West Yorkshire Canoe Club is affiliated to Paddle UK (Formally British Canoeing)
We are a family Paddle sport’s club, founded in 1955, and based in and around Wakefield in West Yorkshire.
Club membership is drawn from a wide geographical area and reflects the broad appeal of the Club’s services and events, catering for a variety of interests including canoe polo, slalom, play boating, sea surfing, wild water racing, whitewater touring, recreation and stand up paddleboarding.
The Club organises regular sessions at these locations:-
Saturday morning sessions on the River Calder near Horbury Junction River Calder. Sessions times normally published a week in advance.
All sessions are limited numbers and MUST be booked in advance on our website, it is not possible to just turn up at a sessions and expect to participate.
A calendar of activities is available to view and we welcome anyone to come along and have a go. Please feel free to attend any session, just bring along suitable attire for swimming in.
We provide coaching from basic paddling skills taught in the pool and lake and move quickly onto the skills required to paddle white water.
The club organises lots of river trips all year round, ranging from gentle flat-water paddles along the River Ouse for beginners up to advanced white water such as the River Tryweryn for the more experienced.
As well as running river trips, organised events such as the Washburn weekend & West Tanfield Family Weekend are held along with holidays for our members such as the club trip to Ilfracombe in Devon every summer and the Sandsend Surfing weekend.
Please take the time to have a look around our website and feel free to contact us with any questions you may have – please see the Contact page for details on how to get in touch.
It is important to note that attendance to any session will require the first session to be a taster session in order to demonstrate the necessary skills to be able to safely paddle with the club.
All members should feel confident in water and be able to swim 50 metres in normal canoe clothing, though this is not a barrier to entry. For Club events participants must wear Club approved canoe clothing and use approved boats. These can be provided by the Club and are included in the cost of the session. Members under the age of 18 must wear helmets at all events. Each W.Y.C.C. event is overseen by an Event coordinator.
The club follows the BCU Child Protection guidelines and policy – a copy of which is available here: Child Protection Policy.
BECOMING A CLUB MEMBER
Membership of WYCC is open to anyone who wishes to enjoy canoeing in a relaxed atmosphere. It is important to stress that members who are still at school require the active support of their parents, both financially to purchase equipment and in terms of transport to and from events.
All WYCC members recognise that all Paddle Sports are ‘Assumed risk’ ‘water contact sports’ that may carry attendant risks. All WYCC members should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own action and involvement.
Present Yearly membership is £20 for an individual or £30 for a family.
To become a club member requires you to have attended at least 1 taster session (see ‘Where to find us?‘ for further details) and have been approved by the committee.
The membership form can be completed online including payment here, the form can also be downloaded and filled out by hand and payment made (preferably by card) at any session.
