2015 05 newsletter

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Frome Canoe Club is affiliated to British Canoeing and is a Registered Charity (Number 1104728)

Newsletter

Volume 39 Issue 5: May 2015

MORE PADDLIING FOR MEMBERS see P5 for details

Ben at Grand Tully (Scotland) where he entered the Division 1 races in both K1 and C1. We understand Tully is a challenging course, so WELL DONE Ben! However we all went ‘ouch’ when we heard about the long swim! That’s 3 points clocked up now. (Plus 1 for the roll and another 3 from Shepperton!)

We had loads of help on our promotion day in the Frome Independent Market, 5th

April. And a wonderful display of slalom on the water!

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In this issue

3 Calendar in brief

4/5 Calendar in detail

8/9 Wednesday sessions

6 Slalom - Points to remember

7 Key dates

14 Mini slalom by Chris Wilde

14 Washburn slalom by Andrew Lyall

10/11 Scotland 2015

12/13 River Frome by Vicky Bennett

16 Mini slalom (1) by John Kent

15 PaddlePass

15 Kit Survey

CALENDAR: details

REPORTS

OTHER THINGS

FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE

Send articles for the next issue to [email protected] by 26th June

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President

Graham Warnecke

Vice Presidents

Richard and Jane Arney

Jim and Catharine Croft

Chairman

Andy Vowell

Vice Chairman

Gareth McGiveron

Treasurer

John Kent

Secretary

Pam Dixon

16 Blagdon Walk, Frome, BA11 2YH

Committee Members

Rich Carter

Richard Heal

Jonathan Howell

Tracey Lemon

Stuart Miles

Jack Smiles

Kit Officer

Jack Smiles

SLALOM

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Calendar 2015


Date Event Standard Contact

May

3 Treasure hunt All Pam D

5 One Star course starts Participants Pam D

5 Club opens, weekly on Tuesdays till 14th July, 7-9pm 2 * and above Pam D

9 Work Party at Langham Farm All Andy V

10 Grand Team Event All John K

12 Passport and Discover start Participants Pam D

16 Winchester Slalom Div 4/O All John K

23/24 Llandysul Slalom Div 2/3/4 All John K

29 Mini slalom (2) All John K

31 Langham Farm slalom set up All John K

June

2 Two Star course starts Participants Pam D

6/7 Langham Farm Slalom Div 3/4 All John K

13/14 Ogmore Slalom Div 3/4 All John K

20/21 Shepperton Slalom Div 3/4 All John K

20/21 Foundation Safety and Rescue 2 Star + Rich C

21 River Avon trip All John K

27/28 BIBLINS weekend All Pam D

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Calendar in detail


RIVER AVON TRIP

21st June Meet Market Yard: 9am Cost £3 Organiser: John Kent

A section of the Avon which takes in Limpley Stoke Weir.

So we start at Avoncliffe viaduct, paddle downstream on the river, portage to the canal and come back on the canal. No shuttle today!

This trip is good for young people and less experienced adults. The water is easy and the two weirs we do are fun!

You need to bring a packed lunch and a change of clothes for paddling. You can borrow any club kit on the morning.

TREASURE HUNT REPLACING THE EASTER EGG HUNT!

3rd May Meet Market Yard: 10am

Our Easter Egg Hunt for the last two years has had to be cancelled because of the weather, so this is an attempt to beat the weather. Will it work?

In canoes we shall be searching for clues along the river banks of the River Frome near the Clubhouse.

What treasure will we find? Probably the edible variety!

This is an event that everyone can join in. Families are welcome!

BIBLINS 27/28th June

A CAMPING AND PADDLING WEEKEND IN THE FOREST OF DEAN

Fully catered and paddling on 2 days. £36.

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Calendar in detail

Carl, Kurt and Neil on the Allta Chourinn, a steep rockslide in Glen Etive.


GRAND TEAM EVENT

10th May Market Yard: 10am

THIS IS A REALLY GOOD EVENT ! EVERYONE CAN PARTIPATE!

In teams of three boats work together to race through the poles fast.

Practice from 10am Race starts 11am approx Your team gets two runs and

the best run counts.

