Newsletter

January 2006

No 176

Editorial

Pete King

The editors horror. It's a bad time of year so there's not that much to report. Not having had the forethought, I've also landed myself the job of writing up the AGM. If you didn't go it may well be that the idea of what goes on to keep the club running just doesn't interest you. Fair enough. But please glance through the newsletter. On several pages you will see HELP. To keep things going the committee, event organisers and others need either skilled help or sheer numbers. They shouldn't have to go down on their knees to get help. So in this issue I've identified a lot of places where help is needed. Please see if you can respond to any of them.

While in the mood you'll probably skip my plea on ACCESS. Don't. all I want you to do is to write a 3 line e-mail to your MP (or Mum's or Dad's) asking them to support access for canoeists. You can get clever and see if they are already on the list. E-mail just the same and thank them for their support! Not a lot to ask is it…..and like the medicine it's for your own good.

What there is in is a hefty selection of forthcoming attractions. Anything from a working day to a trip to the Pyrenees.

Last bits. Phil Heald and his family are emigrating to New Zealand. When I saw him on Boxing day the date wasn't fixed so there may be time to ring him to say your goodbyes. Just struck me :don't know if he's taking boats with him?

Finally Happy New Year.

Annual General Meeting

Peter King

Well it only happens once a year. Sorry to bore those of you who were there but those who weren't are members who deserve to know what's going on. There was a good turn out of about 40 members in the upstairs room at the Navigation. What I shall try to do is provide a summary of the various reports and discussions. If you want full reports you could ask the secretary and treasurer if they have spare copies. So that you can find the bits of interest I'm sticking intermediate headlines all over the place.

Money

Richard's usual clear accounts show that we made an operating profit of £1,415. Which is pretty good if you take into account the still happening costs from the hut, a spend of £3,700 on boats and equipment and on top of that the Maurice Rothwell Trust only paid about half the usual amount. This last we hope is a hiccup. On the credit side were profits from Hazel Grove Pool and Training courses. This reflects a change in charging more for courses as well as increased activity. To stop being accused of selective reporting Yearbook and newsletter costs are up. Mostly because there wasn't a Yearbook in 2004. It overall leaves about £7000 in the kitty some of which will go to T-shirt stock.

Committee

Very briefly things have being going well with increased attendance on Sunday mornings and Tuesday evenings. It wasn't mentioned but as an aside, Mark would like more (responsible) volunteers for opening up and our ambition is to have enough volunteers to extend opening to all day Sunday and then Saturday afternoon. HELP.

TOP CLUB

Less cheerfully the committee decided not to press forward with the Top Community Club application. However Dave Bradshaw has taken on responsibility for the Top Performance Club application. Editors are allowed opinions and I am sorry about this decision. It is in line with what was suggested 3 years ago but since then things have moved on. Taking Tom Carlisle's activities into account I can't offhand think of another genuine club (as opposed to local authority sponsored ones) that does as much or more. I would have thought that we met the criteria and it will certainly make getting future grants easier. Perhaps when we put in an application to cover the cost of getting more "junior" boats and training instructors we can plead that we need to do this to get Top Club status.

RIVER BED

Riverbed development has for long been seen as the next step forward. Indeed it was argued that this should precede the clubhouse. Anyhow the task of plotting the depth of the river has been completed. The next step is to determine the cost/availability of suitable rock together with transport and means of moving it round the site. I know the committee would be grateful if any members who have knowledge or influence in any of these areas. HELP .

CATERING

After many years providing for us at slaloms and other events Barbara Aldridge feels it is time to stand down. Apart from providing a service that many of us have found between enjoyable and life-saving Barbara and her assistants have provided a steady income often if not always greater than the profit from the event itself. At the meeting Mark asked for a volunteer(or a consortium) willing to take over. HELP.

BATHS

Are running well with organised courses for beginners and rollers. Mark didn't mention it in his report but the Baths are already showing a profit for the year with more money to come in.

MEMBERSHIP

We are up from 206 to 231 members(but then it was 229 in 2002) We seem to recruit adequately but loose too many members though Sports England think we do well compared with many sports clubs. Laura says we must work to keep this up and she must be right: this is not the time to rest on the Laurels. I've said it before, If every member (full, youth and family) persuaded just one friend, schoolmate, work mate or whatever to join we would double the membership.

