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Halifax Canoe Club |
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Competition NEW!
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Starting
Slalom – A Relatively Brief Guide If you are interested in taking part in Slalom races, there are many rules you will not be familiar with. These notes are intended as a basic guide to help you get started. Sources of more detailed information can be found at the end. Either scroll down the full document or use the links below to jump to the relevant section.
Divisions
– slalom competitions are
organised in Divisions. Beginners usually start in Division 4. The top level of
racing in the UK is Premier Division. An event usually covers more than one
Division, (i.e. there will be a Division 4 and Division 3 race at the same
event). It is possible for
experienced white water paddlers to start racing at a higher level, but most
people start in Division 4 allowing them to get used to racing on easier water. Classes
–
there are four classes of competition within each Division. These are: Men’s
and Women’s Kayak singles (K1M and K1W), Canadian singles (C1) and Canadian
doubles (C2). In C1 men and women race against each other, while in C2 crews can
be all male, all female or mixed – but all race against each other. To start
with you’ll probably want to stick to the relevant kayak class. Single,
double and team events
– a single event where there is one race. A double event is
where there are two separate races at the same venue, one on Saturday and one on
Sunday. Less common now are team events where you race as a team of three
boats down the course – where these take place it is usual for the team event
to be on Saturday and the individual event on the Sunday. Difficulty of White Water – you might have seen the raging torrent of the Olympic slalom course, but at Division 4 events it is a little different. There is usually some simple white water, but nothing too testing. In fact the Division 4 race at our Club is one of the harder sections of rapids used at beginners events. Boat
- you can use any boat you want when starting in slalom (there are rules
relating to boat dimension, but these don’t apply until you are in the top
Division). If you want to progress to higher levels, you will need to get a
slalom boat, but there is a good second hand market, with boats being offered
for sale at most events. Clothing
– you need your usual paddling gear and must
wear a helmet and buoyancy aid. However, as you will be fairly active during
your race run and during practice, you may want to wear light clothing
(thermals) with a canoe cag instead of a wetsuit. As a result you either have to
put up with changing into and out of the same set of wet clothes between
practice and the race and between race runs or will need to have several sets of
clothes to paddle in. You’ll also need warm clothes for the time when you are
off the water. Paddle – again any paddle will do, but if you progress in the sport you might want to think about a lightweight racing paddle – but by then you’ll be getting quite serious about racing! Where
are races held – the dates
and details of where races are taking place can be found in the Slalom Yearbook,
on the slalom website (www.canoeslalom.co.uk),
and details of races in the region can usually be found on the Club notice board
and website. There are lots of beginner’s events near to our club throughout
the year – including our own beginner’s event in June. BCU
Membership
– to enter you need to be a BCU (British Canoe Union) member to cover
insurance. Under 18’s can compete under the Clubs membership (ask a club coach
or official for the Club’s membership number). Adults need to either be a BCU
member, or take out taster membership of the BCU at the event (which costs a
couple of pounds and covers you for the whole event). If you are going to do
lots of races it is a good idea to join the BCU – and if you get promoted to a
higher division you will need this to apply for a bib (there are lots of other
good reasons why should join the BCU visit www.bcu.org.uk
for details). Entering
Races – ideally you should enter in advance of the event, as this makes
life easier for the event organiser. However, at Division 4 events many people
enter on the day. You will need to fill out entry cards (see below),
show proof of BCU membership (take your membership card) and pay your entry fee.
If you enter on the day you need to go to Control. (Note: in Division 3 and
above it costs more if your entry is late, as you have to pay a late entry fee). Age
Groups
– as well as prizes for each class there is usually a prize for the highest
placed paddler in various age groups, these are as follows
Senior
–
any one between Junior and Divisional Veteran categories Entry
Cards –
you must complete these to enter a race as they act as your scorecard – so if
you are entering to race at both days of a double event you will need to fill
out a card for each day’s race. Cards are available at most events or if you
want to enter in advance we usually have a supply at the club. Details of how to
fill these out are below. Entry Fees – you will need to pay to enter races. If you enter in advance you have to send a cheque with your entries (the cheque is usually payable to the organising club). There is a reduced entry fee for juniors and there are different fees depending on whether you are entering one or two of the races at a double event. In 2005 entry fees are Juniors: £3.75 single, £5.75 double and Adults: £5.50 single, £8.75 double. Entry fees for the current year can be found in the Slalom Yearbook, or on the Canoe Slalom website (see useful information). Also entry fees increase as you climb through the divisions. For an example of how to fill out your entry card click here (pdf - 218k)
Start
List
– at events a start list will be posted. This should tell you the order that
the event is running in and when you are scheduled to start, and importantly
your start number – you will either have to collect a numbered bib to
wear while competing or put a number on your boat with tape (so it can be read
from the bank). Ask at control whether they have bibs for you to use. Course
- The aim is to negotiate a series of gates (colour poles) as you go down the
course in the correct order. Gates are either:
It
doesn’t matter whether you go through a gate forward, backwards or sideways,
as long as it is from the correct direction. Times
– your time for a run is the time in second it takes you to get from start to
finish plus any penalties you get on the way. Penalties
– you get a 2 second penalty for touching the gate, with your boat,
paddle or body. (You only get 2 seconds no matter how many time you touch the
same gate). You can also get a 50 second penalty for not going
through a gate correctly including:
The
maximum penalty you can get for a gate is 50 seconds. Obviously
the aim is to go through all the gates as fast as possible, without touching
any! If you do miss a gate it is worth going back for it before you move on –
it will rarely take longer than the time penalty you will get. There are judges positioned along the bank during the race to look at and record the penalties you incur. Practice
–
one thing you’ll need when you are getting started is plenty of time to
practice, learn the course and figure out all the tricky moves on the course.
