2015 02 newsletter

1

Fro

me

Ca

no

e C

lub

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

Newsletter

Volume 39 Issue 2: February 2015

Back row from the left: George W, Big Jim, Julia Mc, Ben N Front row: Chloe C, Ian J, Kieran F, Dave P. See p14 for more about the Social.

Photo

by A

lex

25th February Complimentary drink at 7pm. Meeting starts at 7.30pm. At the Clubhouse. Everyone is welcome!

The first points were gained, of course on the New Years Day trip.

P9 and p10 have reports.

And to see what happened in the second trip of the year, see

Kath’s report on p12.

How are we doing so far in 2015?

2

In this issue

3 Calendar in brief

4 Details of river trips

5 Winter Wednesdays

6 Club sessions

7 AGM

8 Quiz night by Graham

9 New Years Paddle by Alun

10 The Alternative NYD paddle

12 The River Barle by Kath

14 Social and Awards

15 Bits and Pieces

16 Dates for your diary

CALENDAR: details

REPORTS

OTHER THINGS

FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE

Send articles for the March issue to [email protected] by 25h February

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President

Graham Warnecke

Vice Presidents

Richard and Jane Arney

Jim and Catharine Croft

Chairman

Alun Jones

Vice Chairman

Gareth McGiveron

Treasurer

John Kent

Secretary

Pam Dixon

16 Blagdon Walk, Frome, BA11 2YH

Committee Members

Arthur Belbin

Rich Carter

Richard Heal

Jonathan Howell

Tracey Lemon

Stuart Miles

Kit Officers

Tim and Sally Smiles

Strict adherence to the Club’s code of conduct is expected at all times on club events .

3

Calendar 2015


Date Event Standard Contact

February

1 Local River Trip Passport/One Star Alun J

11 Quiz Night All Dave P

13 Polo at the pool - contact game Experienced paddlers Jack S

14 Club session: Saturday pm All Rich C

15 River Usk 2 Star + John K

18 Race Night - Indoor kayaks All Pam D

20 NO POOL SESSION TONIGHT All Pam D

22 River Exe Passport/One Star Alun J

25 Annual General Meeting All Pam D

27 Polo at the pool - non contact All Jack S


March

6 Polo at the pool - contact game Experienced paddlers Jack S

11 Rock Collisions/big ships - a talk All Andy V


14/15 Tryweryn weekend 2 Star + Arthur

18 Coaches meeting Volunteers Rich C

20 Polo at the pool - non contact All Jack S

22 River Frome Passport/One Star Rich C

4

Calendar in detail

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


RIVER USK

15th February Meet Market Yard : 8am Cost £15 Organiser: John Kent

This trip is always a cold one and of-ten wet! You need to be at 2 Star Standard or Discover, with moving water experience and be over 10 years old. Access on the river has become a lit-tle fraught and so we will be doing the stretch Sennybridge to Aberbran.

RIVER EXE

22nd February Meet Market Yard: 8am Cost £12 Organiser: Alun Jones

This is a lovely river with its weirs and rapids. We will paddle from Bolham weir to Bickleigh (about 7 miles) . You need to be a good One Star or Passport paddler, be over 10 years old and be able to wear a spraydeck. Warm kit, a good solid lunch and warm drink are essential.

TRYWERYN WEEKEND - 14/15th March

Cost £26 (bed) + transport + water fees + breakfasts + evening meal at the pub. Organiser: Arthur Belbin

A chance to paddle some harder water in north Wales. The section of the Tryweryn that runs from the Chipper to the camp site is called the Upper Tryweryn. It includes rapids known as The Graveyard (Grade 3+), Ski Jump (3+), Fed yr Goch Falls (3+), Fingers (3-) and Chapel Falls (3+). All this and more in less than 2 km! And because the river is high volume and quite steep, these rapids usually feel a lot more intimidating and a whole grade higher! Not for the faint-hearted. But with a good support/rescue crew on the water and on the bank, this is a challenge that some members might be ready for. For experienced paddlers, this is a fabulous playground! Depending on paddlers, we can fit in a paddle on the lower Tryweryn, an easier stretch - from the campsite to Bala. We stay in Lynda’s lovely bunkhouse Friday and Saturday night. She does break-fast on Saturday and Sunday morning for us (£5 pppd) which is so civilised. Transport is sorted out amongst friends—or let Arthur know if you need help. A deposit of £26 secures your place on this trip. There are only 18 places.

