Stadium Raft Guide Introduction

Exciting Invitation from Mark Underwood, Watersports Manager at LVWWC Stadium Raft Guide Introduction:  2.5 hours £14  This will be a beginner session to allow candidates to understand the basics of raft guiding in a stadium environment. The session will be aimed primarily at gathering interest for more advanced training in the future.  Capacity:   4 or 8 Candidates per group (1 or 2 rafts)  Dates and Timings:  Group 2 25/03/26 @ 1800-2030  Group 3 01/04/26 @ 1800-2030  Group 4 08/04/26 @ 1800-2030  Session Content :  1800-1830: Course introduction including theory around raft design and construction, responsibilities of a raft guide, kit and equipment required, seating positions and crew numbers.  1830-1900: Get on the lake and practice raft guiding strokes and explain concepts and crew commands.  1900-19:45: Explore Ferry gliding at the bottom of the Olympic Course, forward and reverse, beginning to explore eddy making.  19:45-2030: Straight runs of sections of the Olympic course  Moving forward:  For those interested in progressing further, we will gather details and offer further training on weekends across April and May. These sessions would be 2-4 hours long on the Olympic Course fitting alongside our existing Raft bookings. We would charge for these sessions, but look to keep the cost as low as possible to make them accessible.  Ultimately, we are looking for people who would like to become raft guides at the centre and would be able to commit to further training, and potentially join our …

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Club Night: the end of Winter Hours!

It is the end of the Winter Hours’ start times and session lengths at our Wednesday Club Nights. From 11th March we get back to enjoying more paddling time in what we hope will be warmer and more pleasant weather! There will be two sessions on each course , 6.30 to 7.30 and 7.30 to 8.30pm Club Members: please check WebCollect for the available bookings, and for our wonderful volunteers who help our Club Nights to take place, please check SPOND.

First Club Night of 2026

The weather is finally warming up a little just in time for our first club night of 2026, so get out all those welcome thermal layers that Santa brought and join us on Wednesday 14th Jan 2026 for the 90 minute sessions on both courses, 7-8.30pm. Booking via WebCollect now. Bank safety Thanks again to all those who gave their time, expertise and enthusiasm to provide bank safety during 2025. Hugely appreciated of course! Please sign up with Spond if you are able to help this week as we return to Club Night paddling.

LVPC 2025 Year End Message from the Chair, Jonathan Males

Dear Club Members I really enjoyed meeting so many of you at this week’s Christmas meal. The paddling session beforehand reminded me of what makes this a great club – people young and old paddling freestyle, slalom, race rafting and simply having fun on whitewater. As we come to the end of the year and a pause in LVWWC based activities, I wanted to acknowledge and say thank you to: *All of those club members who have volunteered – to cover bank safety, welcome members at reception, coach fellow club members, organise trips and competitions, tidy the sheds, update websites, manage our finances, post on social media… *David Redington and his team at Lee Valley Whitewater Centre, for the welcome partnership and collaboration.*Pam Phillips and all the committee for your work behind the scenes.* Martin Smyth, one of the club’s founding Directors, who will be standing down in 2026. Some Club Highlights of 2025 *The summer inflatables session, where we discovered that pink flamingos are fine to go down the legacy course, but that certain other inflatable items are not (IYKYK !).*The hotdog event, where I laughed more than I have laughed for a long time.* Hosting the successful British Open …

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Winter Paddling

Following a successful trial last year, we will be reducing the paddling hours again this year from November 26th for the winter months until March 4th 2026. There will be one session of 90 mins on each course, from 7pm to 8.30pm. The cost will be as last year, £10 for the Legacy, £15 for the Olympic sessions. There will be a complete break from 17 Dec to 7 January inclusive,  so the last session of this year is the night of our Christmas Get Together on December 10th. (Save the date!) The first session in 2026 will be January 14th . Reducing our winter hours worked well for us last year and certainly contributed to getting our finances in order. We will, of course, be grateful for members’ help with bank safety, which will run in 2 sessions of 45 minutes.

