Team: Rich (lead), Simon, Beth and Fiona
Timings: Starting on Thursday the 16th June. The other dates are 23 and 30th June. The time is 18-20:30 each day
Overall aims:
Learn enough to be able to go for a paddle in a small group (kit / technique / safety)
Know something of the range of activities / craft that paddle-sport encompasses
Come away excited and wanting to do more
Meet club safety requirements - knowledge of BA rules, capsize
Meet participant’s specific objectives where possible, if not, point them in the right direction
BAs: know why worn (+that it’s a club rule), be able to find them in the club, select a size, fit one so it’ll be effective
Paddles: be able to find them, select an appropriate one (handedness, length, not wings!)
Boats: Know where the more general purpose WW boats are stored. Be able to safely remove them from the rack and carry them (in pairs). Be able to adjust footrest if needed to achieve connectivity.
Getting in and out: how to get in, how to get out if it capsizes (land-based practise)
Getting on (with assistance)
Beginning to develop forward paddling in a straight line
Beginning to develop ability to turn
Getting out (with assistance)
Something of a rapid session - sorting out kit, putting basics in place, allowing time for experiments, a bit of paddling and a game will make this session feel a little squeezed.
| Time | Groups (lead) | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 6:00 | Whole group (Rich) | Initial group chat (Rich)
|
| 6:15 | Boats (Simon + Fi) BA/paddle (Beth) |
Issue kit. Ask people to visit Beth and one of Simon/Fi, trying not to overwhelm any of them.
|
| 6:30 | Whole group (Rich) | Quick demo of:
|
| 6:40 | Group A (Beth/Rich) Group B (Fi/Simon) |
Go over contents of Rich’s demo and get on the water:
|
| 7:10 | Group A (Beth/Rich) Group B (Fi/Simon) |
After allowing a bit of time for experimentation….
|
| 7:50 | Reconvene whole group at club |
|
Getting people to find their own kit on arrival works - checks they’ve learnt how to do this!
Talk on clothing + kit was a bit lecturey - better to do via an email handout
Dry land practice with spraydecks was a good confidence builder
Keeping groups together (and motivated) as forward paddling skill develops rapidly and differently is hard. After covering backwards, one option is to ask the faster people to paddle backwards to slow them down.
Worth trying to cover some decent distance upriver in this session to allow more practice
We should only cover reverse lightly - ‘chicken’ is a good game for experimentation
‘Polo’ type possession games work really well, especially in a group of 6
Aspirations might have changed since session 1 - check!
Breaking into 2 groups of 6 for the entire session worked well.
Good to intersperse thinky / concentration things with games to break things up
Holding good posture all session is quite hard physically for new paddlers. Worth finding a way to relax mid session - either by getting out on the bank or by taking feet out of boats to relax. Getting feet out of the cockpit (and possibly turning round in the cockpit) is a good confidence builder in any case, and practice getting in and out is good too!
The group seemed to enjoy learning and practicing rudders. It didn’t seem to have the impact on directional stability I expected, but it fitted better with the session than teaching draw strokes.
Asking the group to share tips on forward paddling from last week worked well - between them, they generated quite a good list. May be more impactful had I summarised the points they made before setting them off to try and use them?
‘Chicken’ works well with stern rudders, probably because it generates a target requiring a bit more precision. Probably worth trying more with this - e.g. paddling around each others boats? Once we’d introduced it for rudders, it was easy to introduce the game for stopping.
Hopefully a more relaxed session - time now to focus a bit on technique and paddle a bit further.
| Time | Groups (lead) | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 6:00 | Ad-hoc, on arrival |
|
| 6:15 | Whole group (Rich) | Initial brief:
|
| 6:30 | Group A (Fi/Simon) Group B (Beth/Rich) |
Dry land session:
|
| 6:40 | Group A (Fi/Simon) Group B (Beth/Rich) |
Water session 1: forward paddling
|
| 7:10 | Group A (Fi/Simon) Group B (Beth/Rich) |
Water session 2: Reverse:
|
| 7:45 | Whole group reconvene at club |
|
[Via email follow-up:]
What to wear: dressing for cold, wind/rain, immersion
Options to carry kit in the boat, dry bags
Brief brief: Aim to try 4 craft. Objective: understand how to select and adjust the kit, go for a paddle, get each to spin. Decide whether you like it (or not!).
13 people (perhaps 12): break into 4x groups of 3 (or 4). Rotate through:
SUPs (have we got enough??)
Open canoes
Stable marathon boats
Sea kayaks
Aim for 30 minute intro session for each craft - suggestions….
(paddle length, kneel paddling, where to stand: middle, paddling: switch sides after ~5 strokes / straight arms / reach forwards / lean to engage core, adjusting trim to turn or track: stand back / one foot back): https://supinflatables.co.uk/info/paddle-technique . Spinning race.
Introduce paddle, correct length (to chin), carrying boats. Go for a paddle. Spinning race. Stopping.
Introduce boats and adjust. Paddles (wings?). Get on and go for a paddle towards Granchester- emphasize staying as a group. Simply see how far you can get in the time!
Note - the best way to empty marathon boats is to dip the bow, then lift it quickly, so that the water that has rushed to the bow empties through the cockpit.
Introduce boats, footrest adjustments. Skegs - avoid damage! Go for a paddle towards town. Sweep strokes and spinning race.
Remarkably, this rather complex session worked, and people enjoyed it - I’d do this again!
Logistics needs a bit of refinement. It’s possible to end up in a situation that doesn’t work if you simply randomly pass groups from one activity to another. Instead, it’d be easier if each session leader knew who they were passing their group too and who they were picking up the next group from. Don’t rely on every coach to turn up with a watch - bring a spare if possible. Also be aware that some people will turn up late, and you’ll likely need to kick off some groups early, and allow (say) 40 mins+ for session 1
Not everyone will want to do everything - this time not everyone wanted the challenge of marathon boats, and some didn’t want to SUP, having done it before. Good to think about what to do with these folk - can we find alternatives (e.g. ‘try the topo duo’), pass them to another group (if numbers permit) or let them take WW boats out?
Running an SUP session worked well despite my total lack of experience in the craft - paddling on knees, standing up and enjoying the river from a new angle easily took up 30 mins.
Many people really enjoyed the sea kayaks - although they were the least radically different boat, it was well worth letting them try them
Some people really got into marathon, in some cases despite swimming several times. Others never wanted to see a pointy boat again!
We could have been clearer about next steps for getting involved in the club - perhaps a flip chart with suggestions (opening hours, permission to take anything out during those times, social paddles time and contact details, racing….). Luckily Pete was on hand to explain how to get into racing - we should have known this information.