TRAINING

Gill reports a good year with moving water,1*,2* and 3* training taking place as well as baths courses. Only 2 people are reported as having progressed as coaches, Steve Nichols and Dave Bradshaw. She reports a number of people looking to become coaches and will organise training for them. The club lives on its coaching whether organised, qualified or chaotic. Why not talk to Gill about the requirements and get stuck in. HELP.

(It's a handy place to put it in. I am prepared to run a Level 1 Slalom Coach course during the year and talk to the existing Level 1 coaches about moving on to Level 2 which many should be ready for. Ed )

POLO

Tends to go on in isolation so it was good to have a full report from Graham Helsby. The highlights are a move to Cheadle Baths on Thursdays which are proving better than Irlam.

The intention is to run a second session for beginners and youths but this is not yet fixed. Meanwhile all are welcome on Thursdays.

The good news is that we have teams in Div2,3&4. Even better the A team finished 2nd in Div2N missing promotion by one place. The Ladies went one better and got promoted to Div1.

I for one feel cut off from Polo and its really good to hear of them doing well.

We were also told that Stockport Baths is a venue for National League matches. I'll see if I can get some dates. It should be worth watching but beware, like other bits of canoeing it could be addictive. (11th Feb 11th March 18th March)

SLALOM

Our paddlers have done well this year, largely due to the facilities for training and the hard work put in by Dave. Though in fairness that's not how the report reads. There are two new initiatives this year. The first is aimed at increasing entries to the April Marple slalom. We are offering a training day to all participants on the Monday after the event. This was done some years ago and was very much appreciated. What we will need is as many coaches as possible available to give either individual or group tuition. Please let Dave(or me) know if you will help. HELP.

The second initiative is aimed purely at MCC Div3-4 paddlers. Experienced paddlers/coaches will attend some Div3-4 slaloms to support our paddlers at the event. The first will be at Wagon Lane in May. Again we are looking for help: it should be a good social occasion too. HELP.

EQUIPMENT

A full list of the boats owned by the club as well as paddles decks etc was presented. Ian Carpenter made an appeal that he should be told of any defects or problems with equipment so that repairs can be put in Hand. Also suggestions for new/replacement items should go to Ian. HELP.

So that s it a summary of the main points of the report. It does come over better at the meeting and you can ask all the awkward questions there.

ELECTIONS

The only person standing down was Dave Higson who has followed his years as Chairman with another spell as secretary. No nominations were made and it was decided that a further committee member be elected and the committee look to filling the post of secretary. Dominic Wells was elected. If you feel like stepping into office let Mark know. HELP

Other officers remain as last year except that Barbara Aldridge has stepped down. We need a replacement. Dave Higson takes over as Yearbook Editor. Dave Bradshaw for Slalom Training (which he was last year:..yearbooks are only 99.9% right) and Gill Hay takes on the vacant Sea Touring post.

MOTIONS

There were two motions. The first was straightforward and increased subs in line with inflation: it was unanimously agreed. The 2nd was to increase boat hire fees. This caused some discussion. In general the meeting was against increases though they agreed that we did not want the club to be used by casual visitors using it to hire boats with no thought of joining. It was felt at the same time that the costs to a family group of 3 coming to try it out 2 or 3 times before joining was too high and likely to discourage potential members. It was apparent that there were also some inconsistencies in current practice (the same boat and equipment is hired for £1 in the baths and £3 at the site). The meeting asked the committee to consider the problem further and reach a decision taking into account the views expressed.

Peter Mansell asked for the charging for the showers to be considered. Very little money is being taken. There were two possible courses. One was to make them free the other to reduce the charge to say 20p. The problem with the reduced charge being the probable need to buy new coin mechanisms. Again the committee agreed to take this problem on and reach a decision based on views expressed.

CALENDER

Unfortunately Mike Cambden has moved house today and the proposed calender was not available. Peter King asked that it be got together as soon as possible for inclusion in the next newsletter due to the printers in 7 days. (If it comes to it I'll hang off to get something in!!)

The Next AGM will be on 19th January 2007 at 7.30 at the same venue unless otherwise notified.