5

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


Calendar in details

ROCK COLLISIONS AND

TECHNICAL RESCUES.

HOW THE BIG BOYS DO IT!

11th March 7.30pm at the Clubhouse Speaker: Andy Vowell We are talking big ships here. Andy will walk us through some of the projects he has been involved in. It will be amazing! Come at 7pm for tea and cake. Talk starts at 7.30pm.

WE SO LIKED THE LAST ONE, WE’RE DOING IT AGAIN

QUIZ NIGHT

WEDNESDAY 11th FEBRUARY AT THE CLUBHOUSE

IN TEAMS WE WILL PIT OUR WITS AGAINST EACH OTHER.

Anyone having difficulty paying the trip prices please speak to the Welfare Officer.

RACE NIGHT 18th February

The race is on! In teams of four, or individually, we will be racing tonight.

7pm for practice. Race starts at 7.30pm

Passport, Discover, One Star, Two Star dates are on the website in the Courses section. Or pick up a leaflet at any club session.

6

Club sessions


POOL SESSIONS - FRIDAYS

8-9pm. Cost £3.30 /£2.80 At the Frome Leisure Centre

No session on 20th February

CANOE POLO

AT THE POOL

8.30pm - 9pm Organiser: Jack Smiles

Two games a month, one is the contact game and the other is non-contact.

A good roll is an asset in the contact game because pushing in while tack-ling is allowed! The non contact game is good for inexperienced paddlers, both adults and young people alike.

Contact games Non contact February 13th February 27th March 6th March 20th

WEDNESDAY EVENINGS

PACKED FULL OF ACTIVITES! ARRIVE 7pm for a 7.30pm START

At the clubhouse

FEBRUARY 11th Quiz night 18th Race Night 25th Annual General Meeting MARCH 11th Rock Collisions - Andy’s talk 18th Coaches’ meeting 25th Refresher First Aid: Scenarios

WINTTER CLUB SESSIONS

AT THE CLUBHOUSE

ON SATURDAYS

14th February 28th February 14th March 28th March

2– 4 pm EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

WEDNESDAY CLUB SESSIONS

Start 22nd April

7


AGM

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

25th February 7.30pm at the Clubhouse 7pm for a complimentary drink

The AGM is your opportunity to hear what the committee did for you in 2014, and how we spent our money.

We vote in the 2015 committee, consider any proposals from the committee and then we listen to your views, good and bad!

Do come - the business part of the evening should take about 45 minutes and then we can mingle, chat and polish off the drinks and nibbles! (who let that cat in again?)

The committee is proposing to launch the Paddle Pass scheme and details will be brought to the AGM for discussion. If passed it will allow members to paddle more frequently at the clubhouse during the weekday evenings. See the Agenda for the details of the proposal (here).

Nominations for Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary need to be in by 11th February. You can use the nomination form which has been emailed to you or download them (here), or simply send an email to Pam with your nominations.

Dear Club/Centre

We have updated and re-designed the UK website for The Paddler ezine at http://

www.thepaddler.co.uk.

The latest issue of The Paddler ezine for January 2015 is avail-able to read by clicking on the

link below. All the best, Peter Tranter, Editor

http://www.joomag.com/magazine/thepaddler-ezine/M0151422001368812110

FCC Newsletters: past copies can be found on the web site. You will also find the most recent one there too!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5HiGU9GTgeANHpzMzhqRjFSaEU/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5HiGU9GTgeAeUVBRWg5X0pVc2c/view?usp=sharing

http://www.thepaddler.co.uk

http://www.thepaddler.co.uk



8


Graham’s Report of the Quiz Night - 10th December

‘A quiz night at the club - sounds interesting’ I thought! ‘Think I will drive up for this one.’

