© 2009 Halifax Canoe Club Ltd, Greenups Mill, Wharf Street, Sowerby Bridge
Registered Company No 2612775
June - Hot and sunny weather made for a very pleasant Div 3/4 slalom at our club
and there were lots of entries from members - a third of the field on Saturday and
quarter of it on Sunday. The best results from these were Jes Acheson with a 2nd
and 4th in the Div 3 K1W, and Adrian Ward taking 3rd and 4th in the Div 3 K1M. Congratulation
also to Simon Spencer who gained promotion to Div 3 on Sunday and to our chair Mark
Limmer for making it down the course in a C2.
At the end of the month a group headed over to Howsham Weir on the River Derwent
between York and Malton, although this wasn’t a new slalom venue, it was the first
time in around 20 years that this event had been run, so it was new to all of us
– and a great event! The weir in the name is a bit higher than puzzle weir - but
then imagine two concrete walls in the middle funnelling most of the water down a
canoe shoot – what a fab water slide, with slalom gates littering in the top and
bottom of the shoot! And on Sunday ‘chocolate’ medals for the winners of each class
– could this be the perfect event?s sadly none of us came away with any. This also
saw the regional inter-clubs competition, which despite only having a small team,
HXCC managed to come fourth.
July - saw the Yorkshire Championships at the Washburn. The Club was well represented
in Saturday’s freestyle, with James Stopford coming in 2nd. In the wild water race
Les also came 2nd in the sprint race (and couldn’t be bothered to do the classic
down the full length of the river). Sunday was slalom day, with Roberta Davis taking
3rd place in the Div 2 K1W race, plus Les & Sarah in 2nd in the C2 (and actually
finishing both runs). An honourable mention also to Big John and Roger for providing
‘Baywatch’ services by the small weir for the slalom – so good was the rescue service
that Roger decided to use it on his judging run, John obliging with the throw line
after he’d finished taking picture of course.
August - Roberta Davis had another good result (3rd) at the ‘Tully’ slalom in Scotland
over the August Bank Holiday. While Les Ford had a top half result.
September - Nathan Fuller, who won Sunday’s Div 3 K1M race at Oughtibridge slalom
– Nathan was only promoted to Div 3 in April and this was only his 4th race in the
division and 5th race ever! A week later was West Tanfield, with many club paddlers
racing. Jes Acheson won Div 3 K1W on Saturday giving her promotion to Div 2, Nathan
got another good points score and Les Ford won Saturday’s Div 3 C1 race, while Brian
Dunn and Matt Walker survived a weekend of racing C2 together! At the HPP Div 1
race Les Ford’s result stayed on the up with another top half finish on very tricky
course (imagine an upstream gate that requires you to surf the Muncher! Cool, worst
nightmare or both!)
October - for the first time in many years a group from the club headed to Stone
for their slalom, whole others made the long trip to Llandysul in south Wales. It
was great to see so many entries from our own Club at our October slalom. The best
results from these were Nathan Fuller winning Div 3 K1M on Saturday to earn promotion
to Div 2 and Les Ford winning Div 3 C1 both days to gain promotion (and swimming
on the other run both day).
To finish the seasn off, the crazy Ford’s went all the way to Kent for a Div 3/4
race - Les and his niece Amy (2yrs) came home 3rd in the Div 4 C2 - importantly
beating Les’ brother Pete (Dad) and older sis’ Isobel (4yrs) - you’re never to young
to start slalom!
If you want to get some practice in slalom sessions will be continuing throughout
the winter on Wednesday night, speak to Les Ford ( 01484 854099 or email for details.
(November 2008)
There have been some notable performances by HXCC paddlers at competitions over this
season. Hear are some of the highlights from the year:
April - A Sunday outing to Marple slalom started the season for several of our paddlers.
Soon after was our first Sowerby Bridge event of the season. The best results from
our own Club members were Jes Acheson in promotion form with an excellent 2nd place
in the Div 3 K1W on Saturday, and Adrian Ward taking the Div Vets prize on Sunday
with 5th place in the Div 3 K1M. Also racing for the Club were Roberta and Gina Davis,
Roger Blanchard and Sarah Ford – well done to all. , with limited success, but at
least the season was under way.
May - Bala Mill was the main event for the club on the early bank holiday weekend,
with several testing themselves and having a look at the Div 1 and Prem event on
a different bit of the river
