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LVPC Bank Safety Volunteering.

The Club offers lower cost access to Lee Valley Whitewater because our members volunteer to provide bank safety cover. We need at least two bank safety volunteers for each one-hour club session. We ask all eligible Club Members to volunteer, those that can’t help with bank safety can do so in different ways, for example by covering the reception desk or tidying the storage shed.

Requirements

You need to have completed either a Whitewater Safety and Rescue course OR a Stadium Safety and Rescue Course. The Club offers the Stadium course several times a year as well as more advanced spinal extraction training.

You also need to complete a one hour, LVPC site specific induction session. If you have not carried out any safety cover in the 12 months following this session, we’ll ask you to repeat it. We run induction sessions about once a month.

For your first session, you’ll be able to shadow an experienced bank safety volunteer. We also provide a copy of the induction training notes and a checklist each time you volunteer.

You can only provide bank safety on the courses for which you are signed off to paddle. If you are signed off to paddle the Legacy, you can provide safety for Legacy. If you are signed off to paddle the Olympic, you can provide safety for either Legacy or Olympic.

If you have volunteered to cover a 6:30pm Wednesday or 9:00am Sunday session, it’s very important you are onsite at least 15 – 20 minutes beforehand. This is to allow enough time to collect equipment, complete the course check, and radio the Duty Manager to turn the water on. The pumps won’t start until two safety people are on the bank.

Normally volunteers cover a session about once every 8 – 10 weeks. You’ll receive an email invitation each Sunday evening and it’s very simple to accept or decline as you wish. We use Spond, a team scheduling app and recommend you install this on your phone, but you can use email if you wish. Once you have committed, please do all you can to attend. If you can’t make a session you can message other bank safety volunteers directly on the Spond app to find a replacement.

What you get in return

A warm inner glow from helping clubmates and you keep your whitewater safety skills up to date!

You’ll also qualify for a free paddling session on the course of your choice. Many Club Members come for the evening, do a bank safety session then paddle the next session free of charge. On Sunday morning you can easily stay on for a public paddling session.

Interested?

If you have any further questions about becoming a bank safety volunteer, would like to sign up for training, or can offer to help the club in other ways, please contact lvpcchair@gmail.com

Coaching Opportunities at LVPC

We are looking to take on more coaches / leaders and instructors to assist and run our programmes at the Club. We are specifically looking for white water coaches but would welcome all. If you are able to give up some time on Club Night to train and develop paddlers please contact coachingLVPC@gmail.com for more information.

In addition, if you are looking at training up as a coach / leader / instructor please do get in contact as we would like to work with you to get you trained up and help give opportunities to develop your coaching journey. 

Thanks 

Jon
Coaching Development Officer

Quality Club Award

We are delighted to announce that LVPC was awarded ‘Quality Club’ recognition in 2022 by British Canoeing. Follow this LINK for more information.

Letter from the Chair: The Future of LVPC

Dear Club Members,

We are incredibly fortunate to be the resident club at Lee Valley Whitewater Centre. The members of the Club’s General Committee have been discussing how we build on this foundation and take the Club forwards. We asked ourselves the question “What would give you an even greater sense of enthusiasm, energy and enjoyment from paddling as a club member?” and came up with the following answers:

Our future vision for LVPC

1. There is greater club activity beyond Wednesday evenings

Wednesday Club Nights continue to thrive, but Club members enjoy a wider range of paddling opportunities together. These opportunities range from local flatwater trips on the Stort or the Hertford loop, through to sea kayaking, races and whitewater trips. This opens more possibilities for members to try different craft and disciplines.  We have an active programme of exchanges and partnerships with other clubs in the UK and beyond. At the LVWWC, members enjoy club activities in addition to the hours of Club Night and there are opportunities to engage in a wider selection of paddle sport disciplines.  

2. We have a stronger sense of belonging

Doing more things together builds connections between club members and these shared experiences lead to a greater sense of belonging. This creates a virtuous cycle, the more fun people have together the more likely they are to organise, volunteer and take part in trips, which in turn builds the sense of community.  Members feel a sense of connection and affinity with the club and each other. They stay involved in the sport for longer and introduce their friends and family to the sport too.

3. Paddlesports are more accessible and inclusive, especially for our local community

We make it very straightforward for people of all ages to start paddling with the club, and we offer clear coaching pathways into all the different disciplines. We make it easier, cheaper and less environmentally impactful for members to go paddling, for example by using a minibus and trailer to reduce reliance on multiple cars when travelling.  We encourage local people to join and this increases the number for whom LVPC is their primary club.  

4. We offer a clear talent pathway and meet our Talent Club Partnership commitments

We have strong relationships with local schools and a steady intake of 15 – 20 young people each year, who take part in our slalom programme and join the Performance Pathway. They enjoy a safe and rewarding introduction to the sport, and many start to train and compete in slalom or other disciplines including sprint and marathon. They have access to quality coaching that develops both their paddling and personal skills and helps them to pursue their ambitions as far as they wish. Every child and family who takes part have a positive experience that sets them up for long term participation in competitive or recreational paddle sports.

Jonathan Males
Chair
Lee Valley Paddlesports Club

Join our Slalom Programme

We are delighted to be offering a programme to our Club members who are interested in the discipline of canoe slalom. Our programme is designed to meet a range of needs, from those who would like to improve their boat control by learning slalom technique, to people who are keen to start training and racing.

Whether you are a beginner or already have experience, or whether you are a ‘senior’ or a ‘junior’, please have a look to see if there is an option that you are interested in.

For further details please click and follow the link HERE

Membership Applications

If you are looking to become a member of Lee Valley Paddlesports Club, please contact our Membership Secretary (Pam Phillips) in the first instance, at  lvpcmembership@gmail.com for more details about joining. Water booking availability may be restricted if membership levels continue to rise at their recent rate – so do please check.

If you are not joining at the start of our Club Year in the autumn, our Membership Secretary will also make sure you have the current information on the duration of new memberships and the associated membership fees.