I arrived at the club to find much tea making and mince-pie munching. Not a huge number present but more were arriving as the smell of mince-pie wafted across the car-park to the sound of sleigh bells etc, etc. (Yes okay, poetic licence, but as you have not written a report, don’t complain). As the 7.30 start time was fast approaching people were encouraged to gather in teams of four-ish in the upstairs lounge area. Now, as we all know, a lot of canoe club members are not known for their grasp of discretion and this announcement started a phenomenon known as ‘I must get into a brainy group’, as people dashed from table to table trying to team up with those they thought might know that Tuesday follows Monday in most weeks, or to get away from people that they knew would not know how many days were in a normal week. I hit lucky and convinced a team that I knew Wednesday followed Monday, so I was in, to infinity and beyond. The tin of sweets, the prize, was almost in my grasp, sorry our grasp. Step up David, quiz-master extraordi-naire or the closest we have to a Mastermind host. ‘Here are your first

answer sheets’, so spoke the mighty quiz-master, as pages were laid on each table, but even with my glasses on, all I could see were blank sheets, no an-swers. I raised this point and was told very firmly to keep quiet and wait for further proceedings. Evidently, his quiz-ship would ask everybody a number of questions and as a team we were to come up with the answers. There was the odd grumbling about teams trying to cheat or whispering the wrong answers too loudly. Thanks Rich, I have to say at this point as a member of the X Team, we were on fire. We stayed near the top all the way through the quiz, blew it on a couple of the questions but that’s life. At the end we came second to a team that quite frankly, I feel, shamefully cheated, bribed officials, and added extra members to their team under-cover of darkness and further. I feel sure that despite all this, they even had a copy of the answers at least a week prior, other-wise we, Team X would have won. So there you are: 30 odd people attended to create an evening of fun, friendly banter and a bit of canoe talk. If you missed it, well you missed a brilliant alternative to a club evening. All I can say is don’t miss the next one!

P.S. Does anyone remember how many sheep are on the round-about at Shepton Mallet. Cheers Graham.

9

New Years Day Report


New Years Day memorial paddle.

The first day of 2015 was unusually mild and the group of paddlers that met at

the clubhouse was also unusual. We were pleasantly surprised to have so many younger and less experienced paddlers join the regular paddling contingent.

For some trips this number of novice paddlers could be difficult to look after but we had a wealth of coaches, river leaders, and experienced paddlers who were able to deal with any type of incident that could arise.

We assembled at the bridge in Woolverton and started on our journey, the first obstacle was the weir which at this level is relatively benign so most of the group decided to run it.

For the younger paddlers this was a big step but they took it in their stride

with big smiles on their faces. It was clear to see that the confidence level of the newer paddlers was growing as we progressed to the sloping weir at Rode which was run without any mishaps.

The final test was the bridge at Langham Farm and George was able to guide some of us through safely.

I hope that all of the less experienced and younger paddlers enjoyed the trip and would be interested in paddling on some of our future trips. Look out for the River Barle or Exe.

Paddlers and Points Girls Aimee C, Chloe C, Mya N, Boys George J, George M, Jed E (3), Jed N (3), Toby W (3), William J Women Kath N, Lesley F, Megan J, Pam D Men Alun J, Andrew L, Andy F, Bob B,

Chris W, Gareth M, Ian J, Jack O, Jack S, John K , Rich C, Rich H and Roy N.

10


Contrasts Galore: the alternative NYD report

What a contrast to last years NYD paddle! The weather for starters! Do you remember how wet it was last year? The fields were full of water and rivers were overflowing. Well this time round the weather had been mostly dry in the run up to the year end and so the fields were dry and water levels were sensible.

And the temperature! It was predicted to come close to the 99 year-old record of 16oC. I don’t think it did, but it was warm at 12oC (for a winter’s day!)

What else? Well last year we had no girls on the trip at all – this year we had three, and for Mya one of our youngest paddlers today, it was a bit of an initiation but she coped admirably! As in fact did all the other young people.

And then there were the new paddlers - last year we had 20 of what you would call ‘Salt-and-Peppers’ (seasoned paddlers) and NO newbies. This year we had nine people who were either brand new to river trips with us or very, very new. It was a delight to see you all! BUT the biggest contrast was this:

And so there was no ‘Ian burger’ as Rich so inspiringly put it in last year’s trip report. There was no ‘anyone burger’. The weirs were lovely today, and the rain on the Tuesday had raised water levels a little, making paddling very pleasant.

