the division 3 paddlers would do both their runs back to back, and the division 2 paddlers would then do both their runs.
The event is run by Ken Cunliffe of Ormskirk Scouts, so it was quite a surprise when we turned up to find Gill taking late entries. She went on to organise control later in the day and prevent the total breakdown of the competition.
Alfie Wright at gate 1
Clear blue skies had everyone in shorts and tee shirts, though a cool wind prevented the temperatures reaching scorching levels. On the Saturday we only had two paddlers racing in division 3, Zac Hinchcliffe who was recently promoted at Stone, and Innes Hodgson, who with his son Ari makes the journey to join us for training sessions despite living in the North East. We were better represented in division 2 with four paddlers racing in K1M, four in K1W, one in K1M Vets, and one in C1M. Scott Bathmaker came into this event requiring 900 points for promotion but faced tight competition including Alfie Wright who had already pushed him very closely in the two races at Matlock. In the end it was Alfie that won this particular tussle with two clear runs of 100 seconds that gave him second place. Scott matched Alfie for time on both runs, but picked up four seconds of penalties on both runs which put him in eighth place. Scott needed 5th for promotion, and this place did not improve his points position at all.
What is noticeable this year is the strength of the division, Alfie and Scott have worked very hard to be where they are, and they are amongst several boats that are vying for promotion, with little to choose between them. The same situation is carried over to the K1W class, where Karen Seeley is finding it difficult to break into the top half despite once being a division 1 paddler. Rachel Bradshaw was suffering from a shoulder injury, but was determined to race, but broke down during her first run missing out the last gate, and was not fit enough to take her second run.
Saturday night saw a large group of us heading for the traditional Pizza in town, though this year it was spoilt somewhat as we where seated at several smaller tables. Others opted for a barbecue at the camp site, and in retrospect that might have been a better option given the excellent weather.
We woke Sunday morning to another gorgeous day, and although David Paterson was not racing this day having to play for his rugby team, our numbers were swelled with the addition of Matthew and Laura Cooke, and Daniel Brookes.
Mark Davies exiting gate two on the division 2 course
After the addition of Saturday's result, Alfie was now in the position of requiring only 928 points for promotion, and this would be achieved with a fourth place. Scott still required 900 points, which he could achieve with a fifth place. The format of the race was similar to the previous day, but several changes had been made to the lower part of the course making it slightly longer, though there was one less gate. I haven't got the results to hand as I write this, but I think most of our paddlers improved on their results from the previous day. In partucular Rachel Bradshaw managed to put in a respectable run despite the shoulder injury, with the help of ibuprofen provided by Karen Seeley. However the main interest was in the promotion battles of Scott and Alfie. Despite both picking up several penalties on their first runs, they were still in the mix at the top of the class as many of their competitors had also picked up penalties, though their position was far from secure. In the end Alfie put in a clear run of 103 seconds which gave him second place again, while Scott managed a 103 second run plus a 2 second penalty which gave him the fifth place he needed.
So congratulations to both Scott and Alfie for making it to division 1.
Congratulations to paddlers at Stone
Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 March 2010 11:27 Written by Michael Stringer Wednesday, 17 March 2010 10:59
Congratulations to paddlers who competed at the first div 3/4 slalom this year at Stone this weekend.
