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Background
Tonbridge Canoe Club was formed in 1977 to promote the various disciplines of canoeing from its base on the River Medway opposite Tonbridge Castle .
The Club meets every Saturday morning throughout the year, and on various weekday evenings between March and October for general Club sessions. The minimum age for membership is normally 12.
The club is run entirely by volunteers from amongst its membership, and is funded solely by its member's subscriptions. The day to day affairs of the Club are overseen by a Committee of members, who meet regularly. We are affiliated to the British Canoe Union. Club members are kept up to date with forthcoming club activities by means of a regular newsletter.
There are many different aspects to the sport of canoeing, e.g. touring, slalom, white water, sea kayaking, racing, canoe polo and canoe sailing, some of which require water facilities that are not available on the River Medway. With this in mind the club has members actively participating in racing (sprint and marathon), touring, open canoeing (canoes rather than kayaks), and recreational paddling (plastic and general purpose).
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Racing
Marathon racing takes place at weekends throughout the year. Club members travel all over the UK to attend various events. Marathon racing operates on a divisional system so that everyone races against people of a similar ability. A newcomer to racing would start in Division 9 and race over a course of about 4 miles (which should take about 35 minutes). They would then progress through the divisions as they improve, maybe eventually reaching the highest divisions which race over a 12 mile course.
Sprint racing takes place during the summer months, with the main events being five national regattas at the National Water Sports Centre at Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham. The races are over distances of 200, 500 and 1000 metres, and are also run in ability classes to ensure close races.
The club also compete in the annual Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race which is 125 miles of non stop paddling down the Kennet and Avon Canal to Reading and then through the night down the river Thames. This Easter event is the longest non stop endurance race in the world. Tonbridge Canoe Club won the team trophy for this event in 2007 taking each crew around 20 hours to complete the course. Training for this event requires a very high level of commitment over the winter months, and as part of this we also compete in the Waterside and Thameside Series races in January and February each year, winning the Waterside club team trophy in 2006.
Training for racing takes place daily throughout the year, and on weekday evenings from March to October. Some club members have achieved a very high standard and represented Great Britain at World Championship and Olympic events. Ian Wynne, who won a bronze medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004, started his canoeing at the club. Another member Yael Ford, has been selected to attend World Championships in three different canoeing disciplines; White water racing, marathon and dragon boat racing, and she is part of the GB ladies dragon boat team who are current world champions.
To reach this level obviously requires great dedication and twice daily training, but don't panic if that sounds a bit too much for you, as paddling once a week is quite sufficient to start you off in the lower divisions, and we can give you all the coaching and advice you need to help you improve.
The racing team members also use the clubhouse facilities for weights and indoor training during the winter months.
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Touring
The touring group travel all over the country paddling on various rivers in a variety of boats including open canadians. These trips can range from a day trip to a local river in Kent, to a week long canoeing and walking holiday in Scotland. Rivers visited during 2007 include Cuckmere, Ouse, Mole, Rother, Wye, Avon, Lem, several canals including the Royal Military canal, various parts of the Thames & Medway, and the occasional trip on the sea.
Some tours are more strenuous than others, but most are fairly relaxed, and the tour organisers will always be able to give you more details if you are unsure about water conditions.
Touring in a canoe or kayak is a great way to see the waterways of Great Britain as you can travel along peacefully and enjoy the countryside, wildlife and the company of the rest of the group.
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Recreational paddling
‘Recreational paddling’ is the term used to describe the activities of the group who mainly use plastic general purpose type boats for their activities, which are less formal and might involve exploring the tributaries of the river or playing some canoe games. This group meets most Saturday mornings at the clubhouse, and also for various other activities during the year at the club and other locations.
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Other Canoeing Disciplines
The club does sometimes have members who also participate in slalom, white water racing, dragon boating, and rodeo paddling (also sometimes called playboating). However, as previously mentioned, because of the water facilities on offer on the Medway in Tonbridge, the Club does not organise specific events and training for these activities.
Describing the club in ‘sections’ may give the impression that you have to choose which type of activity group you want join in. However, this is merely to assist in describing our activities, and there is no reason why you can’t join in one group one week and a different one the next. Indeed the Club encourages you to do this so that you can broaden your experience and explore all the different aspects of the sport.
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So What Happens When You Join?
Beginner's Training
If you are new to the sport of canoeing, or have limited experience, you will be required to attend an instructed beginner's course when joining the club. This course will ensure that you are able to perform the basic canoeing strokes, capsize and rescue skills, and be responsible for your own safety on the water. It will consist of four sessions on consecutive Saturday mornings, plus a pool session in the Tonbridge Swimming Pool on the last Saturday evening of the month. At the last Saturday morning session, you will take the British Canoe Union 1 Star test to show you have achieved the required standard to participate in wider Club activities.
The British Canoe Union 1 Star syllabus includes teaching you to paddle both forward and backwards in a straight line, stop, move sideways, turn whilst moving and stationary, and getting in and out of your boat. You will also learn to paddle a figure of eight course in a boat with a rudder to demonstrate basic steering, and carry out a capsize drill in the river. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like a more detailed description of any aspect of this.
All of this assessment is carried out in boats specific to 'flat' water. The evening pool session involves the use of 'closed cockpit' boats where you will be taught how to capsize safely with and without a spraydeck. Both the BCU 1 star assessment and pool session are mandatory requirements of membership.
Beginner's courses run on a monthly basis during the year from April to September. There are no beginner's training sessions during the winter months when water and weather conditions are not suitable for instructing, although normal club activities continue as usual.
It is most important that you attend these sessions and take them seriously. Flat water canoeing is not a dangerous sport, but as with all water sports there is an inherent risk, and the skills that you learn and practice on the course are necessary to ensure your personal safety on the water.
Once you have successfully completed your beginner's course and 1 Star test, you will be ready to take part in general club activities with other club members. Initially there will be a series of sessions designed to introduce you to the club activities and broaden your horizons beyond what you have already learned. You will be accompanied on these sessions by experienced club members who will not necessarily be qualified instructors, but will be able to give you further advice and encouragement.
After these sessions it is up to you to decide how you want to continue. It is quite possible to focus just on one aspect of canoeing, or do a mixture of many of them, but the club will always try to encourage you to progress beyond your basic training, as there is so much more to the sport of canoeing than just learning to paddle a canoe. For safety reasons members must never paddle on their own, so you will need to join in with one or other of the club activities to progress further.
The club will make every effort to arrange your beginner's course at a time convenient to you, and of course we know that some people require more instruction and practice than others. If for some reason you are unable to attend your course dates, we will try to accommodate you on a subsequent course when there are spaces available. However, it is your own responsibility to ensure that you attend all of the sessions and achieve the required standard on completion. Once the first two weeks of your first allocated beginners course is past, your membership subscriptions are non-refundable.
New members with significant canoeing experience will be asked to prove your qualifications, on paper and/or on the water to the Committee's satisfaction. This will normally take the form of an assessment on the water by one of our instructors, at which we will make sure your skills are of at least BCU 1 star standard. For safety reasons, if you are unable to do this, you will need to attend a beginner's course and pass the BCU 1 star test.
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