June 2004 News Letter

The North West Weekend on the 8th an 9th of May was a fantastic weekend, as you may have seen from the report in the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times. Over 100 paddlers from across the North of England attended on Saturday, with only marginally less on the Sunday. The atmosphere on both days was friendly and light hearted with everyone determined to enjoy themselves, and club members who went will what a great weekend it was.

Surprisingly, (considering the event is hosted by Clitheroe Canoe Club,) this years event was the first where Clitheroe had more club members attending than any other club!

Congratulations to all the prize winners and thanks to everyone for your support. Make a note in your diaries as next years NWW has been booked already for Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th May.

On Sunday May 23rd the club invaded Peel Island on Coniston, where games and activities were enjoyed by all who went. Thanks to Robert Anderson who organised the day, and thanks to everyone who supported the event.

If you were sponsored, and haven't yet handed in your sponsorship money, please send it along to Marie Heyworth. Don't forget there's a prize for the youngster who collects most sponsorship money.

Also, don't forget to write your article for inclusion on the web site and send it along to Jonathan Downing. Get your name on the world wide web. All articles will be published, the best one will win a prize.

The open day on the 29th May was an excellent day despite the somewhat gloomy weather. We had approximately 100 visitors on the day, many of whom were trying paddling for the first time. All who attended left with a smile on their faces - a success then.

Councillor Charles Warkman was in paid a visit and presented a grant cheque to Jonathan Downing on behalf of Ribble Valley Borough Council. The grant cheque is to contribute support to the club's strategy of replacing its aged boat stock. Also in attendance was Len Hartley, the BCU's Paddlesport Development Officer for the North West and Yorkshire Regions. Len's remit is to improve access to canoesport for youngsters in the region.

The event itself was intended to promote the activities of the club to the local community and friends and families of the club, and allow people to experience canoeing free of charge.

That said, some fund-raising activity did take place. On the same day in Doncaster, an event was being held to break a world record. It was the Canoe Polo Challenge where as many players as possible would play Canoe Polo non stop for 24 hours. The event was to raise funds for cancer charities. Details of the event can be seen at www.cancerchallenge.org.uk. At our open day we managed to raise the grand sum of £57.66.

Congratulations to young Helen Schoefield who correctly guessed the eventual number of polo players to take part in the Doncaster event. Helen wins £20.

This years PaddleFest North West event will take place at Queens Dock Liverpool on Saturday 26th June starting at 10am. This event brings together young paddlers from across the North West to take part in a day of skills training and competition. The event includes diamond slalom, canoe polo, a bellboat regatta, K1 lightening races and much more. Cost will be £5 per paddler, parents are positively encouraged to help with transport. If your child is interested in taking part, please contact Jonathan Downing on 01200 423962 before Saturday 12th June to reserve your place(s).

The BCU have teamed up with Kayakojacko to stage a series of youth freestyle clinics around the regions. Our local event will be held on Saturday 25th September on the River Caldwell at Sowerby Bridge, Halifax. Cost will be £5 per paddler.
If you are interested in learning the basics of freestyle from the experts, contact Jonathan Downing.

Paddlers should be 2 Star or above and be very confident with their roll.
Sessions will be in 2 hour blocks on a pre booked basis and run through the day starting at 10am, 12pm, and 2pm. Please advise your preferred time.
www.kayakojacko.com

(Only suitable for paddlers who are at the 2 star standard)
This course held at Chatburn Water is designed to provide paddlers with the necessary safety awareness which will enable them to ensure the safety of themselves and others, and to provide them with rescue skills which can be used to help themselves and/or others in difficulty.

This qualification is a pre-requisite to training for level 1 or 2 coaching qualification.
Cost for BCU members - £10, non-BCU members - £16.

If you are interested in this course, please contact Andy Noblett on 01254 248457.

The first 2 Saturday sessions during July will run as normal with coaching sessions starting at 2pm and fun sessions starting at 3:30pm. A booking form is enclosed with this newsletter. The next 5 Saturday sessions from the 17th July through to 14th August will be fun sessions only starting at 2.00pm.

Don't forget there are regular "club night" sessions on Wednesday evenings where club members can come along and do their own thing. Coaches will be on hand to help develop skills or run specific training sessions if requested. Sessions will start at 6:30pm and finish at 8:00pm, cost will be £4:00 payable on the night.

Congratulations to the many people who successfully passed their Star Test assessments during May, both at the North West Weekend, and at Chatburn Water.

You may not know this, but this year Clitheroe Canoe Club is 10 years old.

To celebrate our 10th anniversary we will be holding an Independence Day Paddle Party on Sunday July 4th. The party will start at 12 noon, and will cost £3 for adults and £2 for juniors.

Brookbank Canoes will be coming along with a range of demo boats and equipment for people to try, and we will be joined by members from other canoe clubs in the region.
Games and interclub challenges will be organised on the day. Make sure you bring your picnic and some meat to burn on the barbeque (some burgers will be available for purchase).

Clitheroe Canoe Club Chronicles 2004 is an action packed DVD produced by one of our members (15 year old Jonathan Noblett) for our members,
starring many of our members.

The DVD features footage from several club events during the first half of the year, including trips to Scotland, Wales, Teesside, Coniston. The DVD was previewed for the first time at the canoe club during the open day, so hopefully you might have got a peek at what to expect. This is an excellent piece of work which will entertain you, your family, and friends.

An order form can be found [here] or on the forms page.

Following the tremendous success of last months trip, another trip will be organised, more details nearer the time, but make a note in your diaries to come along to Coniston on Sunday 5th September.