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Welcome to the Kingston Kayak Club Blog. |
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Kingston B team take Yorkshire under 16 novice league by storm. 25th February 2007
8 teams participated in this years Yorkshire under 16 novice league, Greenstar A & B, Hungerhill, S.W.A.T., Glannford, Kingston A & B and Sheffield. From the outset the teams were eager and looked striking in their matching boats and buoyancy aids, an impressive display of keenness for such young players. Throughout the tournaments the support for the youngsters was clear with tremendous cheering and coaching from parents and friends alike. The last tournament began at around midday on 25th of February, 6 teams present the games were started. Some very exciting matches and rivalries unfolded with Hungerhill deservedly winning a really close game against Greenstar A who went on to take 2nd place, Hungerhill unfortunately 3rd despite their hard fought victory. Other good games included the scratch team matches between Glannford and S.W.A.T. with Glannford emerging on top after some excellent teamwork against S.W.A.T.’s strong defence. Duncan Moffat |
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29th October 2006
Over the last few years the amount of people paddling traditional open canoes has been on the increase. This has lead to a group of us getting together from KKC and the local area to paddle together. Sunday the 29th saw the group paddle the River Ure from Hack Falls down to Slenningford Mill. The day started at 10:00 with the long portage in to Hack Falls, for the 7 open boats. The water level was quite high and flowing fast. The group checked signals, swim lines, flip lines and ample rescue kit if a Z drag was needed. Off we set down the first few rapids, giving us ideal practise, before Hack Falls. A quick inspection of the falls was needed as the top boulder was covered by the water level causing a hole that would eat most canoes. We ran the rapid, starting far river left and crossing over to river right ready to quarter the hole at the bottom. This set up a good line to avoid the side wall. Only one swamped boat in the bottom hole made the group feel good. Further paddling quickly lead us to Mickley weir, which was shot far left without to much trouble. We had prearranged to rendezvous with other boats here, however we were later than planned and only met Pete and Val. Lunch was taken at the place I know as the steps, where we saw Otter prints and we met up with two tandem crews, expanding the group to 10 boats (14 paddlers). What a lovely sight to see. After lunch we quickly found ourselves at the top weir of the campsite. Inspection told us the only paddlable line down for canoe was right quartering the wave, otherwise lining. First boat down OK gave heart to the others. Two swimmers give an insight into the difficulty to run this. Eddying out across the face of the weir caused problems for a couple of boats but all managed to leave the eddy eventually. We had time to play and surf on the site, near the old bridge supports. Running the main rapid was not for the faint hearted. As Oz and Karl were tandem they opted to run first and eddy in on the right of the drop and act as rescue cover. Oh how plans change! They swamped before the drop and swam the rapid, having to self rescue. I got the eddy and set up cover for the group. The solo paddlers all got good lines down the drop and shipped very little water; however the other tandem managed the line and drop but was swamped before the final weir. They did the honourable thing of standing up saluting the audience to the bank and promptly swam. The end of the trip had come with everyone down still smiling and eager to get together again.
Neil Jennison |
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21st October 2006 My First Prem Race After getting promoted to the Premier Division in K1 canoe slalom I was very happy, however the prospect of doing my first race in Prem at Llangollen Town Falls was a little daunting. 1st run came very quickly and I was ready on the starting line....3....2....1...I set off sprinting to the first few, gates. Felt good up to gate 5 but I buried my bow into the water and lost control of the boat, reluctant to get a 50 on my first ever prem event I paddled back for the gate wasting a good 25 seconds. 2nd run and I learnt from my mistakes, although I buried the bow again I managed to control it and get gate 5 clear. I was please with this run but I know exactly what I am working on over the winter months, racing with no practice runs. At the end of the day I was pleased that I wasn't last, instead coming 46th out of 56. Andy |
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24th September 2006 KKC Canoe Polo Pre-Season Warm up Open Event Today saw the first open canoe polo tournament to be held on the outdoor pool since it's renovation. 6 Teams entered, 2 Kingston Teams, 2 Nottingham University, Tees Tigers and SWAT. The event was played in a great spirit, all games being friendly yet competitive. The Kingston teams were of mixed abilities consisting of players from both Kingston A and B plus a couple of the youth players. In the spirit of the tournament it was decided that the teams would be mixed up evenly in order to give everyone equal chance and some great playing experience.
