| Archive for westhoughtoncanoeclub.myfreeforum.org Westhoughton Canoe Club |
| Steve T |
Stone slalom, 9 March '08 - WITH RESULTS ** & PICTURES**Due to the timing of this event, straight after a couple of members’ holidays, and with a spate of injuries, in the end only three of us took part in yesterday’s slalom at Stone. However, this meant that we were outnumbered by our cheerleaders who provided motivation, Mickey-taking and the novel approach of “bank-based-coaching-by-committee” (actually your advice was appreciated; we need all we can get).For Jon and Fiona, this was their first experience of slalom. To make them feel at home I paddled like it was my first slalom too  . I was in the club’s old 4m long slalom boat – the first time in one for twenty years, and while it wasn’t as twitchy as I thought it would be, the extra couple of feet at each end took some getting used to - however it was pretty fast in a straight line, and that’s why I chose to paddle it rather than my more manoeuvrable playboat. I was also reminded of one of the pleasures of leaky fibreglass boats that I had forgotten – baling out after every few minutes. Next time I’ll bring a sponge.
After a few practice runs down the course in the morning, we all had our first runs at about 12:00-ish. I only touched one pole, but was not as quick as I’d liked. Both Jon and Fiona put in creditable performances. Over lunchtime we had a bit more practice time. This was where the coaching committee on the bank offered lots of helpful advice (some of which was actually listened to) on one tricky move between two upstream gates with a rock between them. By the time of the second runs at about 15:00, the fan club had gone, and had taken Jon with them. Although I touched two poles this time, I managed to knock a good few seconds off my time (must have been Jason’s coaching  ), but since everyone else must also have had better second runs I dropped down from 6th to 7th - I didn’t even manage to be the fastest Veteran! Again Fiona sailed down without a problem, and with a smile on her face. The results will be posted on the web soon, when I see that I’ll post the link here.
A few cameras and camcorders were in evidence – if anyone has anything they’d be happy for me to put on the website, please pass it to me. The weather was fairly good to us, and I think everyone (paddlers and spectators) enjoyed themselves. Stone is a good introductory slalom, the level is ideal for novices to be able to concentrate on the course without worrying about what the water is going to do to them. There are quite a few other similar events at Stone, and elsewhere within sensible travelling distance, throughout the summer. If there is enough enthusiasm, I’ll organise a trip to another slalom or two this season. I think it’s best to do this separately to the normal monthly trip, since the ratio of paddling to standing around in whatever the weather throws at you is not very favourable. I’ll post something in the “events” forum when I’ve had a think about it, in the meantime, if you want a go then let me or any committee member know of your interest. Steve[/b] |
| Steve T |
Results are here:
http://www.canoeslalom.co.uk/results08/20080309%20stone.htm (Scroll down to Div 4 K1M & Div 4 K1W) Steve |
| Jon W |
Just wanted to say thanks for organising the Stone trip.
Steve sums it all up nicely. It was great fun and actually concentrates the mind on paddling in the right direction (though if you look at my time you might think I went round in circles a few times). My penalties (7) show I was close to the gates anyway! Here's me thinking there were prizes for such a thing. I had the turning circle of a large oil tanker....something to work on at the Burrs.... I'd be up for trying it again later this year but as Steve says there's lots of standing around involved. If the weather's nice though (as it was yesterday) then it makes for a nice day. |
| Steve T |
On Sunday there was a company taking pictures of the first runs.
Follow the link to http://www.gr8pictures.co.uk/ click on "View recent events" then "Stone & Staffs CC" then "view album". Jon & myself are on page 22, Fiona is on pages 24 & 25. If I'd known he was there I might have smiled a bit. Steve |