A team comprises any three boats. And they don’t have to be slalom boats. Choose the one you find most comfort-able.

LANGHAM FARM SLALOM

6/7th JUNE

Come to compete Or come to help

This slalom is perfect for beginners and we will help you

to sort out the entry process, the kit you need, the times you are

racing and so on!

IF YOU ARE NOT PADDLING, WHY NOT COME AND HELP US?

MINISLALOM

29th May Market Yard: 6.30pm

THE SECOND EVENT IN OUR 2015 SERIES OF MINISLALOMS

This is a friendly competition giving you a chance to have a go without the stress of a ranked slalom.

Come at 6.30pm for a practice and the race starts at 7pm

We need help to run this event - to do the timing. If you can spare the evening, please come along and give us a hand!

THE CLUBHOUSE IS OPEN

FOR PADDLING

Mondays: slalom training Tuesdays (from 5th May - 14th July)

Wednesdays - club session Remember you can come to paddle on all three nights if you want to! £2.50 per night or use your Paddle-Pass. P14 for details of PaddlePass and the conditions for paddling.

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Slalom - some points to remember

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Slalom - some key dates


Mondays - weekly Training at Market Yard. Juniors 18:00 to 19:00, Adults / more experienced 19:00 to 20:00.

Wednesdays - weekly

Training in the club session, 7-8pm. Ben Nicol leads this one, assisted by Chloe.

Sat 2nd / Sun 3rd May Bala Mill Div 3/4. A camping weekend in North Wales. Note in the past this has been a 2/3.

Sunday 10th May Grand Team Event at Market Yard. Race in teams of three.

Saturday 16th May North Walls Slalom at Winchester. This is a Division 4 race and is held on flat water so is ideal for your first race. There is also an Open race for those who are already in a higher division.

Sat 23rd / Sun 24th May

Llandysul Div 2/3, with Div 4 on the lake. A camping weekend in West Wales.

Friday 29th May Minislalom at Market Yard 18:00. A 12 gate course with minimum organisation.

Sunday 31st May No training as such but this is the day we put up the course ready for Langham Farm the following week-end.

Sat 6th / Sun 7th June Langham Farm Slalom. A Division 3 and 4 ranking race near Rode which we organise.

Sat 13th / Sun 14th June.

Ogmore slalom Div 3/4 at Bridgend in South Wales. We will probably race Saturday only.

Sat 20th / Sun 21st June

Shepperton slalom Div 3/4 in South West London. We will race Saturday only.

Friday 3rd July Minislalom at Market Yard 18:00. Moved forward a week to avoid clash with Biblins weekend.

You can find out more about canoe slalom on www.canoeslalom.co.uk

http://www.canoeslalom.co.uk/

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Spring and Summer Programme


Not-so-Young

choose from Slalom training (7-8pm) Adults only group (8 -9pm)

Or use your PaddlePass

A Wednesday session rule: If the water is above the jetty, no

one gets on the water without permission from Rich or John.

Please arrive at the clubhouse 15 minutes before your session starts. This will give you time to check in and get kitted up.

kit— we provide all the specialist canoeing kit that you will need but please bring a change of clothes to wear on the water and a towel for the shower after your session. And until it warms up, please have fleecy tops or thermals. You also need some old trainers or wetsuit shoes. (not crocks) The club does sell wetsuit shoes (£5) and thermals (£16 young people). There will be no shoes to borrow from the club this year.

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More about Wednesdays

What do I do?

On the door, pay and choose the group you are going to join. You get a coloured bib. Get changed in the changing rooms and then go and collect all the kit you

need. Tracey will help you if you are not sure what to choose. Put the bib on top of your buoyancy aid. This helps the instructor for your

group to find you. Go and wait in the car park with the rest of your group. When your instructor is ready, carry your boat carefully down to the jetty

and get in. Remember the steps are steep and sometimes slippery so take great care. Get someone to help with your boat so that you share the load. And at the end of your session, put all your kit away.

What do I need to bring?

£2.50 entry fee. A change of clothes for the water. You will need warm clothes for the

first few weeks. Some old trainers or wetsuit boots. A towel to dry your-self after your shower. If you have a wet suit, bring that. Bring any other canoeing kit that you may have.