AGM 2025: Chair’s Report on the Year

At our 2025 Club AGM, Jonathan Males reported on the 2024/25 year, thanking all those who had contributed to the Club’s ongoing success. ” I’m pleased to report on a successful year for our club, that has been enabled by the club members who volunteer to keep sessions safe and coach other members to grow in confidence, by dedicated committee members who give their time and expertise, and by deepening collaboration with our key partners Paddle UK, Lee Valley Whitewater Centre, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, and local clubs such as Whoosh Explore, Shepperton, and Viking Kayak Club. I will leave the detailed Financial Report to our capable Treasurer Marie Bauerova, who has done a magnificent job managing our ingoings and outgoings, supported by our Finance Sub Committee (Carl Upsall, Mark Corti, and myself). I am delighted that our financial situation is stabilising and I’m confident that with continued attention to costs we can maintain our viability. For example, we will again run shorter ‘winter hours’ from December to April, and you will be asked to approve a small regular increase in annual membership fees. Whilst cheaper access to the whitewater course is one benefit of club membership, I hope …

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End of Year Report from the Chair, AGM 2024

LVPC Chair’s Report to AGM September 2024 Jonathan Males, Chair Let me start by saying thank you to our club committee and our members who have volunteered for bank safety over the past twelve months. Without your contributions the club would cease to function. A special thank you to Pam Phillips, who continues to be the beating heart of the club. Thanks also to Sunny Rhodes who steps down as Welfare Officer, with Irina Medunyak taking over this important role. We carried out a member survey in January 2024 and this has guided the committee in decisions and planning. As reminder, here’s what you said: 6. Cost and Membership Stability. The cost of living is impacting us all, and several members were concerned about possible price rises. Yet some also said they would be willing to pay more, because the club represents great value to them. Recreational paddling beyond the whitewater centre has taken off this year, thanks to the efforts of Peter and Helen Nash and our collaboration with Whoosh Explore. There are plenty of hidden paddling gems in the east and south-east and I recommend these trips for a relaxing and sociable day out. The club supported the …

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New Slalom Course: May/June

New Slalom Skills course starting 8th May Chris Wood is offering a 4 week slalom skills course for club members. Ideal to fine-tune your boat control and confidence. 8, 15, 22 May and 5 June.  Bookable on WebCollect.

Freestyle Coaching Opportunities

Two courses begin this week with Mike Shaw,  freestyle coach Booking on webcollect now _______________ Legacy Freestyle Coaching  6.30-7.30 4 x weeks development course: 17th, 24th April, 1st,  8th May £120 (4 week period)  For Legacy assessed paddlers who have a roll (this doesn’t need to be 100% but helpful to have a reasonable roll). _______________ Olympic Freestyle Coaching  7.30-8.30  4 x weeks development course: 17th, 24th April, 1st,  8th May £120 (4 week period) –  For Olympic assessed paddlers who have a reasonable roll. _______________

New Courses On Offer in April, May and June

Booking on webcollect now Legacy Coaching 2 x weeks with Will (£30 a session) (24th Apr / 1st May) + (22nd / 29th May) + (5th / 12th June) Will is training up to become a Stadium Leader and will be offering his skills for 2 x Legacy assessed paddlers who are looking to develop and gain skills to paddle the course with confidence. _______________ Legacy Bank Safety Training – with coach Jon 5th June – 6.30 – 8pm 24th July – 6.30 – 8pm No charge _______________ White Water Essentials (Introduction) with Stadium Safety Certificate with coach Pav 7.30 -8.30 pm 8th May / 15th May / 22nd May / 29th May / 5th June (bank safety) 12th June This course is a 6 week course for £150 which includes one week of bank safety training and stadium white water award certification. No pre-assessment required if you are (discover award – manoeuvre a boat around obstacles easily, able to do a capsize rescue with neoprene spray deck, can control the boat on edge). _______________ Legacy Freestyle Coaching with Mike Shaw 6.30-7.30 4 x weeks development course: 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th June £120 (4 week period) Legacy assessed paddlers who …

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