THE GOOD BIT

The AGM being over we settled down to a pint and a chat a few presentations a raffle and more chat. To say nothing of a buffet. It says something when the some left over after canoeists have been let loose. (No what I meant there was plenty)

T SHIRTS

T-Shirts have arrived. Yes the full promised range, Hoodies the lot. As well as those ordered in advance the club has invested in a stock so you can probably buy off the shelf. Dave Higson holds the stock and you can either drive to Sale or probably get delivery (not next day) at the Goyt. Ideal birthday presents.

Why are they in Red and Black? History: many years ago the BCU asked every club to choose racing colours (and these are still used in sprint races). MCC chose a Red background with a white stripe superimposed by a black stripe. At one time Manchester slalomists used red cags with a black and white stripe down each arm.

New members view

Ian Brown

I recently joined the club with my son Kieran and was asked to share our experiences about the club. I had played with kayaks about 20 odd years ago and Kieran had tried canoeing at scouts and wanted to take it further. I checked on the web and through "Brookbank" and came up with the MCC.

We started by doing the Sunday night pool session course over the winter, This course was a great way to get back into the swing of kayaking, the instructors all took time to explain the moves and strokes and there was plenty of time made by them for individual coaching. The other great advantage was when you did capsize the water was a lot warmer and safer than the river . These pool sessions were followed by the 1 star assessment at Debdale centre in April. I can confirm that the water is still very cold in April !!

From this we moved onto the "Introduction to moving water" course which introduced us to the club site and facilities. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by the standard of the club house and site in general, even for the spectators it's a nice environment to have a stroll around whilst their partners are paddling.

Once this had been done then it was on to the 2 star training course on the site and canal, I really enjoyed this course, especially the wet work, it was actually surprising but after a bad day in the office how relaxing it was to just try and concentrate in getting a piece of plastic to move where you wanted it to go not where it wanted to go and usually finishing off with a refreshing dip in the Goyt. I do feel the club should invest in a couple of donkeys though to carry the canoes over the field up to the canal !!

Kieran then went on to do Dave Bradshaw's junior slalom course, which he really enjoyed, but I'm not sure you explained it properly Dave, when we watched him in the quinziane it looked more like skittles than slalom- but I should be quiet because Kieran and his brother both took great delight in telling me my scorecard had a nice fish drawn on it !!

Since then we've taken part in a couple of the river trips which have been organised by Peter King and Clive Howell-Williams, these have both been great fun and a great chance for us beginners to gain experience on new stretches of water.

I can say that Kieran and I have found all the people we've come across at MCC to be really friendly and very helpful. I'd like to pay special thanks to Gill and Mark for arranging the courses and to Lance, Peter and Dave B for the help they've given Kieran and I to continuing the sport. The structure of the courses from a beginners point of view was excellent in getting us started and up to a reasonable standard, it is also greatly appreciated that the committee members are now organising river trips which I see as a great way for us to develop and gain experience and confidence on the water.

So in summary a big thank you to the club organisers for making Kieran and my introduction to kayaking such an enjoyable time and I'd recommend to others thinking about trying kayaking to give it a try it's great fun.

(Flattery will get you nowhere but keep it up. Why not tell your friends, I think there's still space on the February baths course.)

Boxing Day race

Lorna Paddock

Everybody met at Brabyns Park. Everybody got set up and carried their kayaks down to the river; the water was very low especially in some places, so although it was supposed to be a race a lot of people just decided to take their time and just paddle down the river. It was quite hard work as the water was very low, some people unfortunately got stuck on some rocks but managed to push themselves off the rocks or was helped by others, all though as far as I know nobody capsized! It was a very nice day and not too cold which I think everybody appreciated I know I defiantly did. It seemed as though everybody had a good time. After everybody arrived back at the club house we had some drinks and mince pies too warm us all up. Then people started to go and get their cars and left, some had Christmas dinners waiting for them at home like me. A very well done too all who took part in the race and I hope everybody had a good Christmas and New Year.

Derwent to Matlock

Andy Bickerton

If your nemesis is defined as being a person or thing that is very difficult for you to defeat, then the river Derwent may well be my nemesis. That or edging my boat!!