Remember you can borrow paddles, spray decks, buoyancy aids etc., from the club.

At the end of my session

Bring your boat and paddle back up from the river. Put your bib in he box by the Store door. Rinse your wetsuit in the showers PUT AWAY ALL THE KIT THAT YOU HAVE USED. We all have to look after

our kit, and things won’t dry if left lying on the floor. Not only that, we will be knee deep in kit after the second week! (The mind boggles!)

This year there will be no wetsuit shoes from you to borrow from the club.

AND REMEMBER TO COME 15-20 MINUTES BEFORE YOUR GROUP IS DUE TO GET ON THE WATER.

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Scotland 2015 - a compilation from Jack, Alun and Megan


After a nine hour journey we arrived at Glen Etive and made our first stop in Scotland at the get in for the classic section of the Etive, which was at an unusually high level and clearly not runnable for some time. With this information we made our way to our base at Inchree and met the others, who had arrived earlier in the week.

A group decision was then made that we should explore the more remote areas that Scotland has to offer. Our first paddle on the Sun-day was the River Loy. This was an ideal warm up on a grade 3/4, small fast flowing river which caused diffi-culty for Joe who pinned his boat be-tween two rocks and this resulted in our first three points of the trip. The second river of the day was a very cold but delightful upper Gloy. The sleet was continuous, the track winding and steep. The river is a narrow gorge with

continuous grade 3/4 rapids with one 5 towards the end. On the first rapid the corpse of a large deer was draped over a tree. It was either a portage or paddle to get round this obstacle. We paddled.

Alun and Bill had their first rolls of the trip and we were forced to portage the grade 5 due to a tree in the drop. We ended the day with a nice, warm group trip to Morrisons to buy provisions for the week.

Day two we went to a low level Fass-fern graded 3/4. This river consists of

many technical rapids and slides, great for some rock spins. After this we went exploring on the other side of the loch to look for new rivers, where issues arose regarding the right to roam rules so we returned on the ferry back to Inchree.

Day three we drove up a long track to the Allt Mhuic which consists of

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Scotland 2015 continued


grade 4/5 drops and slides and ends with a big bone crunching slide and drop. On arrival at the river we encountered highland cattle, a snow blizzard and a river scattered with large trees. Joe, George and Jack proceeded to clear the trees with the rest of the group looking on, so enabling us to paddle the river. The get off involved team-work and a throw line to get the boats out of the gorge and back to the road. After this we decided to look at the bottom drop on the Allt Chia’aig and Joe and Jack seal launched into the main flow of the drop. Then we moved onto the bottom drop of the River Nevis which gave spectators the opportunity to view a perfect demon-stration of the X line which resulted in Alun testing his new dry suit.

Day four, after an epic drive through continuously falling snow, we approached the get-on for the Middle Orchy which was at a medium-high level. The river is 8km long and consists of grade 3/4 rapids and drops and two grade 5s. When inspecting

the river Bill managed to jam his car across a slippery bridge. After a long wait from the spectators the group finally made it down the river having survived all features.

On the fifth day of our visit we decided to take a break from paddling. Bill (one sandwich short of a picnic) walked the Ballachulish Horse-shoe while the rest of the group pro-ceeded to the Ice Factor climbing centre.

With half of the group making their way back to Warminster on our last paddling day, we vacillated between a

variety of rivers. After inspection of the Laggan Dam, which was without water, the final choice was to paddle the Spe-an Gorge and Arkaig. There was a high water level which allowed some fun thrills before heading home the next day.

Ed - Thank you Jack for organising this report. Nice to read about the new rivers you paddled.

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River Frome trip, 22nd March by Vicky Bennett

The River Frome trip - otherwise known as Gareth's van's last outing.

The day began with the usual confusion of who's boat was

going on what car, did everyone have all their kit, and in the case of those of us whose last paddling experience had been many many months ago, trying to remember how exactly to paddle in the first place. Eventually we were all loaded up for the 2 mile trip to the Creamery, and got on the water successfully.