We always have to cope on New Year’s day with kit malfunction (lack of kit/wrong kit/missing bungs). This year we only had two malfunctions to overcome. Jed E picked up a LH paddle this morning – easy mistake to make for a newbie, but John how could you forget your helmet? Gareth came to the paddle-rescue and lent Jed a rather nice green Werner and we found a spare club helmet

11

The alternative NYD report continued


rolling around Gareth’s van. That man is a godsend!

And so we were off! It was a brilliant paddle and ended at Langham Farm with the obligatory ‘Let’s sink someone’. Success!

What a wonder-ful start to the new year.

And what about those all important points?

Well the bridge at Langham Farm was interesting today. Although I can’t be sure that George standing in the water by the RHS arch was actually helping or not. Did he give them a little flick as they passed by? Shame on you George!

So it was that Toby and the two Jeds won the first points of 2015!

12

River Barle - 11th January


By Kath Norton

For those of you who are new to the club and may not yet have heard of the Platinum

Ladies Club, I am afraid parts of the following article will make absolutely no sense whatsoever. Not to worry though, our introductory article is still available in a past Newsletter which you can find on the club website!

By popular demand (i.e. Graham) here is a PLC update. This one is for you Mr President!

January’s Barle trip was well attended and amongst others, there were a few Fewells, a couple of Collins and the ‘odd’ Miles (obviously I am not refer-ring to Isi here as she is not odd at all, even if she does like to paddle in a boat full of water!)

For the naturists amongst us (or maybe that should be naturalists – it is getting a bit cold on trips now!) there were a couple of sightings of those rare birds, the Lesser Spotted O’Neil and the Even Lesser Spotted Belbin. Unfortunately I missed them as I was painting my nails at the time but good to know these creatures still inhabit

our waterways, occasionally.

There were some nervous faces at the get on which was understandable as the river is pretty full-on from the word go. It was Lesley’s first real trip on fast moving water and she proved herself Ab Fab and completely Point-less by staying upright and running the rapids with no problems whatsoever. Well done! Rumour has it that she

even aced a rapid that one of the coaches found a little bit tricky, but I am not one to tell tales on Arthur even if he did nearly swim.

Our youngest paddlers today, Jos and Aimee, also paddled exceptionally well, given that some of

the waves were bigger than they were. Jos had a slight

mishap but this didn’t faze him at all – and he appeared to be in safe hands as several coaches surrounded him and ensured his rescue. I suspect this is because they have spotted Jos’ talent and potential as a future Upper Dart paddler, and know that one day he may be rescuing them!

Aimee, was completely Ab Fab and managed to get from one end of the river to the other with great style – all whilst eating a massive portion of fish and chips AND watching an episode of

Platinum

Ladies are

Ab Fab

and completely

Pointless

13


River Barle continued

WWSR course April 18/19th At Tryweryn £85 plus £24 water charge plus certificate charge. Accommodation and food to be arranged by individuals.

the Simpsons on her mobile. On a serious note, Aimee gets lots of respect for getting on the river in the first place having had such a long swim on a previous trip.

Rich H, Ian and Cameron took swims in various places, and as I missed these I can’t give you any juicy details. I have heard however, that in their eagerness to join the Platinum Ladies Club, Rich and Ian were concentrating too hard on their manicures and not hard enough on the water. Cameron has been com-pletely dobbed in by his mum who has alleged that he was hugging a tree (that’s mums for you!)

Overall there were 15 points from the boys and a big fat ZERO points from the girls, who as I have told you before were all Ab Fab and completely Pointless. In fact we are so Ab Fab we are going to do the Upper Dart next and I am sure you don’t need me to tell you, that what

Paddlers and Points Girls Aimee C, Chloe C, Isi M, Boys Cameron F (3), Jos M (3), Keiran C, Kieran F Women Bex T, Kath N, Lesley F, Su F Men Arthur B, Bob B, Gareth M,

Ian J (6), John K , Mark B, Rich C, Rich H (3), Stuart M, Terry O and Tom K.

that will involve, is the boys not just lifting and carrying our boats, but paddling them down the river too. Watch this space Graham - bet you can’t wait to see what we do next!