Car loaded with equipment, ice cleared from the windows and -1.5 registering on the in car thermometer is how I remember the start of the day. Five minutes into the journey to meet everyone and the thermometer was down to -2.0. Buxton saw the temperature drop further to -3.0. Final temperature check at Darley Dale was -5.0. Others arrived and relayed similar stories. Surely the trip would be canceled and a welcoming country pub, with roaring log fire, would be found. No chance!!

It was COLD (yes ed, that's bold capital letters), but it was the Christmas paddle after all and eleven of us were kitted up and ready to get under way.

With three open boats and seven kayaks on the water we were off. The trip started with a very pleasant paddle, a lot of chatting and a bit of ribbing. Most of the chat centred on the number of layers we were wearing, cold hands and feet, and the loss of hearing because of our skull caps. The ribbing concerned the alleged unreliability of one, unnamed, paddler's alarm clock!!

Lance and Ruth had opted to paddle an open boat with, at one point, Lance sat up front, facing backwards, Ruth paddling and Keith hanging onto the back. Possibly a return gesture following the tow Lance had taken from him earlier. Mark and Gill had also brought along an open boat each and their three dogs. George, the foster dog, was on his maiden voyage and appeared keen to be the first swimmer of the day. Mission accomplished!! In he went, attempting to jump to the river bank. Once on land, he wanted to be in the boat!!

Our first bit of fun was 'Petrol Station Rapids'. With all down successfully an impromptu breaking in and out training session followed. With that out of the way we went under the peak railway, just as one of their steam trains thundered by overhead. At the second, or maybe third, set of rapids another training session ensued. This is where it all went horribly wrong for yours truly!! I went swimming, not once, not twice, but three times in total. Surely this must be a club record of some sort or at least sufficient to gain entry into the clubs Hall of Shame? Despite the air temperature the water wasn't that bad once you were in it. Thanks to all for fishing me out and the hot chocolate (a favourite of mine). Incidentally, it appears 2 swims = 1 cup of hot chocolate. However, this formula may well be relative to air temperature, but I can't find any reference to it in the BCU handbook!!

Feeling somewhat embarrassed by my swimming escapades, thinking about the impending safety and rescue training at the baths that evening (very apt!!) and the amount of work I'd got at home to do for the office, I was keen to get off the water. What remained of the trip passed by without me noticing too much.

As we went under the last bridge on the approach to the rapids and slalom course in Matlock, most of my confidence had gone and my primary objective was to get off the water without further incident. With no finesse whatsoever the final stretch of water was negotiated and the objective achieved.

Once off the water, dry cloths on, hot drink in hand and my first big swim behind me I stood looking at the slalom course in awe. Just got to get this edging lark sorted first!!

NEW MEMBERS

We welcome the following new members

• Neil Gilmour (Level 3 Coach)
• Sebastian Lea- Griffiths

If you think you should have appeared here and don't please let me know.

ACCESS

Peter King

Whether you like it or not we can't do much paddling without the water to do it on! If you are happy with canals and the odd reservoir and lake (not to mention the sea) that's fine. However if you paddle rivers you should be concerned with the worsening access situation. A few years ago we could hold slaloms and races on the Dee, could tour the Eden through the winter. These and many other rivers are almost lost. Closer to home anglers are getting interested in the Goyt after salmon were found here.

So what can you do about it. One answer is to PIRATE. Go on rivers in small groups without permission and hope to be unnoticed. Another is to protest. As big a group as possible in the hope of being noticed.

I have nothing against either approach but we must keep up the pressure for a legal settlement. One thing I earnestly ask you to do NOW. At present Early Day Motion 957 is seeking signatures. What is an EDM? It's a parliamentary wheeze whereby backbenchers tell the government that they think a matter should be debated…and hopefully legislation passed.

Currently there are over 100 signatures. There is also some other support from MP's in government (the Cabinet, office holders, whips and the like) who cannot sign unless the EDM is directly in line with policy.

All you need do is send an e-mail to your MP (or seek to see him at a local clinic) asking him/her to sign EDM 957. I'm told that the shorter the e-mail the more likely it is to get read through. I suggest that you pick one or two points… the number of canoeists, healthy exercise, in line with access to country side, number of Olympic/world championship medals in Sidney and Athens ….choose your own. But do it now.

