Slalom

Posts and Pages containing content relevant to the paddle sport’s discipline of Canoe Slalom at LVPC.

Report: U16 Kayak Cross Event on 20th September 2025

This report was kindly submitted by one of our talented junior paddlers. Our thanks to them. Yesterday evening, Lee Valley Paddlesports Club hosted a Kayak Cross event. Kayak Cross is a sport where people go down a flowing water course in plastic kayaks, going around massive poles as they go. 4 paddlers are released at a time, often sliding down ramps, and try to go round the poles whilst staying in the lead. If the poles are green, you must go to one side of them, if they are red, you must go around them. Sometimes it even includes a roll zone, where you have to roll under a horizontal bar! The event saw a great turn out, with 32 under 16s, 12 of them LVPC members, showing up to have fun on the Lee Valley Legacy course! The competitors all tried their hardest, especially when faced with a roll zone, other competitors and white water. This event was hosted in order to allow young people to try out a different kind of paddlesport to the ones they are used to. It also boosted many of the paddlers’ confidence on the white water course as they knew they were not …

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AquaPaddle on 28th September 2025

AquaPaddle is coming to Lee Valley on Sunday, 28th September! The Club is hosting an AquaPaddle 5km event open, on the Lee Navigation canal to all Club Members in any craft* on Sunday 28th September. Meet at 09:30 to be on the water for 10am. Anyone wanting to paddle or volunteer needs to register on www.aquapaddle.org to get your number/register your qualifications etc and please then also send an email to Reuben (reuben.sweetman@gmail.com) who will arrange to get you registered for the event. Spectators are more than welcome and we hope all of you (i.e. paddlers, volunteers and spectators) can join us afterwards for an – entirely optional – celebratory bite to eat and something to drink in the Whitewater Centre cafe. *You don’t even have to bring your own craft! LVPC’s Flatwater Racing group can potentially supply a range of suitable craft. If this is of interest, please email Reuben at reuben.sweetman@gmail.com (ideally WELL before the event) so we can try to accommodate. We look forward to seeing you all.

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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Kayak Cross on Club Night Wednesday 19th June

Don’t forget that we will be running an Entry Level Kayak Cross event on Wednesday 19th on the Legacy. It will run between 19:30 and 21:30 for anyone who has limited experience wanting to try it out! Check out the details in this week’s Members’ Newsletter for further information. 

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.

Spring Message from the Chair

Now that the evenings are getting lighter and we are seeing a welcome increase in activity on club nights, I thought it was a good time to give club members an update. Club nightWednesday evening at Lee Valley continues to be an important focus for the club. It’s great to see the variety of activities on the water, and big thanks to club members who volunteer on the reception desk, as coaches and to cover bank safety. It’s your support that allows ALL members to enjoy paddling on club nights. We want to keep sharing the load with bank safety, so please volunteer at least once every two months. Remember that you get a free paddle in return! And a general request – Club Members vary widely in ability and confidence on the water, so please be courteous to those who are less experienced. As it gets busier, please book and pay  online to avoid missing out on a paddling spot. We have upper limits for safety reasons and can’t exceed them. We anticipate maintaining two hours of Legacy and Olympic water till the end of May, and add a third hour of Olympic water in June. Whitewater course hire …

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Four Week Slalom Course

From Slalom Coach, Irina Hi all, we’ve added another 4-week slalom course in April. This time it’s a progressive course, open to Olympic-assessed Club Members who previously attended slalom sessions with the Club at the bottom of Olympic and feel ready to practice on the main part of the course for half of the session time. All Wednesdays in April, ie 3rd, 12th, 17th, 24th   6:30-7:30 pm. The content is tailored and adapted to each group, with emphasis on accuracy and control of break-outs and ferry glides (upstream gates) and precision when moving downstream (offset gates).Price £140 includes Olympic water, boat hire and coaching fees.

Kayak Cross Practice: January 2024

As Kayak cross progresses, especially after its first time at the Olympics this year, it is expected that there will be more and more national events put on.  We would like for you to have the opportunity to practice before entering an event, next week on the final Olympic session there will be kayak cross poles out. Perfect opportunity to practice head to heads and techniques around the poles. Book here- https://webcollect.org.uk/lvpc/event/olympic-paddling-3/344850  Electrical tape and print out of briefing will be on the reception desk. Have great weekend! Jake