Ed: Kath refers to the introductory article of the PLC - in the Avon Trip. Find it in the July 2014 issue! (And yes, past copies are on the website!)

Really great to see Tom paddling with us again! I gather the ankle is nearly better!

Calling Coaches and Volunteers

Coaches’ Meeting 18th March, 7pm

Clubhouse

Vote for FCC with the green tokens you get when you shop in Asda!

14


Club Social

Who won what?

Chloe Collins Youth Cup - Most improved girl

George Wright Youth Cup - Most improved boy

Jim Read Steve Allen Trophy - Most Improved newcomer

Ben Nicol Bayman Trophy - Best result in a National Competition

Kieran Fewell Langham Trophy - Best result in the Langham Farm Slalom

Gine MBL and Mark B Ivor Morgan Trophy - for coaching

Dave Pilbeam Volunteers Cup - Volunteer of the year

Julia McGiveron Editor’s Trophy - Best contribution to the newsletter

Ian Jones Copper Noseclip - for the most swims

We held it in the clubhouse this year and what a success that was! “The best ever” several of you said. “Relaxed and friendly” others said. We certainly had a good time. And we could stay as long as we liked of course.

We had two ‘loops’ of 2014 paddling shots and dvds going all evening, Thank you George for sorting that. A quiz devised by Dave which got the little grey cells working. There was a cunning ‘Guess Who’ which caught a few out. We had a lovely buffet - thank you to Chloe for helping with that. Thank you to Dave for selling raffle tickets and to you all for being so generous. The raffle made a cool £76 for the club. But most of all, we had lots of socialising and chatting - lovely!

Photo

by A

lex

15


Bits and Pieces

This is an excellent intro to canoe racing and provides a challenge for the more experienced pad-dler. All classes are open to pad-dlers with disabilities. Start is at Whitford Bridge, followed by 4 miles of the river twisting and winding through the Axe Valley, then opening out onto the estuary, with a further 1 mile to the finish at Axmouth Harbour. Separate classes and age categories allow for fair competi-tive racing with medals for all classes. All competitors get free refreshments.

http://www.axevalecc.co.uk/Events/River-Axe-Race/river-axe-

Ed: last year John and Andrew competed in this race in a K2. They won their class after employing some serious tactics! And the year before Bex took part, but more for the experience than the competition!

Our congratulations, of course, go to you both

along with our very best wishes for the future. Gretna Green was the venue for this wedding and they left Kieran and Cameron at home. A short honeymoon in Cumbria and Shropshire to round off a very exciting and unexpected (for us) event! Su - you look absolutely stunning - nearly didn’t recognise you!

We’re collecting! From now till 5th May

http://www.axevalecc.co.uk/Events/River-Axe-Race/river-axe-race.htm

16

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

Check out the photos of club events on the website. And refer to the calendar for all the club activities.

Follow us on

facebook

CONTACTS

Chairman Alun Jones 01373 823513

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: Tracey Lemon and Stuart Miles

Volunteer Rep: Jonathan Howell Kit: Sally and Tim Smiles, assisted by Tracey Lemon

Advance notice about some future dates

Treasure Hunt 3rd May In canoes we’ll be scouring the banks of the river at Market Yard for hidden treasure.

Grand Team Event 10th May Working in teams of three, race through the poles at Market Yard. Always good fun.

Winchester Slalom 16th May An easy slalom - ideal for beginners. A chance to take part in a National Slalom competition.

Langham Farm Slalom 6/7th June We organise this one for British Canoeing and we need your help over the weekend.

Biblins 27/28th June This is a fully catered camping and paddling weekend. We get to paddle the River Wye on both days. The campsite (Biblins) is in the beautiful Forest of Dean.

Market Yard Slalom 12th July Another national slalom we organise but at the Market Yard this time. Good for beginners.

Summer Barbeque 9th August We’ll have some fun again. And we’ll enjoy the most sumptuous meal cooked by Gareth and Tom!

Tiverton Training Weekend 3/4th October You’ll get to learn how to paddle on moving water this weekend. And we’re back in the Youth Centre in Tiverton!

2015 02 newsletter

Documents

river barle

lovely river

star john

club sessions

club events

star arthur

star standard

details of river trips