If we can double the number of signatures we are on the way. Don't hold back if your MP has already signed. It does them good to have a boost. If their name is already on the list why not an e-mail to say how glad you are that she's/he's signed. It helps show there are many concerned paddlers and supporters.

To the under 18's, you matter too. Well harassed parents can send e-mails. Alternatively you can send one yourself either declaring yourself as a potential voter or just sign your own name, they may not notice that you are not on the register.

PS its as well to include a snail mail address with the e-mail.

Baths Courses

Gill Hay

Sun 12th Feb	2* wet skills (1st session £5), 3* wet skills (2nd session £5) - general sessions alongside, so book early if you want a place on the skills sessions
Sun 19th Feb	Last Beginners & Rollers course starting - Places available on beginners course (5 week course £40), 1 place for a member available on the rolling course (4 week course £35).
Sun 26th March	Safety training - double session looking at necessary safety skills - Cost = £5.50 General sessions will run alongside this, so it is essential to book early for the session.
Sun 2nd April	Last session - general fun & games, including diamond slalom - suitable for all ages and abilities.

The baths is available for general use up to and including the 26th of March. Cost = £3.50 for a member, £4.50 for a non-member & £1 extra for boat hire.

Training Courses

Gill Hay

There are quite a few courses being organised this year, below are some that have been sorted. Booking (with full payment) is essential for all courses, as they tend to get full & I have to turn people away. You can try nearer the time, but there is no guarantee. All courses are open only to members, except the 1* course, which is also open to people who have done the beginners course in the baths.

If anyone wants to help with these courses, please let me know, we can arrange for a mentoring system for anyone who is wanting experience.

1* Training & Assessment

Sunday 30th April - AM - Debdale water park

Geared towards those that have done the beginners course in the baths, & wish to further develop their skills outdoors & be assessed for their 1* award. Also suitable for those with limited experience.

Warning - You will need to capsize outdoors to obtain your 1* award.

2* Training

Tuesday evenings from 2nd May - 4 weeks - Club site

A course geared up for those who have their 1* or are of similar ability & want to further their skills.
Pre-requisites are: 1* award (or approved by me),
Have been paddling on the club site at least once
Happy to get very wet

This will be an intensive course, especially for those who have come from the beginners courses in the baths. I also expect there to be a quite advanced group, that will work on 2 / 3 * skills - so don't worry if you are way above the minimum requirements.

Dates, 2nd May, 9th May, 16th May, 23rd May

2* Assessment

Tuesday 6th June or 13th June

For those who feel ready for assessment - booking taken after 2* training course

Please note, you must have done a qualifying journey to take your 2* award, (A 2hour / 6km journey) - The Weaver trip would be ideal for this.

Moving Water Skills

Tuesday evenings - 20th June - 4 weeks - Club site

A 4 week course for those who have their 2* award (or those I accept as having similar experience). We will be looking at skills needed for paddling down grade 2 water. This will hopefully include a trip down the Goyt.

Dates 20th June, 27th June, 4th July, 11th July

3* Clinics

Every other Wednesday - 6 sessions - £5 per session

You need your 2* (or be very experienced & have discussed it with me & I've accepted your experience as suitable).

The clinics are run on a fortnightly basis, so that you can get a chance to practice in between the sessions. It is quite a hard award to obtain, so a lot of practice is needed. At 3*, you should only need a little guidance, the skills need to be very good & you need to be extremely self motivated to achieve this.

We will not be teaching rolling at the clinics, you'll have time to try a roll outdoors with someone covering you, but we won't be able to coach this from scratch - that's what the baths are for (courses are booked up until we start again October(ish) time.

Dates - 26th April, 10th May, 24th May, 7th June, 21st June, 5th July

Assessment will be offered when enough people are ready for it. Please note, you must have done 3 qualifying journeys to take your 3* award, (3 lots of 10km / 3 hour trips).

COSTS - Training Courses

We try to keep costs down at a minimum, as all the courses (except 1*) are only offered to club members, and they are all run by volunteers.