For me the highlight of the tournament was Claire's excellent goal against Kingston B while Scott covered goal. Final results for the day were 1st - Nott A, 2nd Tees Tigers, 3rd Nott B, 4th Kingston A, 5 Kingston B and 6th SWAT. Thanks to Joy and Geoff for all their hard work in organising the tournament and all the helpers. Andy |
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23rd September 2006 In the last few weekend
the Slalom paddlers have been busy, with the Interclubs at Carrdington and
the Prem & Div 1 at HPP. Well done and congratulations to John Raddings
and Naomi Jones for both coming out of retirement at the last moment to
paddle for the club at the Interclubs. The club team was not at it usually
strength but put a good fight in the heat of the weekend, Congratulation to
Hannah and James on Winning their events. Last weekend at HPP was
yet again a hot weekend with the Prem's racing on Saturday for places in the
semi finals on the Sunday and the Final later on the Sunday afternoon. Well
done to Hannah (the 5th quickest lady down the course) for getting through to
the semis but unfortunately not to the final. and bad luck to Dan who just
made it to the semis but due to work commitments could not compete on the
Sunday. On Sunday it was the turn of the the Div 1 paddlers. A very big congratulation to Andy Davies who came first in the K1 Men's race. (Andy would not put this up on the website himself) with a clean run, Andy Could not believe this had happen as just before his run he had helped rescue a boat from entering the course and so was distracted from his usual build up. (the owner of the boat was very sorry about this happening). Well done Dannie Johnson for compete in the K1 W who came 18th but did manage to get 2 gates on her last run that she had not managed to all her other runs, thanks to Dave Rawding who gave her some coaching on the day. Trudi |
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1st & 2nd July 2006 Due to child birth, injury and a scuffle, the Krakens line up was a little changed this year. It saw the addition of Trevor and Leighton to the team. Saturday saw a rather rough start drawing 1-1 with an Irish team. We then played Bury Werms, a regular meeting for us at Hull International and this time we managed to beat them. Our next game was against Aberfan B who turned out to be quite a strong team and unfortunately we'd lost our way a bit and played what can only be described as awful and they stuffed us 4-1. Sunday saw the crossovers to settle the places within the division. I am not sure why but every Hull International we end up meeting Selkirk Toon first thing on Sunday morning complete with hangovers, this was no exception. We played really well, keeping the ball away from them most the game we put 2 goals past them before Becky put one in the back of our net, unfortunately for them the refs didn't give this as a goal. I then heard my favourite words, "Five!". I saw their goalie desert their goal and although at the centre line I decided to have a pop and luckily it crept into the back of the net. Finishing score line, 3-0. Our next game turned into a bit of a marathon against Cherwell Yellow. We kept on creeping ahead putting a goal past them only for them to come straight back and equalise. After normal time it was 3-3 which took us into extra time which saw no goals and then into penalties. After the first round of penalties no one could beat the keepers, then we went to sudden-death penalties. Again the goalies put on an impressive display unfortunately one of their shooters beat Dave and put one past him. Even more unfortunately for me I was next up, I lined up, pulled my arm back and dummied a shot letting it drift slowly past his paddle keeping us in the game. More impressive keeping followed until they sent their female shooter up, her slow shot beat Dave and then it was Dave turn to shoot which was saved. In a game which seemed to go on for ages we lost out on penalties, however both the games on the Sunday were the most enjoyable polo I've played in a long while. Andy |
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24th & 25th June 2006 - 96 miles – 92 locks – 5 tunnels
We set off from Hull at 6am Saturday morning to get to the start at Poynton, near Macclesfield, for 8.30am for the pre race safety checks. There are a number of rules for the race and certain equipment has be carried by the paddlers or in the boat. A support crew is needed for all teams, to drive each crew to the changeover points and feed & water the paddlers. Our support crew was Angela who had done the same the previous year when Neil & Iain had taken part in a K2 relay with Mags and David from Pennine CC. Mags was attempting to paddle the race solo in K1 all the way this year. The weather forecast was ideal for this race being slightly overcast and not too hot, with the threat of the odd shower only. Maximum temperature forecast of around 19 degrees centigrade. Pete and
Dave set off at 9.10am with the first 5 mile leg to Marple Junction, a
straightforward paddle of 5 Our
final time was 20 hours, 19 minutes and 38 seconds. We were the fastest K2 –
4 person relay team in the event and came home with 4 gold medals,
