The club has used various Whatsapp groups in recent years for communicating between club members and while on trips. In order to make it easier for club members to identify which groups might be relevant to them, we have published a list of Whatsapp groups and moderators which will be revised and updated over time. These can be found of this page.
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We have been awarded £6500 from the National Lottery Awards for All to allow us to purchase new sea kayaks for use by all our members. This will make a huge difference to how many people can go paddling and we have managed to source a range of kayaks including ones suitable for a range of paddler sizes. Last year we had organised and been supported by club members to run a number of community events including for youth groups, litter picks and for a disadvantaged groups. As well as being great fun at the events they helped us to show the funder the ways the club contributes to our wider community.
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In April we were awarded £250 towards the costs of some new paddles for the river/loch and pool. The paddles are on order and should be with us soon and an extract from the grant application is shown below…
“This project is the purchase of kayak paddles suitable for a range of uses. Our club welcomes kayakers whether novice or more experienced and our volunteer coaches run a wide range of activities including pool session, loch sessions and canal/river trips. We provide the necessary kayaks, paddles and safety equipment. The club currently has a limited range of general purpose pool/loch/river paddles most of which are over 20 years old (Ainsworth K100 is the model).
These paddles have a number of issues that would be addressed in this project 1/ Feather angle. Kayaking has developed and paddles are now normally at a 30 degree or 45 degree feather. This alleviates strain on the paddler’s wrist whilst still cutting through the wind. ...
Congratulations to
Marcus Wheel, Petra Sharp, Peter Sharp, George Arbuckle, Les Aitken and Alisdair Gibbons who all completed the Foundation Safety and Rescue Course over the last weekend.
An excellent effort put in by all resulted in enjoyable courses in some fairly chilly conditions.
They all now have the skills to look after themselves and others on the water and can build on these as they progress in their paddling.
There will be other opportunities to complete the FS&RT course later in the season. Keep an eye on the website if you are interested.
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Is anyone interested in becoming an Instructor in any of the following:
kayak
sea kayak
canoe
SUP
This qualification allows you to instruct (normally beginners) in a very sheltered water environment. It is discipline specific in that you only paddle the craft that you are happy in (you can do it in more than one craft if you wish) Further information can be found at
https://www.britishcanoeingawarding.org.uk/new-paddlesport-instructor/
If you are interested in this first step along the road to becoming a coach please contact me on sandy.johnston@sky.com or 07962 226280 or see me at the pool or Pinkston sessions.
Sandy
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This course is free to club members (apart from certificate fee) who are volunteering as rescue kayakers at the Great Scottish Swim on Saturday 26 August 2017. Otherwise the fee for club members for this course is £30.
This course is the British Canoe Union Safety course that all other safety courses are built on and is often a prerequisite for future development.
The next course will take place on Loch Lomond on Sunday 13 August 2017.
There is only one place left on this course.
This course is designed for all paddlers irrespective of craft. The objective is to teach simple and safe skills that can be applied appropriately across a variety of paddlesport craft including kayaks and canoes. These skills will then form the basis of all safety and rescue training throughout the BCU Scheme.
The course aims to provide the student with the key safety and rescue skills required to operate safely in a sheltered water environment and to be able to deal...
FROM THE SCA
National Go Canoeing Week happening 28th May – 5th June 2016. There are now a number of great initiatives planned in Scotland, and we are extending the date to the include the weekend before and after - effectively making National Go Canoeing ‘Week’ span FOUR weeks!
Here is an idea of some key events happening as part of the Go Canoeing campaign:
22nd May: National Celebration of Para Water Sport and Para Cycling
28th May – 4th June: Starter sessions, mile builders and family trips at Port Edgar
28th May – 4th June: Starter Sessions and evening paddles at Aboyne CC
4th June: Go Canoeing Tour – Loch Tay
10th June: Go Canoeing Tour – Largs – Big Cumbrae
11th June: Go Canoeing Tour – Islands of Loch Lomond
12th June: Go Canoeing Community Day at Pinkston Watersports
Please register your event or sessions with us asap! This is so that your club can take full advantage of the marketing and promotional material available from BU and...
I have published the dates for a number of river trips which I will be running between April and July 2016 with two aims in mind:
I want to provide a varied programme of river trips to allow club members to develop their experience and their river paddling expertise whilst in the company of an experienced Coach and River Leader
I want to provide coaching and training that will allow club members to gain and practise the skills required to pass the BCU 3 Star Award in White Water Kayak.
I plan to have a progression over the year and to frequently re-visit skills in each trip so that it isn't necessary to attend all the trips to be prepared for the assessment. However the more you attend, the more prepared you shall be!
The rivers I am looking to include are the Teith, the Doon, the Clyde, the Tay, the Nith, the Avon, the Awe and the Ayr.
Any comments, questions or concerns, give me...
12 of the clubs trip leaders and coaches met to go over some of the recent changes and improvements to how the club runs trips, and to answer any burning questions. Graham hosted with pizza, coffee and cake a plenty. Some of the main things covered were:-
- the club has adopted a pragmatic approach to who can be trip leaders, formal qualifications aren't needed but a base of training, experience and willingness are the key.
- Where junior members are involved a qualified coach and an up to date first aider are needed.
- the club has had to consider these things and to address them a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) pulls everything together. The SOP is supported by things such as top tip sheets, club trip forms etc. All the club document are available on the club website - http://dckc.co.uk/members-pages/club-documents/ (there is a generic club password for members to access the club pages - ask a committee member or coach to...
Club photos are displayed on the awesome Smugmug site at dckc.smugmug.com
See what we got up to or if you have images to add or a whole trip that has been missed then email graham at grahammswanson@gmail.com and he will get you an upload link.
We now have the ability to "insert" images into posts and trip reports directly from smugmug... so if anyone fancies doing a trip report let me know as you can easily add images. Here are 3 from November's adventures.
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Just a reminder that the club AGM is on Wednesday 7th October at Pinkston Watersports Centre. More info is at http://dckc.co.uk/event/club-2015-agm/?instance_id=1506
Please come along, add your voice and ideas in the meeting, consider joining the committee, and meet up on dry land.
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There are still spaces available for this course.
This course is designed for all paddlers irrespective of craft. The objective is to teach simple and safe skills that can be applied appropriately across a variety of paddlesport craft including kayaks and canoes. These skills will then form the basis of all safety and rescue training throughout the BCU Scheme.
The course aims to provide the student with the key safety and rescue skills required to operate safely in a sheltered water environment and to be able to deal with common emergencies.
- See more at: http://canoescotland.org/courses-training/bcu-safety-training#sthash.o2tELjiB.dpuf
Contact Sandy for further details 07962226280
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Volunteers needed at indoor container at 6pm to move pool boats early and so they can be hosed clean near the pool entrance Please confirm if you can help to Ian McGie on 07990 840300...
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