There’s usually someone who will give you advice on how to get the gate you
are struggling on or how to do things better – or simply watch a few other
people and learn from them. At an
event there will usually be free practice which means anyone can go in
any order. It is best if you stick to doing full runs down the course. You can
break your run and re-try a section you are struggling on – but anyone coming
down the course has priority over you and you have to give way to them. Also you
must make sure that you don’t sit in an eddy or gate and block the course for
other people. At a
certain time (usually announced or shown on the start list) free practice will
stop and official practice will begin – this is to give everyone a
chance at an uninterrupted and full speed practice. Check the start list to find
out when your official practice run is. In official practice you must do
full runs and there is usually some-one setting paddlers off at intervals. Start
order / time
– for your race runs you need to be at the start and ready to go at the time
allotted to you on the start list (at most Division 4 events the starter is not
that strict about the order, but it makes everyone’s life easier if you are
there and ready when you should be). Race
Runs - You get two race runs
and count the best one of these, so there is a chance to improve on your first
run. Overtaking
– a problem at beginner and lower Division events is that there is a wide
range of abilities paddling. It may be that you catch up with the paddler ahead
of you – if this happens the judge will blow a whistle to get the paddler who
is being caught to stop and move out of your way. Of course it may be you that
is being caught up and getting ‘whistled off’ – if it happens move out the
way quickly and resume your run when told to by the judge. If some one who
doesn’t move out of the way when whistled off impedes you, go and ask control
for a re-run (to take your run again). Capsizing
– if you capsize, it’s ok to Eskimo roll and continue. But if you capsize
and come out of your boat, your run is over! Remember if you capsize and go
through a gate upside down, you get a 50 second penalty. Safety
on runs
- while the organiser of an event has to put in place appropriate safety cover,
there are several rules that are in place to ensure safety
Checking
how you did
- when you can get off the water, go and check how you did. Your entry card will
be posted by Control with your time and penalties marked on. You can see
which gates you hit or missed and where there is room to improve. At some event,
scores are put into a computer and displayed on screen so you can easily see
what position you are in. At lunchtime, after all the first runs are complete a
results sheet from the first run is usually posted – remember you only count
your best run so it could all change after the second runs. Protests
– if you think that you have been given a penalty incorrectly you can protest
(occasionally errors are made). Usually it is best to make a polite enquiry at
Control to find out why you where given the penalty. If you are not happy with
the explanation you can make a protest, but this means filling out a form,
paying a deposit which you lose if your protest is not upheld. If you first make
a polite enquiry and are given a reason, it means the judge has recorded why you
got the penalty so a protest is unlikely to be successful. What you must
not do is go and talk to the judge about the penalty – you can be
disqualified for this. Between
runs –
its worth spending time watching other people racing as you can learn a lot and
pick up how to do the course better from people racing in higher divisions. It
is particularly useful to watch some of the judges paddling as they are often
ranked much higher so cannot compete at the event but are using the opportunity
for race practice. After second runs are complete a provisional results list is posted. This is confirmed when the allotted time for protests has elapsed (usually 15 mins after the last racer). Also at Division 4 events where you have been given a bib to race with, remember to take your bib back to control after your second run. The
organiser will present prizes as soon as possible after the event has finished.
Be patient as it does takes a bit of time for them to check the results are
correct before handing out the prizes. At most events there are prizes for the
highest placed in juniors in a number of age groups (e.g. J12, J14, J16), so you
may get a prize even if you are not in the top places. If the event is a double event, the course is usually changed after prize giving. Usually as soon as it is done you can practice the course for following day. As you
improve you can gain promotion to the higher Division. In Division 4, one
paddler in five is promoted to Division 3 (e.g. if there are fifteen paddlers in
a class, the first three will be promoted). If
you get promoted -
you will get a certificate at the event that gives you full details of what to
do next. Basically, you have to send off to claim your ranking position in
Division 3 and obtain your bib. You keep that bib for the season, entering
events and racing under that number. At the end of the season you send the bib
back. The following season you send off for a new bib with a different number
which you use for the whole season, or until you get promoted again (the number
and your ranking position are based on you results in your best 3 races in
Division 3 during the previous season). If you get promoted you can no longer race in Division 4 in the class you were promoted in, you must race in Division 3. To race in Division 3 you must have or have applied for your bib, otherwise your results will not count. In higher Divisions, promotion based on achieving a certain level based on your result in your best three races. Now you are getting past the basics and beyond the scope of these notes – see the notes below for where to get more information. Slalom
Yearbook
– This contains the full rules for slalom competitions and details of all the
events in a year. These supplied to all ranked paddlers at the start of the
season, or can be bought. There is usually a reference copy in the office at the
club (please do not remove it). Slalom
website – contains useful information, details of events and results
from races. www.canoeslalom.co.uk
There is a link to this on the club’s website. Club
Paddlers
- There are quite a few people in the Club who are involved in slalom and will
be happy to answer your questions – coaches or Club officials will point you
to someone who can help you. Finally,
these notes have been created as a brief guide to starting in slalom, please let
me know if there are any omissions or areas that are not clear so they can be
improved for the future Compiled
by Les Ford, Tel. 01484 854099 Email: email |