certificates and a shield. Mags succeeded in her attempt and completed the race in just over 22 hours. There is a fantastic atmosphere associated with this event as you meet other crews along the way and swap stories, show off bruises and injuries etc. A lot of preparation, training and planning went into this race for our team. If anyone fancies having a go we can let you know what worked for us, and the sort of preparation needed. We are planning to do it al over again next year! We must be mad! Angela |
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18th June 2006 After several months planning the inaugural Derwent Marathon was held last weekend. This has replaced York Marathon as one of the Yorkshire Regional marathons for a number of reasons, the main one being the increasing cost of car parking in York. We noticed that there was an ‘amenities site’ at Barmby on the Marsh in the waterways guide for the area, and had a quick look back in February. The site looked promising as there was car parking, a picnic area, toilets – including disabled loos, and easy access to the water from the mooring platform. Enquiries were made to the Environment Agency who own the site and manage the river about the possibility of us using this venue and they were happy to consider accommodating us provided we had the necessary risk assessments and insurance in place. On May Day Bank holiday weekend a group of us paddled the river as part of the pre race planning – from the barrage to the pub at Breighton! Although it was a dry day it was windy, and it was an interesting paddle, however it did have the advantage of several people volunteering to be turn marshals for the race instead of support paddling or racing! Dennis – Barrage Controller - was satisfied that our preparation was adequate and we were given the go ahead for the event. A further site visit was made the Sunday before the race just to check out the water conditions – which were much calmer, thankfully. We did notice that the bridge before the 4 mile turning point was obviously a favourite spot for the locals to take a swim. They had tried to swim out to the Pete & Iain who had paddled up there but didn’t catch them. 38 paddlers took part in the race from KKC, Pennine CC, White Rose CC, North East Disability CC, Newark 4A’s CC, Lincoln CC and Macclesfield CC. (Results are posted on the website). There was a good range of paddlers from the age of 6 to one or two in their sixties, male and female, and 8 paddleability competitors. The day started off sunny and gradually became a little more overcast and cooler – ideal conditions for racing. We finally met Dennis after communicating by phone and e-mail for 3 months! Racing started at 12noon with Geoff, Graham & Stella (Artois), starting and timekeeping. Don, Joy, Trudi, Meg, Val & Alex had already set out for their marshalling points and Dave had headed off in his new sea kayak to Loftsome Bridge where we thought we might have some problems with the locals swimming out to the racers as in the week before. There was a decent vantage point for spectators from the top of the riverbank with a good view upstream. The 8 mile racers set off first with combined divisions of 5 & 6 K1 and the div 6 K2. Next off were the 4 milers, div 7 and 8, followed by Cath & Eric the only TC2 in div 9. The start line for the div 9 K1 race looked impressive with 15 paddlers taking part. Finally the Lightning paddlers with the solitary fun paddler set off for their 2 mile race. Just after the start we had some photographers from the local press coming down to the mooring platform to talk to us and take photos. The Environment Agency had sent out a press release a few days prior to the event and had let us know that there may some interest from the local papers. Frank, the River Manager, also came down to watch the event with his family. It wasn’t long before the paddlers could be seen heading for the finishing line. Times were checked, certificates written and when everyone was back we held prize giving – in the rain. Medals were presented by Dennis the Barrage Controller to the winners. As a memento of the occasion and thanks from the club for their help, Dennis and Frank were presented with key rings with the Derwent marathon logo on them. It was a very successful day, with some very positive feedback from everyone about the new venue. Some more good news is that due to the success of the event and good partnership working with the Environment Agency, they have offered to sponsor the race next year. Congratulations to everyone who took part and very many thanks to everyone who helped to make the day a success. Angela (If anyone is interested in racing
and wants more information or hasn’t tried a racing boat before, |
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10th June 2006 The three of us Geoff, Dave & Ron set off from Paull in ideal conditions. As soon as we got round the corner the wind started blowing in our faces & the sea built up. Capt Geoff hugged the north bank where the waves were much smaller. This lost us the current we were counting on and we still had the increasingly freshening wind in our faces. It was a long hard paddle with no rest as any relaxation meant we were going backwards. When we landed at Spurn both the Capt & I were knackered but the kid was still raring to go. I wish they sold energy like that in shops.