1* Training & Assessment	= £10 (Includes boat / equipment)
2* Training	= £15 (For those booked onto the 1* course)
	= £20 (For everyone else)
2* Assessment	= £5
Moving water training	= £15 (For those booked onto 2* training)
	= £20 (For everyone else)

The 1* course includes boat / equipment hire, the 2* and the Moving water courses don't include boat hire and this would be extra.

Booking Conditions

Due to the high demand of the courses, and the fact last year I turned people away when there were spaces I didn't know about (because people decided not to bother turning up or paying). I now only accept bookings with the money, and I have a cancellation policy, which makes it fairer to everybody.

If you cancel more than 14 days before the start of a course, the club will refund all but £20 of the fees paid for the course in question & any future courses. If you cancel after this time, we will not refund any money. Under exceptional circumstances we may consider transferring the fees paid onto another course.

Boat Hire

I don't ask for this up front, as I understand not everyone can make every week. I will hold a boat for you if you are booked on a course - so please if you are not coming that evening, please let me know - even last minute, so I can let someone else have the boat.

Also please do come with the money for a boat if hiring one and offer the money at the start of the session when you get the boat out, as it is unfair if we end up chasing after money - we are all volunteers and it can be quite awkward getting some people to pay up - so please it is your club, pay for boats if using them.

Training for Slalom

Peter King

You can start slalom as soon as you can paddle. It helps if you are happy paddling the water and can do a middling breakout. As you go up the divisions you can sit back and allow increasing experience and skill to take you forward or especially as you get further think hard about training to increase your enjoyment and chances of success.

Dave and I will (nearly) always be happy to offer some advice on how to train and both long and short term objectives. Just to give a feel of what is involved how about:-

• Getting experience of better(bouncier/faster) water
• Getting fitter
• Getting stronger
• Getting faster…in a straight line
• Getting more skilful
• Reading the water/course

First thing is to decide where you need most improvement, plan how to achieve it, then do the hard work. Move on to the next problem. But you'll probably start by just having a go.

As a rough guide fitness is always to the good but at the top look to peak for particular events. The winter is the best time to work on finding better water…even the Goyt when its tanking down is as good as any Div 2 site if not better. Winter is also the advised time for pure strength work. Straight line work is tedious but needs to be done. Not bad to start here in January and keep at it. Gatework can go on through the season. But take care not to be a 6 gate champion who is exhausted before the 10th gate (or sixth for me). Within this there's lots of variations.

Finally if you've had a good hard season from starting training in January through to Llangollen in October why not have a break and just enjoy having a play, or even try WWR for a couple of months. Our top athletes (Rugby in particular) are suffering from a 12 month season and becoming overtaxed and injury prone…and they get much better care taken of them than you do.

Through the year we plan to run a number of courses covering those who want to get serious and those who want to know just enough to have a try without looking too bad. There will continue to be regular training on Thursday evenings plus less formal times on Sunday mornings and Tuesday evenings when the site is used by many members. After the start further courses will tend to be demand driven and in the past have ranged from an all day stagger course to a ladies day. Our other objective is to get our many Level 1 slalom coaches involved to get them moving on to Level 2 qualification. As soon as there are any number of these Alan Edge has promised a Level 3 course, probably including assessment at Marple. ( Alan was a Team member back in the seventies following this as Team coach, National Slalom coach and when I last spoke was organising World Start. So you'll get nothing but the best.)

What the hell is this slalom all about?

Peter King

If you've kicked round for 12 months or so skip this. Its an attempt to help newcomers to understand. Basically its simple. A form of competition in which paddlers attempt to get through a course defined by hanging poles(gates) as fast as possible without hitting them. End of story-almost. If you do hit a gate, 2 seconds will be added to your time which isn't too bad. If you miss one out its 50 seconds which is nasty. The good news is that you get 2 goes so if you happen to make a mess of the first you're still in with a chance.

Oh yes you have to do the gates in the right order and direction. Downstream gates are green upstream red, so its easy to find your way. The gates are also numbered.

So what the hell are all these orange and blue and pink and brown gates. Well they're just for practising on. If you want to have a go just make up your own course.

Enlightened? So I'll throw in a bit more to confuse you. Slalom competition is run in Divisions. Do well in Div4 and there you are in Div 3. Win a couple of Div 3 events and be in Div 2. Easy isn't it? As well as divisions there are separate categories for men and women and also for maniacs who want to paddle with a broken paddle only having one end. Some of these need the support of a second paddler to help them out. These are called C1 and C2. (All right so they're Canadians the only real Canoes the things the rest paddle are kayaks.)

