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Welsh Universities Competition

This weekend coming (Jan 30-31st), FlowFree are helping to organise the first ever Canoe Wales Universities Competition and party weekend.

The weekend will involve a range of disciplines with the idea being to give people the opportunity to try disciplines they may otherwise never get to try while allowing those with experience to showcase their discipline and excel. We will take the results from each event to determine an overall winning University and to award the best paddler in each category. However, the focus of the weekend is most certainly on making sure everyone has fun.

Below is the timetable and other useful info for those coming along – but first… We are still looking for helpers! We need people to help with the time-keeping, judging, scribing, running etc. No special skills or knowledge required, although if you know anything about sprint, polo or WWR you will be very much loved. In return for your help, we can offer you free accommodation and food for the weekend, plus free entry to the Saturday night party and may even be able to cover reasonable fuel expenses or a few beers. Please get in touch if you can help!

Getting There

The event is taking place in Llandysul, mid-Wales – get directions, please see http://www.llandysul-paddlers.org.uk/centre/how_to_get_here.htm. Camping is available on site and all events will take place pretty much on site too; so once you are there you shouldn’t need to drive anywhere!

Timetable

Below is a provisional timetable – please understand that times are liable to change so it is important that you come to the briefings and keep an eye on notice boards for an changes to the timetable. You will notice that some events on the lake and the river over lap, this is to make sure we fit everything in. We will do our best to ensure that no-one has clashing events but each competitor’s own responsibility to check and bring it up with an organiser as soon as possible.

Friday

Camping will be available, so come along as early as you like. There a couple of pubs within walking distance or the usual campsite capers.

Saturday

8.30am-9am: Final Registration – club captains please come and confirm your entries. Make sure you know the names of everyone competing and what they will be competing in. We will particularly need final team-lists for the polo event.

10am: Morning briefing – to be attended by all competitors, in the area outside the outdoorkit4u shop. Start lists go up.

10.30am-12.30pm: Polo group stage. Lake.

11am-3pm: Slalom. 2 timed runs on a short course. You may use any boat, some slalom boats will be available to borrow. River.

2pm-4pm: Flatwater sprint. Lake.

4-6pm: Floodlit it’s-a-knockout. We hope to have time for a fun its-a-knockout type event. Details will be announced on the day.

6.30pm-late: Food & party time! Porth Hotel, within 5 minutes walk of the camp site in Llandysul. You will need a ticket to get food, so make sure your club captain has registered everyone and that you do not lose your ticket!

Sunday

9am-12pm: WWR. One timed run in any craft, some WW racers will be available to borrow. River.

12.30-1.30pm: Head-to-head. Seeded heats of 4, top 2 from each heat will go through to next round, and must make their way back to the top of the course immediately. River.

2-3.30pm: Polo finals. Top two teams from each group battle it out for 1^st,2^nd,3^rd and 4^th. Plus Ladies teams final. Lake.

4.30pm: Prize giving. Stick around to find out who has won each event (we’ve gt some cool prizes to give away) and which University has won the overall prize!

Other Stuff

We have plenty of recreational kayaks available for use and a few slalom and WWR boats as well, so you can try out each discipline for real – or you can stick to the boat you are used to.

There is a paddling shop on site (outdoorkit4u) who will be offering 10% discount all weekend. On top of that, we have a couple more outfitters coming down with stands to sell gear and lend out demo boats, such as the new Jackson Kayak playboats.

You are free to use the river or lake between events, however be aware that the centre also has a course running so they may ask that you do not use part of the lake at certain times.

To download the timetable as a Word doc, click here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

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WCA Freestyle Dev – Feb 7th @ the Dee

The first WCA Freestyle Development Day of 2009 will be at Mile End Mill on the Dee, where we will be based throughout the day. Park in the White Water Active / Paddleworks car park as usual and meet at 9.30am in the cafe.

Mile End Mill is ideal for aspirant playboaters of all abilities, with 3 features which are great for learning all sorts of new moves or even having your first surf (if the river is very high, those without a confident white water roll will be advised not to attend. I will update on water levels on the Thursday before.) We welcome anyone with an interest in freestyle and particularly youngsters, anyone who’d like to get into competing or coaches who wish to learn how to deliver better playboat coaching. Those wishing to attend as a student should live in Wales and/or be a WCA member. Coaches are welcomed from anywhere; those wishing to observe and get coaching tips can come for free. If you would like to help with providing the coaching, please get in touch and we’ll also cover your expenses.

The day costs £15 for adults (coaches attend for free) and £10 for U18s, which includes quality coaching from a range of experienced freestyle coaches and use of a small range of demo boats. It does not include the charge made by White Water Active to use their site.

Please let me know if you plan to attend by dropping me an email on wca-freestyle@flowfree.co.uk or joining the facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49882181829#/event.php?eid=50993751346

Any questions, drop me an email.

Hope to see you there!

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FF at Paddlefest

FlowFree are proud to announce that we will be providing coaching clinics, workshops and freestyle demonstrations at Paddlefest in Nottingham this March 28-29th. Sessions will include Introduction to Playboating and workshops for nailing your cartwheels and loops.

Paddlefest Logo

Throughout the weekend we will also be on-hand to answer questions and take bookings, so keep an eye out for stand – we’ll have a flag!

For more info see the Paddlefest website, or drop us an email.

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Etive River Race Weekend

On Friday Team FlowFree burned up the M6 for a very cold and (at times) very wet weekend in Scotland including the first ever Etive River Race. We arrived as the sun went down and got a cheeky run down the race section in super-low water.

Rick Foster on Right Angle – Photo: Jon Davies

Everyone was expecting rain overnight but the sky was so clear, it was hard to imagine. We went to sleep in our shed-like wendy house safe in the knowledge we’d be racing a medium-low Etive in the morning.

But no! The heavens opened and a gale force wind drove in through the mountains all night and all the following morning. The Etive rose beyond recognition and the event organisers were forced to move the event to the tamer section of water upstream of Triple Step. Water levels changed all day reacting directly to how much it was raining and the wind was pretty much relentless. The race became no longer a challenge of skill combined with speed, stamina and judgement; but a flatwater battle against the elements. A Jackson Rocker was never going to be the craft that was first over the finish line!

Dispite the set-backs Mother Nature threw at it, Etive River Race proved to be a well-organised and successful event pulled off with style. Had it have been possible to race on the section planned, I have no doubt it would have been a World Class event. See www.etiveriverrace.co.uk for photos and results.

Lowri on the Kinglass: if only everyone had been so far behind in the race! – Photo: Rick Foster

As soon as the rain stopped, the rivers began to drop instantly. The Etive had dropped to something most people would recognise even as the minibuses took the last competitors out of the glen. Making the most of the water and the sunshine while it lasted, Team FF blasted down the Kinglass before heading to the prize-giving.

Lowri & Jon present Adam & Jonathan with a bumper cheque

FlowFree sponsored the event by donating a Steep Creeking course to the winners of the 16-18yrs category. The deserving team of Jonathan Hiam and Adam Cox were chuffed to pieces with their prize.

That night, temperatures of minus 11 were recorded in our ‘chalet-style’ hut. Needless to say, a good cooked breakfast was in order! Once we’d thawed out, we headed to the Orchy for a final fling before the long drive back to Wales…

Jon does the ‘Harry Potter’ on the Orchy – Photos: Lowri Davies

The drive turned out to be the biggest adventure of all! It seemed Wales had recieved similar rainfall the night after Scotland, which wasn’t a problem until I tried to drive through mid-Wales with limited fuel at night (note: petrol stations between Denbigh and Aberystwyth are all closed after 10pm).