We left an hour early with me apprehensive as I’d crushed my wrist in the webbing carrying the boats & I didn’t know how it would bear up. Paddling was good but the tide took a long time to turn, then we only had a short time on the planned route before we realized at that rate we would get to Paull before the mud was covered (John had warned me). We spent the last 5 miles drifting with the current arriving at Paull just as the water reached the concrete. The Big Engineer in the Sky tested us, not to punish, but to change a paddle into an adventure. For that we are truly grateful. It was a magic weekend. Lessons Learned We spoke to the Humber Harbour Master, the Coastguards, the lifeboat cox & the spurn warden as well as all the experienced paddlers who would advise us. We looked at & paddled the Binks prior to the trip. The advice from John & Simon to go through close to the beach was sound. We chose the starboard hand buoys as our southern barrier & guide as the main shipping would keep south of it in that section of the Humber. It should also have allowed us to safely use the tidal currents. Both of us had GPS. A route on the GPS went through all the starboard hand buoys we were using. We also had compass & charts as a back up. We had packed as if we meant it. Over the top certainly, but we were using the trip to gain experience. Execution: Geoff came with us for which we are very grateful. The very strong head wind on the outward leg forced us to cling to the north bank away from the buoys & favourable tide. The decision was made by Geoff. Left to our own devices we would have stayed out longer before coming to the same conclusion. It did show that even in those conditions we could see that the GPS was pointing to the next buoys. We were in an even better positions to observe the Binks & the point that night & the next day. There is a usable eddy at the point with the outgoing tide. The return leg. Leaving early deviated significantly from the plan but proved that it would have been good. We are aware of the dangers of vessels coming up from astern. Someone had suggested a mirror, though we never tried it this trip. Using the buoys as a barrier worked as the only vessel we saw on our side was a small cabin cruiser who stopped for a chat. The river upstream of Paul will not be so accommodating. We learnt a lot about reading water both from Geoff & visualising what was on the chart and also learnt very much that plans have to be changed on the fly. What it has done most is make us want more, the whole exercise was great in both pleasure & experience and we are indebted to Simon for showing us the right path. Kilnsea or Bust!! We bust, but with very big smiles on our faces. Ron Walker |
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10th & 11th June 2006 Mum got me up very early on
Saturday morning to set off for HHP as we were camping the night all the
camping gear had to be packed (yes mum did get up early and left me in bed to
do that job). A quick breakfast and off we went. on arriving we went to look at the course and see where the gates where set up for the Div 2, as I was a Judge for that day this I chose to use this event as a training session for the Sunday when the Div 1 was on. Up to now I have only been down the office a few times so 1 practice run down and the 2 runs helped me get my confidence up for the next day, the day just got hotter and hotter and a few of the Div 2 paddlers thought swimming might make a nice change. At the end of the day we set up the tent for a nice relaxing evening?? For any body who has stopped at HHP they will know what the camp site can be like, Mum said the motorbike and riders stopped riding around the site at about 4.00 am. Sunday morning packed the tent away and went over to see how they had changed the course from the Div 2 it was definitely more interesting than the Saturday course with the temperature heading the same way. I had one run in free practice time and my official practice run and thing went well got down and upright only missing 3 gates, I was well impressed with myself (what do they say pride comes be for a fall)? all set for my first run down I would be the 3rd paddler down in Div 1 Ladies race, I told mum to stand near the office as this is where I needed the most encouragement so off she went to stand and wait for me to get to that point. Got throughout the first 2 gates ok, then things went slightly wrong the boat went vertical and then very slowly into a back flip ( which is not a good idea in a slalom boat) I tried to roll but no luck so popped the deck and swam to the side muttering "that did not happen in my practice runs", mum is in the mean time run back to check I am ok! Then stops and runs after the boat and paddle which by now is going down the office on their own this ended my first run in Div 1 with a Cap next to my name. A pet talk from friends brought my courage back up and I went for my second run about 2 hours later, this time I got all the way from top to bottom the correct way up and recording a time, I did miss a few gates but there is always next time, I had a great weekend but was very tired and watching the other paddlers from KKC. Hannah Burgess, Andy Davies and Dan Rawding made me realise I still have a long way to go, to be as good as they are. Danni Johnson 11th
June 2006 Dan Rawding and myself took a trip down to Nottingham today to compete in the Division 1 slalom being held there. A great weekend, Dan enjoyed his judging, developing a trucker's tan on one arm. Myself I had a great weekend, 2 solid runs put me in 3rd at the end of the day, a nice points haul. Congratulations to Danielle Johnson, competing at her first Division 1 slalom; not an easy race for your first one. Andy Davies |
