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 the
volunteers 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 least once a month.
It was also apparent that some club members may not be aware of the relationship between the Club and Lee Valley Whitewater Centre (run by GLL).
To clarify, LVPC is the resident club, and we hire the course and facilities from GLL for our activities. These take place on Wednesday evenings, and slalom training takes place through the week in collaboration with British Canoeing. This means we are subject to GLL’s costs and contractual obligations, which at times limits what we would like, or can afford, to offer onsite.
The changes that you asked for were ranked as follows:
1. 55% asked for more trips and peer paddling outside of Lee Valley.
We’ve already made a start, with a series of local paddles over the Christmas / New Year break. More trips are planned.
2. 19% requested additional club sessions, specifically on weekends. Interestingly, a Sunday evening Olympic session was often mentioned. We have made regular requests to GLL for weekend water access; however, it is only possible very early or very late on weekends outside of their peak hours.
3. More coaching. There’s a thirst for more progressive coaching, especially post-legacy assessment and on the Olympic course. Jon and his team are busy with a plan to offer structured coaching, linked to British Canoeing
Awards where possible.
4. Club Environment and Communication. Several requests came under this heading, including more social engagement, more activities off the water and having a group chat or messanger board to help organize trips and get to know other paddlers. Last year’s fun session was highlighted as a great club mixer.
We clearly need to improve how we make coaching and other events available on Webcollect as this is not always clear or transparent.
Volunteering and bank safety attracted contrasting views – several people wanted a fairer system to spread the load evenly, while one or two people would clearly prefer not to do bank safety at all, to the extent of paying to
opt out of bank safety duties. I can’t see this becoming a reality, as it goes against the club ethos. After all, if everyone contributes it means doing an hour every 3 months or so, in return for a free paddle.
5. Lighting system in the equipment shed needs improvement. Yes, and the main limitation is that we have been unable to secure a mains power supply, but we are continuing to discuss this with British Canoeing, who own the
shed.
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. Clearly, we need to be price sensitive; however we must also face the reality that the club pays GLL for all the water time and facilities we use.
Some of your suggestions are outside the club’s control, but we can raise these with GLL. These include parking permits, cafe opening hours, a better lay out of the legacy for freestyle and access to the kayak cross ramp.
If anyone is interested seeing in the full survey results, let me know.
Thanks again for helping to make this a great club, and as always, please get intouch if you’d like to get more involved.
Jonathan Males
Chair, LVPC
29 January 2024
lvpcchair@gmail.com