Good evening All, We hope you all had a great Christmas and Santa brought you lots of kayaking type presents.
Looking forward into 2017 we should have details of our AGM shortly – we have several vacancies on the committee coming up so we will be looking for some new faces to join us, all vacant roles will be published shortly along with details about nominating people etc.
This week will see both Pontefract and Batley baths sessions back to normal – please try to come along to one of the sessions and get some practice in the warmth of the pool.
We will also resume the Saturday white water training sessions on the Calder to get some of our newer members up to speed on the rivers. We will look to start the sessions on January 7th around 11.30/12pm for the next few weeks, anyone who requires to borrow boats or kit please get in touch by latest 7pm the Friday before: andy@westyorkshirecanoeclub.com
We are also looking to promote slalom during 2017 – for anyone who is not sure what this is it is racing down a river in a kayak, weaving in and out of poles suspended above the water, the object being to get through the course as fast as possible without touching any of the poles as points are deducted for this.
There are many slalom events throughout the year for ALL abilities, these start with a very basic event on a lake through to Premiere division where the events are held on fast rivers and also man made courses such as Lee Valley – this is where the 2012 Olympic kayaking was held. All events are held over weekends at various locations around the country and most are also a bit of a social event as well where parents etc. can get involved with judging and generally helping out during the event.
All persons taking part in the events are ranked after the race and there are many medals and trophies handed out at each event.
Once you start attending the events there are also regional training sessions that run throughout the year at various locations and we will be attending some of these, as you progress you will be expected to attend several of the training sessions – most of the sessions are based on the water but there are also a couple of dry training sessions throughout the year where you are shown both the mental and physical aspects of slalom training.
Slalom is open to both adults and children. Anyone interested in getting into slalom please let me know so I can begin to get things organised: andy@westyorkshirecanoeclub.com
We will look to organise some river trips during the next few months – if anyone has any suggestions or favourites please let us know and we will try to organise: club.secretary@westyorkshirecanoeclub.com
And finally if members have any ideas or suggestions for the club or events etc. please do not hesitate to get in touch with us – it is your club so please shout out and get involved.
PLEASE NOTE TRIPS AND TRAINING SESSIONS ARE ONLY OPEN TO CLUB MEMBERS.