For a while now we have been running a “Get Your Club Playing” scheme, the idea of which is to enthuse clubs about playboating and show how basic playboating can be introduced at any flatwater session. We provide inspirational demonstrations by GB Team paddlers, expert coaches and a load of demo playboats. This is a little write-up of one such session we ran for Tandridge Canoe Club at Thames Young Marinas.

After introducing our coaches and helpers for the day, our GB Team paddlers put on an inspirational display of flatwater acrobatics to get everyone fired up and to show what freestyle is all about.

We then split into groups depending on experience and ability. The beginner group was all about the first experiences of playboating. Trying lots of boats, playing with edging, enders, tailies, lean-cleans, rolls and some even got on to double pumps!

The more experienced group worked on double pumps, flatwater cartwheels, bow stalls, loops and flatwater pistol flips with Bren Orton and Matty Nicholas. Video feedback was used to breakdown some of the more advanced moves and track progression.

At the end of the session paddlers of all abilities not only had a big smile on their face, but had plenty of skills to work on with a clear idea of how to progress towards their next goal – whether that was consistent tailies or learning the flatwater McNasty.

The following day the more experienced paddlers had a follow-up session on Hurley Weir, where we again split into groups depending on ability and worked on anything from catching the wave and front-surfing up to blunt-to-pistol flip combos!

If you’re thinking that this looks like fun, why not organise a session for your club? Details here.

Last weekend I went across to North Ireland’s Tollymore centre for the CANI Paddlefest – which turned out to be an excellent weekend that got people boating, trying new things and provided inspiration for paddlers of all disciplines, ages and abilities.

I kicked off proceedings on Friday with a photo slideshow of the expedition to Georgia I led last August. I hoped to inspire paddlers to get out on adventures of their own, or visit Georgia… or both. There certainly seemed to be plenty of “bar chat” of future Georgia trips or other potential destinations that evening, so I guess I managed that!

Throughout Saturday and Sunday there were a range of courses and workshops that participants could sign up to. I was running an expedition river skills workshop and armed with a hand drawn river map, I headed out with 6 lovely paddlers for a day on the Blackwater Weirs. Despite low water this proved to be an excellent coaching venue for working on group dynamics, lateral momentum and key strokes for drops and stoppers.

Sunday was a little slower off the mark and with a shorter session we were only able to venture as far as a tidal spot, which provided enough flow to work on efficient ferrying and driving across boily eddylines. Once the tide became slack, we returned to where iCanoe had a bunch of demo boats on offer – allowing us to give people an intro to playboating or work on their double pump while others practiced their rolls or just tried out different boats. We also discovered that lean-cleaning uses the exact same motions as hula dancing… so dig out your hula hoop!

More photos and comments from the weekend can be found on our facebook page.

Sportscoach UK have just released a bunch of “fact sheets” about coaching female athletes and developing female coaches. They are of course in reference to all sports, but there’s plenty that can be applied to paddling. If you are interested in improving your coaching of female paddlers then check them out. And if you only read one, make it the Myth Buster: anyone recognise this?

Female athletes lack confidence
Low confidence is often more pronounced in female athletes. Women tend not to give themselves enough credit and are likely to put good performances and success down to luck rather than talent and hard work. Women’s confidence levels are also influenced far more by the opinions of those around them.
Female athletes might reflect their concerns both verbally and through their body language. Coaches can use this as an indicator that their athletes need ‘a boost’ and some words of encouragement to help build their confidence.

We do a lot of coaching with female paddlers and know how true each of the busted myths can be. Don’t be fooled though – not all women are the same and all coaching should be individualised! These fact sheets just provide food for thought on how best to structure and approach the coaching of females.

We are lucky enough to have some of the World’s best female paddlers and coaches. Sadly top female coaches are quite rare in sports, but even more so in a male dominated sport such as kayaking. We have found that a mixed staff team allows our coaches to learn a lot from each other’s coaching styles and tactics to become better at coaching paddlers of all ages, genders and backgrounds.

Low numbers of women coaching in the highest echelons of sport inevitably means fewer role models for up-and-coming female coaches.

We hope that our female coaches provide good, strong role models for female paddlers and coaches alike. If you’re a coach who wants advice on coaching women more effectively or a female coach who would like advice on progressing with your coaching, please feel free to get in touch.

Our next female-only course is on March 26th. For more info click here.

The Canoe Association of Northern Ireland run an annual Paddlefest at Tollymore, near Belfast. The theme of this year’s paddlefest is expedition paddling and I’ve been asked to go over and give a talk about my most recent expedition to Georgia. Over the weekend I will also be delivering some of the expedition themed workshops and coaching sessions on offer.

It looks set to be a great weekend, so if you fancy checking it out – see www.cani.org.uk for more details.

Ok so I´m in the last month of my three and a half  month trip to Chile. After the really bad luck that Dave Hollins and I endured at the beginning of the trip (laptop stolen, wallet stolen, camera broken, issues with documentation etc.etc.etc) we have managed to have an awesome time. This is my second trip to Chile working for kayakchile.net as a kayak coach and safety kayaker.  Two days ago I came back from the amazing Futaleufu where I was Safety kayaking and coaching for our three clients on a  ten day Big water adventure. We had mostly beautiful sunshine and boiling hot temperatures, and Im sure I have eaten my body weight in Cow in the last 10days.

