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Halifax Canoe Club |
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Competition NEW!
| Halifax Canoe Club FAQ'sHopefully the following questions and answers will answer you initial questions, but if you have any queries or want further details please contact us for more information. Tell me about Halifax Canoe Club? What activities does the Club run? I’m a complete beginner – how do I get started? I’m interested in the summer beginner’s courses - can you tell me more? I’m interested in the winter pool sessions - can you tell me more? Do I need to be a strong swimmer? How old do children need to be to start canoeing? What can I do after I’ve done a beginners course? I’ve paddled before how can I get involved? What do I get for my membership? Do I need my own kayak and other equipment? What activities do you offer for young people? Do you do anything other than canoeing? Who do I contact for more information?
Tell me about Halifax Canoe Club? We
are an active and family orientated canoe club based on the River Calder in
Sowerby Bridge, Halifax. Club paddlers can often be seen playing on the white
water course at the club, below County Bridge. We run regular activities
throughout the year for all levels of abilities including courses for beginners,
swimming pool sessions and coaching on both flat and white water at the club.
Between April and September we are on the river in Sowerby Bridge. In winter our
focus is on pool sessions and river trips. We
are affiliated to the British Canoe Union (BCU), the sports governing body in
the UK and hold the BCU Top Club and Sport England Club Mark awards in
recognition of our activities for young people. We
have a clubhouse with changing rooms, showers and boat storage facilities in
Greenups Mill, Sowerby Bridge. This is next to the River Calder (just downstream
of County Bridge). From here we have access to the white water course and a
stretch of flat water where our summer courses and activities take place. In the
winter we use Elland baths for pool sessions What
activities does the Club run? We
run regular activities throughout the year for all levels of abilities including
courses for beginners, swimming pool sessions and coaching on both flat and
white water at the club. The club runs regular day and weekend trips to paddle
other rivers, go canoe surfing or participate in events. We also run national
ranking slalom competitions and other events at our Sowerby Bridge base.
Paddlers from the club compete across the UK at other events at various levels.
For more details of the kind of things the club do, see the Events or Recent
Trips pages on our website (www.halifaxcanoe.org.uk) The
Club’s main activities are providing coached sessions and white water kayaking
both on the River Calder and on trips away. However, club members take part in a
wide range of other paddlesport disciplines. I’m
a complete beginner – how do I get started? In
the summer we run a number of beginners courses on the river at Sowerby Bridge,
while in the winter we run pool sessions at Sowerby Bridge baths which are suitable for
complete beginners. Click here for more details I’m
interested in the summer beginner’s courses - can you tell me more? The
beginners courses on the river usually start in early May, the dates for these
appear on our website (usually in early March). These are usually a 6 or 8-week
block of sessions, which will take you right through all the foundation skills
and leads to the BCU 1 Star Award. The cost for a beginner’s course is £50,
which includes individual or family membership of the club for the year (to the
following March), use of all the necessary equipment (kayak, paddle, buoyancy
aid helmet) and the coached sessions. If there is more than one member of a
family doing a beginners course then the cost is £50 for the first person and
then £8 for each other family member. I’m
interested in the winter pool sessions - can you tell me more? In
the winter our pool sessions run in 6-week blocks from October to March at
Sowerby Bridge Baths (again dates are listed on our website). For 2005/6 a six-week
block cost £30 plus a token £5 to cover membership for the remainder of the
year to the following March. This includes coaching and use of kayak, paddle etc
– but the main cost is what we have to pay for the hire of the pool. A pool
session will introduce you to all the foundation skills you need to get you
started. Do
I need to be a strong swimmer? You need to be able to swim 50m in normal canoeing clothing, so this includes wearing a buoyancy aid. As canoes and kayaks can and do capsize you need to be confident in the water and happy to go underwater. If you are not a strong swimmer, please let us know when booking onto a course and let your coaches know on the first night of a course. In the pool we can relax the requirement to be able to swim 50m a little. How
old do children need to be to start canoeing? As
children all develop at different rates there is no set age, it is more a matter
of being big enough and co-ordinated enough to manage to paddle. From experience
this tends to be around 7 or 8 years old. The Club has a number of junior kayaks
and smaller paddles that make it easier for youngsters to join in. What
can I do after I’ve done a beginners course? It’s
entirely up to you but most people go move on to a coached course to take them
to the next level, the BCU 2 Star Award. After 2 star, you can progress on to do
BCU 3 and 4 star awards with the club and as you improve take part in river
trips, play on the white water at the club, join in our weekends away (including
surfing in Anglesey, and weekends in the Lake District). We also encourage
people to have a go at various other different disciplines of paddlesport. Many
club members enjoy playboating and river running, but opportunities exist to get
involved in racing or train to become qualified as a coach. This
is no problem but all depends on your previous experience. If
you have a bit of experience, then it may be more appropriate for you to go
straight onto a BCU 2 star course rather than a beginner’s course. These run
on the river between April and September (1 evening per week) – the dates for
these appear on our website as soon as they are known. We can also slot people
into 3 and 4 star courses if this is more appropriate to their previous
experience. Of
course, if you have paddled before there is no need to join one of our courses,
you can just come along and paddle with us – although we are likely to ask
some questions about your previous experience just to ensure you have the skills
to safely join in at the level you want to. To
join in club activities (coached courses, trips etc) you do need to be a member.
When you join one of our beginner’s courses membership of the club is included
for the rest of the year. Individual Membership is £35 and family membership is
£50 (but this means that parents/guardians and their children can all join in
activities with us). We also have concessionary rates for full time students and
unemployed people. Membership runs from April to March each year. What
do I get for my membership? Use
of the club facilities (changing rooms etc), free coaching from our BCU
qualified coaches and for juniors free use of club gear during club
activities, plus the opportunity to join in with the wide range of club
activities (on and off the water). You get a copy of the Club’s yearbook,
which tells you most of the things that you need to know about the Club and you
also get 6 newsletters a year to keep up to date on what is happening at the
club. A limited amount of space is available for members to store boats at the
clubhouse for an additional fee. Adult members can also get a key for the
clubhouse. Do
I need my own kayak and other equipment? At
first you don't need any special equipment, as this is all included in our
beginners courses. For 2 star courses and above you can use club equipment
(people doing coached courses with us get priority for the use of club
equipment). For adults we make a small charge (£4 per week) to use club
equipment – for under 18’s we make no charge for using club equipment. As
you progress you will want to get your own equipment and eventually a kayak, but
there's no pressure to go out and buy one, and you’ll probably want to try
quite a few and decide what aspects of the sport you want be involved in before
you buy a boat. What
activities do you offer for young people? Young
people can join in the clubs activities at all levels including coached courses
from beginners through to BCU 4 Star level on moving water, we also have young
people going on to do BCU 5 Star training on advanced white water, and training
for coaching awards. We
run a weekly (in the summer) Tigersharks group, which is a coached session where
youngsters get to try out different aspects of the sport (Canadian canoeing,
slalom, playboating, etc) under the watchful eye of qualified coaches. We also
encourage young people to have a go at slalom and white water racing and join in
with river trips. We can also help if you would like to do canoeing as part of a
GCSE in PE or towards sections of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. Do
you do anything other than canoeing? We
have a number of social events throughout the year, including our Annual General
Meeting in January and summer barbeques. Our weekend trips away are sociable and
non-paddling family members usually come along as well. Who
do I contact for more information? Mark Limmer (Chair) ( 01706 812265 email John
Elvidge (Membership)
(
01535 274829
email Or have a look round or our website
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