George led from the front, and we managed to negotiate our way down despite the fairly low water, with only some bumping and scraping along the bottom. After portaging the first weir with no problems, Pam began a spot of bird watching to entertain us on our way. I believe that buzzards, swans and kingfishers were all spotted, and luckily

Alun was on hand to explain cooking methods for each one.

The low water meant that everyone was able to successfully shoot the next weir at Beckington, and it gave a good opportunity for playing in the small stopper at the bottom. Unfortunately, Kath was not so lucky on the next one, and took a swim when shooting it in the Ocoee. How-ever after some expert guidance from Stuart, her second attempt was a success and we carried on.

By now the sun had come out, and we continued to scrape our way downstream, with George scouting the weirs as we went. This was the first time I had ever been on a Frome trip where the water level had been such that everyone had been able to have a go at shooting all the weirs, and even though there were some nervous faces at the top, it was really good to see everyone give them a go.

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Frome trip continued + Bits and Pieces

Before long, the cries of "are we nearly there yet" began to be heard, and we were spurred on by George's promises of it being "just around the next corner… oh and the one after that". We all stopped at the top of Rode weir for a group photo, taken by Pam who stood at the bottom. At this point some of us were lucky enough to see Pam take a rare swim whilst not even anywhere near her boat. Whether she felt a photo taken from the waterline would win her some prizes, or whether she felt the trip so far had not effectively tested her dry-suit, the question still remains, is this worth 3 points?

Finally we reached Langham Farm, and packed up all of the kit and ourselves to head back to Frome. Little did we know that this was to be Gareth's van's last journey, but despite this it was a really good trip, with a bit of sun, not too much swimming, and the best thing definitely no rain!

Frome trip paddlers and points Girls Aimee C, Chloe C, Ertha G Boys George J, George Mc, Jacob L, Jos M, Kieran F, Toby W (3) Women Kath N (3), Pam D, Su F, Vicky B Men Alun J, Carl G, Chris W (3),

Dave P, Gareth Mc, Ian J, Jamie B, Jim R, John K, Jonathan H, Rich C, Stuart M and Terry O.

Thank you to the shoppers who voted for us in January and February in Frome Asda with the little green discs. We watched the boxes and saw over time that we were never going to come first! Nevertheless we were delighted to receive a ‘runners-up’ cheque of £50 just recently . And we need to thank Gareth, for it was his suggestion to put the canoe club forward for this scheme!

Repair toilet block at Langham Farm. Repair fence round boat rack. Clear away stuff under the container and so on. 9am - 1pm. Come and help!

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One Friday, after a grotty afternoon at work I raced home, ate can of cold baked beans and headed off to the first of the mini slaloms at the mighty Market Yard. Toby had been talking about this event since Christmas (ranking second only to Christmas - now that is pretty big!) So we got him changed talked about the course and threw him on. Unable to resist any more I too had to throw on some kit, steal a boat and had to have a run. Toby stormed it in 135 seconds, making a proud Dad and a target to beat...... Luckily I made it down the course ducking off the poles only to be told after that 2 sec penalties weren't counting. Long story short: with one safe run under the belt, time to go hard, tried another boat and went hard... too hard and suffered a fish eye view of gate 10, followed by a swim to the finish, not quite the end to the night I had anticipated, but still a good way to spend a Friday night. Lots of fun followed and lots of cheek from some of the younger paddlers including Toby who seems to be quite happy to have a loser of a Dad (his words not mine). Overall well impressed by a fun race with paddlers competing in every one of the inter-national classes. Well done to all paddlers, thanks to John for organising and to all the volunteers who helped. Target for next race is two finishes ...... fingers crossed I can tame

the frantic Frome. Chris Wilde. (Ed: see also John’s report on back page.)

Mini slalom by Chris Wilde + Washburn slalom by Andrew Lyall

The last time I did Washburn slalom in 2012, I swam in the bottom stopper. That was a Division 1 event so I was hoping this Division 2 would be easier. This slalom is just outside Harrogate and is dam controlled like the Tryweryn. The river is quite narrow and there is a good drop hence things happen quickly. The dam above the course is quite imposing around 80 feet high at least and the water was rushing by as I eased myself in to my boat (purchased only a week before the slalom and not paddled on moving water!).