So now can I stop reading. Sorry one last thing. Uniquely in MCC we have another form of slalom competition. Its called the Quinzaine (for history see the Yearbook). Currently there are 3 slaloms a year at Marple as well as a couple of races. Only MCC members enter the Quinzaine. Instead of divisions events are run in age groups so a 13 year old paddler competes against the other 13 year olds in the club regardless of their Division.

Finally its quite good fun. Why not give it a go: you might even find it addictive.

(If you want to know more almost any paddler on the Goyt site will either bend your ear or pass you on to someone who will.)

River Tees Sunday 5 February 2006, Grade 3 to 3+(4)

Lance Davenport

Suitable for those who have a reasonable kayak roll, happy on the Goyt /Burrs when at a good level (not a scrape and bump!). This trip is not suitable for beginners / novices. Places limited to 16. We may will be splitting into more than one group depending upon numbers and experience etc. Minimum age of over 16.

You are responsible for your own safety whilst paddling with us on the trip.

The plan is to meet at Brookbank in Stockport early on the Sunday morning (time to be confirmed) drive up to the middle Tees (2 - 3hours), put on after sorting out cars etc paddle the middle section, then if time after the get out, paddle a short section at Barnard Castle(for those who want). This second shorter will depend upon time, experience of the group etc (this section is a bit more technical and slightly higher grade than the middle section).

Usual paddling kit for a day out will be required - ie wetsuit, thermals, cag, suitable footwear. Obviously a spray deck, BA & Helmet etc. There is a very good chance it will be cold so please dress accordingly.

Would suggest that a hot drink and food are carried with you in your boat and also something with your dry kit at the end of the trip.

Obviously you need to sort your own boats out - they should have airbags in them. If you need to hire try Brookbank but don't leave it too late.

If you want to do the trip, let me know (by e-mail) as I will turn people away on the day if they have not booked the trip with me. I need to have you confirmation you are paddling by Monday 30 Jan 2006.

For those who are interested Mark Burch (Brookbank) is planning to go up on the Saturday 4 Feb 06 and paddle then stop over locally ready for the main trip on the Sunday 5 Feb 06.

Please keep Mark and me advised if you intend to take up this option.

DEE TOUR

Clive Howell-Williams

Hi there we're putting on a club trip on Sunday 20th February.

We intend to run from Horseshoe Weir above Chain Bridge Hotel to below Town Falls.

The river is mainly G3 with a couple of G4 rapids notably Serpents Tail & Town Falls.

If you would like to join in you need to be competent on G3+ water and able to roll. Meet at the get out car park below Llangollen bridge on the A539 at 10 am.

Please let know if you are coming so I can keep account of numbers & not set off with out you.

Clive Williams

Beginners Day

26th March

Tom Carlisle/Pete King

Those who have done a Baths course need to start sometime. Tom and I are inviting those who have, to meet us at 10 to be shown round and we will give as many as possible a go on the water. Can you please, as usual, be tolerant of these newcomers and even better help us to get them on the water, You might not feel very experienced but you are in their eyes. HELP

If you did the baths in Oct-Dec 2005, Gill has lost your records. Can you contact her. If you want to join in this day contact Tom or me.

Something else?

Try one of these Brookbank trips Pyrenees WW Trip - May

Intro to Moving water week France - August Intro to White water weekends Intro to sea kayaking weekends on Anglesey

Full details are on www.brookbankcanoes.co.uk

Want get started in slalom?

Just a few of the early ones nearer home. If you've got to Div 1 you should be able to look after yourself.

March 12	Stone 3 4
March25/26	Sowerby Bridge 2 3
April 8/9	Outibridge 3 4
April 15/16	MARPLE 3 4
April 22/23	Matlock 2/3
April 29/30	Bala Mill 2/3/4
May 6/7	Wagon Lane 3 4
June 3 4	Hatfield Water park 4/O
June 10/11	Sowerby Bridge 3 4

I've put Hatfield in. It's a new event - but its on flat water Near Doncaster.