Club News

For anything published on the Website as a news item.

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. _______________

Invitation from Mark Coleman – Adventure Tour

 TRIP NOW CONFIRMED!  Nepal – Departing UK w/c 28th Oct 2024 – Kayaking & Rafting Adventure Holiday Plenty of room for more, if interested, please drop Mark a line for details – (mark.coleman@ntlworld.com) – we are going out to the ‘Wild West’ of Nepal this year – Kathmandu, Bheri River, Bardia National Park, Karnali River – up to 3 weeks and shorter 2 week trip options.  This will be my first time on the Bheri – 5 days – 3 fabulous gorges to go through all G3 ish – never quite reaching a 4 apparently – then 2 nights, 1 day in the Bardia National Park – Tiger Hunting (with camaras!) – then the Mighty Karnali – 7 days – I did this back in 2017 for the first time and have been looking for an excuse to go back and run again. NB: Our Adventure Holidays are open to all – no experience required – just a sense of adventure – non-paddlers/rafters most welcome – raft supported trips so we can take everyone and anyone and kayakers and rafters of all abilities – kayak what you are happy to, raft what you are not – bring your non-paddling partner/family/friends to share …

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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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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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New Courses for Club Members on WebCollect

There are a number of new courses for Club Members now bookable on WebCollect. We are offering slalom, freestyle, Legacy introduction and Legacy development white water courses  and, of course, bank safety training  sessions. In short, something for everyone ! Check on WebCollect and book something before the places are taken.

Core Coach Training at Lee Valley White Water Centre

There are two places available for Club Members on a Core Coach Training on 23rd March, 8.30-6pm, and  24th  March 8.30-4pm.  This will be delivered by Jonathan Males, and the course is accredited by British Canoeing.  The cost will be £225, but if  you are willing to help coach Club Members, the Club will cover half the cost. Course details here: https://paddlesuptraining.com/courses/coach-core-training/ To register or ask any questions, contact Jonathan via malesjr@gmail.com

First Aid Course

Outdoor First aid course 9th /10th March     A reminder that the 2 day outdoor First Aid course for Club Members is to be held on Saturday and Sunday,  9th/10th March 2024 in Cheshunt . It will be delivered by TNR Outdoors, a company renowned for its expertise in this field.   The cost would normally be over £200 but is being significantly subsidised by the Club and, can be booked on WebCollect now for  £140  Details to be provided nearer the time . If you have any enquiries about the course,  please contact Jon Halden at   coachinglvpc@gmail.com

Hurley Fun Day    Saturday 17th February 10.30 – 3pm. 

Club members are invited! The Essex Freestyle Community will be collaborating with the TVfreestylers for a super fun day at Hurley  Sara Barwick writes : ‘If people want to borrow play boats, they need to get in contact with us before the day as it will depend on numbers. It will be a first come first serve.We also have XS boats so size / age is not a problem.At this event we will have the rafts and inflatables out. We will be there to support all at the venue and will even do an intro to play boating, so if no one has ever done it we will give them some coaching. It is all completely free’ For more details, or to book boats, contact Sara at s.barwick@hotmail.com 

LVPC Member Survey

LVPC Member Survey – January 2024 Thank you to the 146 club members who responded to our first ever club survey.This represents about 50% of our adult paddling membership so this is a good response level. The committee wanted to share some key messages with you, and we’ll come back with further actions once we’ve had more time to discuss options. First up, it’s clear from the feedback that you value and appreciate the club, the opportunities it offers, and the growing sense of a paddling community. 95% of you would recommend the club to a friend. Thank you for the messages of support, and Pam was suitably embarrassed at your kind words such as ‘Thank you for all thevolunteers making it happen! Especially Pam! Such a hero!’ We learned that about two thirds of our members learned to paddle elsewhere, most often with another canoe club. Less than 5% joined the club as complete novices. The majority (66%) of you do not see use of the lake as important, so we need to be highly focused in how we use and pay for any activities on the lake. 81% are active at Lee Valley Whitewater Centre outside of club night, with 60% paddling ‘public’ whitewater sessions at …

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New Year Recreational Paddle

The New Year got off  to a great start with a joint recreational paddle with LVPC, Whoosh  and Allenbury’s Canoe Clubs and Paddlesports Coaching paddling from Ware to Hertford and back. 22 enthusiasts formed a very colourful flotilla on unusually bouncy water and together with a welcome pub stop, a good time was had by all!

LVPC’s Club Constitution

At our November 2023 EGM, some updates were made to our Club Constitution to move the timing of the LVPC AGM so it could take place at a reasonable time before the start of each Club Membership Year. The Club also introduced a new standard membership rate to support the development of flatwater and new starter paddling initiatives.