It was dry today, 8°C, with a cold wind. My practice run was slow but I was relatively happy as I got all the gates. Many of the competitors were very young, and as John and I always state they will just disappear into the distance. They did.

After the first run I was 38th out of 58 and was quite happy. It was due to ten competitors getting a 50 second penalty. I only had 4 seconds of penalties but my time was a little slow. I had a better second run - 4 seconds quicker but was awarded a 50 sec penalty (which I only found out about a day later) so no improvement overall but I had enjoyed myself. No copper noseclip points this time. If it was a bit closer I would go every year to Washburn slalom. My final result was 54/62. Andrew Lyall.

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Exeter canoe loop by A


We want your views on kit!

Kit survey: a message from

Jack - our new Kit Officer Morning Everyone! We are running a small survey on our club kit. So anyone who uses our kit please take a few minutes to fill this in. Click here to complete it.

We want to give members even more opportunities to paddle and so we are opening the club up on more evenings each week for everyone to use. And to help people reduce costs we are introducing the PaddlePass scheme. From now onwards you can buy a season ticket of paddling for all summer months, or you can buy a month-by-month pass or indeed, multiples-of-months-pass. Once you have a PaddlePass you can paddle whenever the clubhouse is open during the summer (subject to conditions below) and you save money if you paddle more than once a week. The clubhouse is to be open on Mondays: 6.30pm-8.30pm from now till 14th September Tuesdays: while courses are running, 5th

May till 14th July, 6.30 to 9pm Wednesdays: normal club session from now till 16th September

PaddlePass costs £50 for whole summer OR £10 per month The PaddlePass gives more flexibility to paying. You can of course continue to pay session by session (£2.50) or you can buy up to 6 sessions on the Up-front Card system. So there should be a way which suits every-one!

Here are the conditions for paddling Under 16s must join a coached

group (ie Monday slalom and Wednesday)

16+ can paddle in any of the three evenings provided they go in a group of 3 and they are at Two Star competency. (Check with Rich if you are unsure.)

Water conditions may affect who gets on.

The Duty Coach has the final say.

More paddling for members and the new PaddlePass

Bits and Pieces

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SHP89HR

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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.

www.frome-canoe-club.org.uk

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CONTACTS

Chairman Andy Vowell 07584 069432 Vice Chair: Gareth McGiveron Treasurer: John Kent 01225 765168 [email protected] Secretary: Pam Dixon 07740 472982 [email protected] Head Coach: Rich Carter 01373 864623 Youth Reps: Jack Smiles and Gareth McGiveron Volunteer Rep: Jonathan Howell Kit: Jack Smiles [email protected]

The purpose of the minislaloms is to gently intro-duce paddlers to competition on the flat water of the river Frome.

The race on the 24th April was the first of 3 planned for this early summer. The rain held off and we had 20 entries, the most we've ever had for a mini-slalom. 6 adults and 14 juniors. It was good to see several juniors who had never raced before.

As expected from a div 2 slalom paddler, the fastest junior was Chloe Collins. Jacob Lines was the fastest in the J12 category (11 and 12 year olds). Aimee Collins was the fastest of the 4 paddlers in the J10 category(9 and 10 year olds). Also taking part in the event were Alfie Lee, Gil Stockley, Jos Maxey, Toby Wilde, Stuart Armstrong, Sam Lucas-Fivey, Keiran Clark, Alex Hulin, Ollie Hale, Charlie Laycock and Kyra Brake.

Overall, the fastest time of the day was Chris Wilde in C1, although a little inconsistent and catching an edge on his second run. That's 3 points.

The focus in these races is to gain competition experience and to improve paddling skills.

Certificates will be awarded to all those who complete the full 3 races of the series and also to the most improved junior.

Hopefully all those who raced will do so again at our team event (teams of 3) on 10th May, at Winchester on 16th May and at Langham Farm, Rode on 6th and 7th June.

The full results can be found here. Or find the link on our website.

Ed: have you seem Chris’ version of this event on p14? Read about his swim!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5HiGU9GTgeAb2ZDeUticC16SUU/view

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2015 05 newsletter