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Children can join the club from around the age of 8 upward, and are introduced to paddling through a range of courses and awards (details below), run by our team of coaches. Once they are competent they are encouraged to join in club activities such as racing and touring.
Although the club specialises in flatwater racing, we give juniors the opportunity to experience a wide range of different forms of canoeing and kayaking: last year alone, juniors tried touring, canoe camping, marathon, sprint, K4, open canoeing, canoe sailing, slalom, wild water racing, descent racing, duathlon, white water, rolling, high kneeling, canoe orienteering and bellboating.
The club also organises taster sessions and courses for groups such as schools, cubs, brownies, guides and scouts
Among our recent junior achievements:
National Wildwater Racing Champions 2006 (above)
National Wavehopper Champions 2006
National U/14 Bellboat Champions 2006
National U/12 Marathon champions 2005 (bottom of page)
National U/212 Marathon champions 2004.
3rd in U/12 Bellboat National championships 2006.
12 individual national championship gold medals in 2006; 8 silver medals and 4 bronze medals. Nine golds, five silvers and four bronzes in 2007, so far.
Our introductory courses for young paddlers start in late March, as soon as the clocks go back, and they continue throughout the summer, usually on Thursday evenings. Run over four or five one hour sessions, Paddlepower 1 aims to teach children the basics of kayak canoeing, and involves plenty of fun activities awards and certificates along the way. Progress is noted in a colourful log book. The courses cost £30 per person, but are free to club members. Anyone who does a course and then decides to join the club receives a discount on the membership fees.
Once they have achieved Paddlepower 1, paddlers are invited to join the club, and come along to regular club sessions on Sunday mornings, and on Thursday evenings in summer. Here, they move on to our tiered training groups which encourage them to participate and continue beyond introductory sessions, The main emphasis is on flatwater racing, particularly marathon and children are encouraged to achieve their best. They will also get the chance to compete in sprint and wildwater racing.
As mentioned in the introduction, juniors
are given "tasters" of other canoeing disciplines such as: bellboating,
polo, canoe sailing, orienteering, and freestyle. They will have
the opportunity to visit different venues and try recreational touring
and canoe camping.
During school holidays, the club organises courses at Spiceball Pool in Banbury, in which children learn the basics.
In the winter, more advanced courses are held at Brackley swimming pool: here children learn capsize drills, canoe safety and rescue techniques.
Juniors will have the chance to pursue the higher Paddlepower awards and gain individual time trial and distance awards. The can also take their Junior Canoe Safety Test, and Junior coaching awards.
Coaching and Safety
The club has coaches qualified by the British Canoe Union, and actively
encourages interested members to take coaching qualifications. Safety is
of prime importance. The club is one of the first canoe clubs in the
country to achieve Sport
England’s prestigious “Clubmark” award, which sets a very high
standard.
The structure of coaching is arranged to meet all levels of ability from beginners to international standard. Coaches
The club can organise courses and festivals for groups such as schools, Cubs, Scouts, Brownie, Guides and sports clubs. These could consist of anything from a one-off introductory session, to a four or five week course leading to British Canoe Union awards. The club is committed to working with schools as part of the PESSCL initiative.
In the Autumn and winter months, we join other clubs in a low key Paddlesport competition. The main aim is to allow junior paddlers the chance to experience a wide range of canoeing activities as can be seen from the schedule below. The competition is open to all paddlers under the age of 16, and costs £2.50 per event.
Events for 2007-8 include canoe triathlon, Bellboat racing, slalom, K4 racing, marathon, canoe orienteering, canoe polo, a "generation game", wild water racing and white water skills.
National Lightning Champions 2005 -6. Wildwater Racing Champion 2005 and 2006.
Training Times
| Summer Training | ||
| Saturdays | Mornings - times vary. | Race Training. |
| Sundays | 10.00-12.00 | Club session. General paddling, sometimes including coaching groups at various levels. There are also often races on Sundays. |
| Tuesdays | 6.00-7.15pm | Race Training. Tiered training groups. Time trials every month. |
| Thursdays | 5:30-6:30pm
|
Introductory courses for beginners,
and coaching for inexperienced paddlers. Club session including coached session for tiered training groups at various levels, for more experienced paddlers. |
| Winter training | ||
| Saturdays | Mornings - times vary. | Introductory courses for beginners plus race training groups. |
| Sundays | 10:00-12:00. | Club session, paddling on the canal. |
| Tuesdays | 6:30-7:30pm or 7:30-8:30pm | Circuit or Strength & Stability training at Cropredy Village Hall. |
| Thursdays | 6:30-7:30pm or 7:30-8:30pm | Circuit Training at Cropredy Village Hall. |
The aim of the Paddlesport competition is to keep youngsters interested in paddling over the winter months and at the same time, introducing them to the various forms of canoeing, both in a competitive and a fun way. Some of the activities are more serious than others and are aimed at including mixed ages and abilities. The activities all take place in the Reading area, as this is where most Southern Region clubs are concentrated.
Each team entered
can have up to ten children that must be under 16 on the 1st Sept 2008
and over 8 years at the same date.( ie born between 1st Sept
1991 and 31st Aug 1999). The aim is to have one event a
month.
Each participant is asked to pay an event fee, of £2.50 per event (some
events are free) to cover costs. At the end of the season there will be
a presentation afternoon and BBQ.
Saturday pm, 22nd September – Triathlon event – Venue, Reading
Sunday pm, 7th October – Bell Boat Challenge and Open Canoe Racing – Pangbourne
Sunday 11th November – Slalom event ( ??All day, time slots ) – Venue, Basingstoke
Saturday pm 1st December Generation Game, Venue Pangbourne. Host Sea Scouts
January ? 12th, 19th, 26th to be confirmed Canoe Polo - Evenings – Willink Pool. Host BCCC
1st March – Orienteering - ???Pangbourne
April / MAY ???? - NENE – Coaching and whitewater/ freestyle ? event/Race
May/ June ? Racing K4 Sprints ??. BBQ and Presentation ? Venue TBA
Paddlesport triathlon Saturday 22nd September .
Your objective
is: to run… swim…
paddle…overcome…shoot … rescue and memorise.
Venue:
Reading canoe club
Check in:
Reading canoe club
Event will be run from the
prom, Richfield Ave.
It can be more convenient for you to park at Rivermead (pay and display) and paddle to the club.
Time:13:30
check in
Briefing :14:00
On the Prom.
Starts
around 14:30. start order over 13, under 13 will start after over 13
have finished.
Cost :£2.50
Equipment:
you will need the following: a canoe (K1 preferred), paddle, buoyancy
aid, shoes, brain.
Explanation: You have to rescue your hero in trouble, to get to your hero, you have to run and then memories a message and then swim to your canoe, paddle a number of laps to the bank. Overcome the obstacle in your way, shoot the devils and finally swim to rescue your hero. On rescuing your hero you have to recite your message.
Distance
Over 13 will run 2km paddle
3km, 3 laps of the course.
Under 13 will run 1km and paddle 2km, two laps of the course.
Swimming distance will be the same for both groups and will depend on
the water temperature, flow and weather conditions. Probably between 50
and 150m.
Rules
Shoes must be worn for the
run. May be discarded for the swim.
Swim: buoyancy aid is optional.
Canoe: Buoyancy aid to be worn, all turns anticlockwise and give
way to traffic coming the other way. No paddling in the buoyed off
area.
Obstacle: no kicking punching allowed.
Rescue: buoyancy aid to be worn.