 Over the trip we paddled the whole Futa  including: Inferno Canyon, Terminator  Section, Bridge to Bridge, Mas o Menos and Casa de Piedra and the Macal Section.Anyway here are some photos of our trip for you to look at.

Photos thanks to Katie, Pamina, Christiano, Tzak, Dave and Me

On Friday 18th Feb, the Presidential Elections were held in Uganda – a country which hundreds of kayakers visit every year to enjoy the wonderful white water offered by the White Nile. Uganda is generally one of the most stable and safest countries in Africa to travel around as a tourist but with the political instability of countries across Northern Africa and the Middle East hitting the headlines, I think it’s fair to say that we were all a little anxious to see that this election went smoothly in what paddlers affectionately call “the centre of the Universe”.

The current president, Museveni, has been in power here for 25 years and expectation was that he’d win once again. The results released today show that was the case, though opposing parties claim unfair practice and fraud – something I suspect will never be proved either way – a sad fact about African politics.

In the lead-up to the elections there was much excitement and loud rallies (often with a big sound system playing upbeat music in the back of a truck) were common sights across Uganda. People went around wearing the T-shirt of the candidate they supported and posters were stuck all over: from shops to mud-huts! I thought it was great to see a country really engaging with their politics and being proud to show they care about their vote and the end result. Sure, the system is flawed – for one it is almost impossible for many poor Ugandans from rural areas to register to vote – but it was still a refreshing change from the apathy you see in the UK. If only people would realise that at least every vote DOES count in the UK!

The video above was taken 2 days before the Presidential Election and shows a rally in support of Besigye, the main opponent to Museveni. We’d already been stuck in the middle of this rally for at least 10 minutes before I remembered I had my camera with me! There was very little in the way of trouble across Uganda prior to the elections – though this rally later met with a rally for Museveni and there was reportedly some small scale violence. On the whole, the people were enthusiastic and passionate, which was great to see (if a little daunting in their large numbers!).

I feel I need to finish this post by relating it back to kayaking, since that is what FlowFree is all about. I hope to do that without diminishing the importance of the democratic process (you judge that one?) that has just occurred here. Museveni regaining power means we can expect another term of stability in Uganda, which will allow us to travel there as tourists without too much concern for our safety… the major issue for paddlers there now is the immanent closure of Silverback and plans for further hydro schemes on the White Nile. But that is another story entirely…

It was -10 degrees in the UK when Jamie from Kayak the Nile called to ask if I’d come out to Uganda to run his company for a couple of months. Warm water, big waves and sunshine everyday… I could hardly say no!

On the water my work time is split between coaching anything from beginners up to advanced playboating or guiding experienced paddlers down the river to show them the lines. There’s never 2 days the same: we have people from all over the world with completely different backgrounds and experiences.

Part of my job is also to mentor our less experienced coaches and help to develop the skills of local paddlers. Off the water I manage the business, take bookings, arrange airport shuttles and much more! It sounds hectic but luckily I still get plenty of time to paddle for myself… after work sunset Silverback runs or a one-night mini-break down at the Hairy Lemon for some freestyle time. Life here is good.

Going back to work…

Below is a short video from a very fun session at Club Wave with great friends.

We have an important time coming up here. In the next month we have general elections and the closure of Silverback (see previous post for details). It’s going to be interesting and memorable – of that I am sure!

The sun sets on Silverback. A bitter-sweet sight.

For the past month I’ve been in Uganda running Kayak the Nile which has been amazing. I’ll add another post soon with photos and video from my time here so far, but for now I wanted to share this information about the timing of the Silverback closure due to the construction of the dam.

The official date of closure of the Silverback channel to river craft is now set as Feb 28th – less than a month away. Below is the response from Nile River Explorers Rafting.

For kayakers, the effect of this closure is initially not as dramatic. Kayaks will still be able to paddle the rapids prior to Silverback and portage Silverback to continue down the Day 1 section. Only when the dam is actually put in place will we start to lose the rapids upstream of Silverback as the water backs up – it is estimated this is around 12 months away yet.

That said, I’m taking every chance I can to paddle all of those rapids before they are gone forever!

If you are thinking of coming out to Uganda, my advice is do it! Even if you can’t make it until the dam is in place, there is still a great range of rapids and playspots below the dam and the promise of higher flows will make it a lot of fun all round.

Time to get back on the water. Happy paddling all.

Over the weekend we were joined by two groups from Baldock Canoe Club. One group headed to Pont Cyfyng and Swallow Falls to work on their technique in a challenging and steep environment with David Fairweather. The other group joined myself and Patrick Clissold for a session on the Dee at Llangollen. Despite the heavy frost enthusiasm levels were high and we barely stopped for a breather all day, making the most of the short daylight hours.

Working on ferry gliding at Mile End Mill

A round of applause for a rapid well run.

I have just taken delivery of a GoPro HD, and as soon as I get my computer updated to cope with the work-load of editing the footage I will add a video of the day. The GoPro is a great tool for capturing the action, and should prove a useful coaching tool.

UPDATE!!

I have now cracked the computer conundrum (more coal shovelled into the fire, hamster in the wheel given fresh water etc), here is a short video from the weekend.

A few years ago I was lucky enough to be part of the Four Borders Expedition to Siberia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. We paddled some amazing multiday rivers in the Altai Mountains, and the Bashkaus was the krux of our trip. Our video footage did not really do it justice. The recent sickline trip does.

I am very proud to have signed the book of legends. Thank you to Olaf Obsommer for producing this video which brings back memories of one of my favourite river trips.