© 2009 Halifax Canoe Club Ltd, Greenups Mill, Wharf Street, Sowerby Bridge
Registered Company No 2612775
What's Involved? In competition you have a run (usually of 45 seconds) to put together all your best tricks and try to score as many points as possible. Each trick has a score based on it's difficulty and depending on whether it involves spins, vertical moves etc. To get a really good score you need a variety of tricks.
The vast majority of people just do playboating for fun rather than in competions.
Why do it?
Fun -
To look cool -
Better paddling skills -
Where can I try it? Although we don't hold competitions at the Club there are plenty
of playboaters at the club, who can regularly be seem doing their tricks on the white
water course. In terms of competing, the BCU Youth Freestyle Series offers introductory
competitions around the country and also provide coaching at these events. there
is also a Freestyle competition as part of the Yorkshire Championships held at the
Washburn every year. Other events take place around the country but you need to be
at a reasonable level to participate.What do I need? A playboat. For juniors the
club has some that you can use to get started, but as you improve you will probably
want to get 
your own boat which you can fit out to suit you. For adults you will
probably find someone to at the club who will lend you a boat to try, or you might
squeeze into the larger of the kids boats that the club has. Once you know what boat
you want, there is usually a good second hand market both at the club and on canoeing
website.
Also a reliable eskimo roll is important to ensure you can carry on when things don't quite work, without needing to swim and empty out.
How do I progress? Lots of practice to develop your skills and repertoire of tricks. We run coached sessions and people are happy to give people pointers to improve. Once thing you will need to develop quickly is a good eskimo roll.
For more information:
Dates of upcoming events nearby can be found on the events list
For more information on Freestyle in the UK www.ukfreestyle.com
For details of the Youth freestyle Series visit http://youth.ukfreestyle.com/
For further information on playboating speak to John Stopford ( 01422 367337 email or about getting into competition speak to Les Ford ( 01484 854099 or email