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30th May 2006 Following the National Club Championships the Kingston Carnitors quickly got back to training, running a polo training session on the bank holiday evening. I went along for a bit of training and to help with the coaching. At the end of the session I pointed out that they would all benefit from coming down on a Tuesday to participate in the Slalom training session. The following night, down at the outdoor pool, I was amazed when along came Kevin, Andy and Duncan ready and willing to undergo some torture around the slalom gates. We did a nice friendly warm up, concentrating on forward paddling technique and rotating at the waist. I then introduced them to one of Scott Shipley's work outs, 5x5s, or in this case 4x4s as I'm not up to that much of a killer session myself. Basically we did 4 different courses 4 times each; the courses were about 30 seconds long. We did one practice so that everyone could get the course in their heads then the next 4 runs were at full pace, while also keeping good technique. At the beginning of the session the comments were that this was boring but as the session went on this all changed and so did the colour of their faces. Being pushed all the way through the courses with encouragement from those waiting their turns ensured that the groups heart rates were raised and their technique was challenged and on the final course a quick whisper to the course setter, Dan, "make this course a killer!" ensured if they weren't feeling sick before they were now. Hope you all had a good and productive training session Andy Davies |
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26th-28th May 2006 - Carnitors Shown the Meaning of a Hard Game Photos On the weekend of 26th May 2006 were the National Polo Championships at Doncaster and Dan, Dunks, Andy, James and me all thought we’d give it a shot. Turning up on the Friday, along strolled one of the Greenstar team, Heather; apparently she’d got no-one to play for and so, not fancying the prospect of having to play 6 games with no subs we gladly took her invitation to raise our skeleton team by a member and ensure we weren’t completely exhausted after a few games. Saturday morning was quite leisurely, sunny weather made our tents compare reasonably well with a nice warm bed and Dan’s cooking (5 or 6 tins mixed together in a pan) helped us to shake off the previous nights beers. Drinking the night before a game is not recommendable and didn’t help our play. So off we wandered, joined up with Heather and paddled off to face the Meridian Youth A team. For the first half of the game it looked like we stood a reasonable chance of getting a respectable result, dedicated play all round kept the play in the centre of the pitch but a few capitalised breaks led to a half time score of 2-1. I think, from my point of view at least this is where the spirit of fight left us, with us playing our hearts out and still losing we tried to break yet again and again our break only resulted in a matching break by meridian and the games ended 8-1. Unfortunately this seemed to spell the tone for the whole tournament with a constant reel of 50/50 balls mainly going the opposition’s way. After another great first but distressing second half game we lost to Pennine B but the next game against Bude turned out to be our saving grace for the weekend, it looked from the start as if our unlucky streak was continuing as yet again a flurry of accurate shots repeatedly caught the edge of a blade or the slight tip of the goal. Though with amazing effort from everyone in the team; Andy’s long shots worrying the defence, Dunk’s continuous goal saving and Heather’s on the mark defending clicking into our play perfectly, joined with Dan and James’ Duracell bunny attacking pulled us back from a 3-1 start of the second half into a well earned and cheering 3-3 draw with the help of a couple of chance goals from both me and Andy. The game over we looked up to the playing lists, the defining moment of the tournament came, “not west Lothian” we said to each other, anything but west Lothian who’s team was the only one to really crush us in div4 nationals, and you guessed it we were drawn up against west Lothian. Another game another hard fought defeat but we were learning and the day’s play was over. Sunday and two more games, thankfully Andy Davies agreed to play for a game to give us a bit of a backbone but even with his control over the game we were tired and not playing to our best and as the day drew to a close 1 draw 5 losses we still came an ok 28th place out of 36 teams. I was really pleased with effort everyone gave throughout the games and the upbeat attitudes kept by most. The lessons we learned both on and off the pitch were that for one, we really need to train. my idea of jus turning up doesn’t work too well! But more importantly that the game isn’t everything about a tournament. We had a great time, the social was excellent, chatting to all the teams even before and after the toughest games made the weekend so enjoyable and we even gained Heather as another player for Liverpool international in a few weeks. Looking forward to that opportunity to redeem ourselves and the even closer polo cancer challenge on Saturday, but as for now I think I’ll step up the training. Thanks to everyone who helped make it possible, hope you all enjoyed the tournament. Kev Norris |
We arrived at Llangollen quite late on the Friday night, but still managed to fit in a pint before closing time; it's always important before a race that you both hydrate and load up with carbohydrates. The next morning I inspected the course, focusing on the main drop; quite a simple move but if you did get it wrong at best it would mean getting wet and at worse.......well I don't want to think about that. Watching the Div 1s didn't fill me with much confidence and I wouldn't be having the luxury of a practice run.
