Firstly many thanks to all who made todays (13^th Nov 2011) event run so well - in preparation and execution.

The results are:

Open Division 1

	Played	Win	Draw	Lose	For	Against	Difference	Points
FOA A	5	5	0	0	43	4	39	15
Hallam	5	4	0	1	26	14	12	12
Wildcatz A	5	3	0	2	18	9	9	9
Bangor A	5	1	1	3	13	26	-13	4
Manchester A	5	1	0	4	6	29	-23	3
Trolls	5	0	1	4	5	29	-24	1

Open Division 2

	Played	Win	Draw	Lose	For	Against	Difference	Points
FOA B	5	5	0	0	27	3	24	15
Loughborough	5	4	0	1	26	9	17	12
Wildcatz B	5	2	1	2	11	14	-3	7
Liverpool A	5	2	1	2	9	15	-6	7
Bangor B	5	0	1	4	4	14	-10	1
Lancaster	5	0	1	4	4	26	-22	1

Mixed Division

	Played	Win	Draw	Lose	For	Against	Difference	Points
FOA C	5	5	0	0	28	4	24	15
Hallam	5	4	0	1	20	6	14	12
Manchester B	5	3	0	2	10	11	-1	9
FOA D	5	2	0	3	14	17	-3	6
Liverpool B	5	1	0	4	3	22	-19	3
Bangor L	5	0	0	5	5	20	-15	0

Full results of each game are on the polo blog page.

Guy Fawkes planned to assassinate King James 1 (6 of Scotland) and place a Catholic monarch on the throne of England (and maybe Scotland too).  I'm fairly certain that he would not have had in mind giving members of Friends of Allonby Liverpool Canoe Club an excuse for a night-time canoeing expedition to view fireworks.  Nevertheless it did come to the mind of Gary McFarlane.

So come Saturday 5^th November in the early evening no less than 14 club members with Gary in the lead took to the waters at Crosby Marina.  Paddling a short while took us out to the middle of the lake to moor at the pontoon there.  Looking back to the Crosby shore we could see fireworks aplenty.  From North to South there were rockets large and small, reds, greens, yellow whites and occasional blues.

On the shoreline occasional fountains of sparks erupted in the dark.  Some of the pops and bangs were almost as impressive as the lights in the sky.  The biggest of the bangs set off a car alarm which we could clearly hear across the water.  We could also see a large bonfire near a house to the North of the lake. Setting off after a while we landed again at the dunes and made our way to the promenade at the top to view the fireworks displays on the Wirral.

 

Our party was joined by a black dog which appeared from seemingly nowhere - as did its owner after a while.  Its really dark on the prom tiddly om pom pomp but there were a few out for a walk along it.  Michael (McKnight) brewed up hot chocolate for all which was nice.  Paddling back with the light breeze was a breeze.  Soon after our return Michelle was busy heating soup that Gary had made.  Now Gary's soup is not just soup it's souper soup - or is that super soup (all to be said in the voice of Frozone from the Incredibles).  With a bit of chat and soup it was a very satisfactory end for an evening canoeing in the dark.  Infinitely better than Guy Fawkes own evening turned out to be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks to all to made for such a pleasurable evening and particularly to Gary, Michelle and Michael.

Slalom is a sort of canoeing, or more often kayaking, that anyone of basic ability can try.  You don't have to be super good at it to enjoy it.  You can be young or old. Junior 8 and Masters 55+ compete on equal terms - and for the old 'uns the young 'uns seem all too good.  At entry level you can use any reasonable craft and if you want a slalom type K1 or C1 the club has a few that you can use.  You can find out lots more info. about slalom at http://www.canoeslalom.co.uk/info/FAQs.htm.

Well Claire had been pestering me for a while to try slalom so we got some entry cards and booked into Marple (a short way beyond Stockport, where Brookbank Canoes is) 4th and 5th September - a double event - that's two separate competitions, one each day.  The first day Rosalind didn't want to paddle but Claire and I tried.  The River Goyt at Marple is mostly flat but there are currents to break into and out of and of course those gate, green and white, and red and white poles to negotiate.  The course designer had done well to position the gates to provide a challenge to all the paddlers.  On the Saturday my clear, but quite fast enough, run was sufficient to get me promoted to Division 3.  Claire managed second in the K1W (1 person kayak women to translate the jargon).  On the Sunday, a couple of gates had moved to make it trickier in the middle of the course.  This did not stop Rosalind from putting a run faster than a few of the Division 3 K1 men!  She came first in the Division 4 K1W and got promoted.  Marple is an excellent beginners location and it was warm and the sun shone (it can happen in Manchester) and the food was good too. 

Having whetted the appetite for slalom and the girls wanting to try camping as well at our next event at Oughtibridge (Oooty bridge) near Sheffield on the 17th and 18th of September.  Sheffield Canoe Club have rearranged lots of boulders to channel the flow interestingly and make a few small drops - of about 300mm - just enough to be testing of Division 4 paddlers.  This time Claire came first in the K1W on Saturday which as it turned out was enough to get her promoted.  Not that anyone told us at the time. Apparently 1 in 5 get promoted but there weren't 5 K1W so I thought she'd stay in Division 4.  It all got sorted out later when a promotion certificate appeared through the Royal Mail a week later.  Oughtibridge course was a bit more challenging than Marple but still excellent experience for beginners.  On the Sunday we had the pleasure of Billy and Caitlin Nixon's company and I managed to take few photos of their first slalom.  All five of us got good experience and can be happy with the way we improved on the Sunday.  If you're going to Oughtibridge next year, and I can recommend it, finding the right little lane to turn down to get to it was a little tricky so ask me for some details to help.






West Tanfield - a long way from Liverpool - most of the way to Teeside - was our next slalom.  This site is on the River Ure and is the best slalom site I've been to.  Its next to a proper camping and caravan site with hot showers and decent food from the West Yorkshire Canoe Club run marquee.  The river is really good too.  It's faster moving than Marple and Oughtibridge, but none of the novice (Division 4) kayaks capsized so still easy enough.  On my first practice I was shocked to find myself almost missing an upstream gate by going backwards through the next downstream gate.  The free practice time allowed at Division 3/4 slaloms is great to iron out these problems. Rosalind took advantage of this an got 1st on Saturday and 3rd on Sunday and ended up promoted again.  If you are going to West Tanfield next year, don't get caught out by the road works on the A1 which have permanently closed the turning onto the B6267 which Google maps showed us as the route. 





Our final slalom for this year on 16th October was at the home of the illustrious (in slalom) Stafford and Stone Canoe Club site at Stone just a little way beyond Trentham Gardens which has polo competitions from time to time.  Here the water is flat but has subtle currents and well placed gates to make one work hard to get a clear and fast run.  It was amazing to see the judges runs and how fast and with so few strokes of the paddle the gates would be passed.  Stafford and Stone's clubhouse was officially opened the evening before the slalom by Richard Fox (5 times world champion) and Liz Sharman (2 times world champion) but we missed that which was a shame.  The clubhouse is immense with huge boat store, multiple changing rooms, showers, kitchen and other rooms for control (where the slalom entries and results are sorted out). 

Ian R Morris, 29/10/2011

Development:       Working Towards Coach Development  and 3 Star Ability onwards.

Dependant on the interest and support this session will run thoughout the winter. As a result of available places the session has now been opened up to accomodate those who wish to pursue their boats skills further to 3 Star/Slalom/Sprint and beyond. It is appreciated that the potential range of tuition on offer is extensive but the sessions will become more defined as the attendance levels and individual interests are ascertained.

Thank You