Hereford

while we're on the subject, Hereford results are now on the NKC website at http://uk.geocities.com/nottinghamkayakclub/resultstore/Hereford07.htm

Hereford

Hereford was last weekend however i thought it was better late than never (hahah it rhymes). Was a very enjoyable day as ever. Was quite a good race, did get a tad bored as i pretty much on my own the whole race but overall it was good and definatley worth it. Mick and Beth and Craig and Shob did really well, well in guys, winning pint glasses for coming second which i thought was pretty cool! The car trips were a right laugh, as usual, and the company was awesome, also as usual. Ready for another good day tomorrow guys!

Friday Round The Bridges

Not many turned up for the round the bridges session tonight, and I can see why! The turns were quite off-putting to begin with, although after a little help from Mick, I managed to master them slightly better than I had done at the start of the session, which meant I wasn't wasting as much time. Mick decided to help me on all but the first one, because he cancelled his lightning session due to the unusual conditions for June. After Hayleigh returned from her training downstream, she also went round with me, helping with my paddling technique so thanks to both of them! Very worthwhile session really, despite the wind, little bit of rain and fast-flowing river.

Clifton - Tuesday

The conditions were a bit extreme for June! The river was above the steps outside the club by several inches & was moving fast. It was a good night for K2s with 11 out & only 6 K1s. Steve & Alison managed a PB of 41:34 while mortals like us settled for survival.
Beth C's group stayed off the water in the circumstances.

More Hereford Pics!

Hereford

Well the whole day at Hereford was fab really! Good results for all the Nottingham paddlers, with Tony narrowly missing promotion back to division 7. Sarah finished not far behind him in the div 8 singles. Plus there were two seconds from the K2s. Beth did a good job of steering and I guess it was harder for Mick sitting in the back, so well done both of you. Thanks Craig, it was a good race- I'll just have to make sure I look at the course map properly next time!! Excellent company, with a range of conversations and music for the 2 3-hours drives, which helped meet Kath's request to ensure that Mick didn't become too sleepy whilst driving! I look forward to the next race.

Hereford 2007

So now I know what I've been missing all these years. Hereford is a lovely venue for a marathon, with interesting water & as Beth says, picturesque settings if you've got time to enjoy it.

Yet again, the junior contingent of the club were a sheer delight to be away with. Good company, great efforts all round; what else could you ask for.

Our Div 5/6 K2 race was a pleasure! Beth was a little reluctant to stroke the boat & pretended to be a bit nervous, That disappeared the instant Tony Spencer said, "Go!" We got a fairly clean start although we dropped a little with some paddle clashes in the first 100 metres. However, we were in the right place almost on the bank and after the leaders drifted slightly into the current, she was up there like a flash, calling for water, getting it & taking up the pace all in one breath. Having the inside, we kept the work to the top turn & after a try by the Leamington crew to drop us off the turn failed, Beth was eager to stay at the front. The Worcester crew took up the pace & worked hard to the bottom turn, gathering some stray Div 4 K1s on the way.

For reasons unknown to all but himself, the Leamington stroke steered himself & Matt Brown from Worcester inside the turn bouy, but remained pointing downstream. Quickly backing off & sprinting for the slacker water, we were soon following the Worcester crew up for the second lap.

What Beth doesn't mention in her post is that it was her first Hasler Race above Div 8, but the skill and accuracy with which she stroked our boat would have fooled most people. Thanks Beth for my most enjoyable Hasler race of this season & thanks to Sarah, Shobhanaa & Craig for making it a really enjoyable day.

Off to the start.

Is Craig chastising himself for only coming second?

Good place to start!

A bit crowded, but ...

... the gap opened & Beth made sure we got up there!

Big thanks to Sarah for the pictures of us!

Hereford

The venue was excellent, the event was well organise, the weather was warm & mostly dry, but most importantly the company was the best!

Shob & Craig got a cracking start - moved quickly into 2nd place & caught the leaders. At the sprint for the finish, they thought they had further to go, otherwise, you never know ...

Tony & Sarah also got a reasonable start & finished well.

Mick & Beth got a slightly slower start, but were up in the leading group before they were out of sight. Beth stroked confidently, sharing the work with Mick Moran/ Andy Holmes from Worcester.

When the clashes came at the bottom turn, the Worcester crew were quickly away, but Beth & Mick soon backed out of trouble & followed them. That's how it stayed to the end.

Hereford

Shob, Sarah, Craig, Mick and I set off early this morning to make the long journey to Hereford. None of us had raced there before, but we got there fairly easily. First off were Shob and Craig in K2, they did well and finished a close second to a Hereford crew. Sarah did a good race in K1 also; so well done everyone!
Mick and I did the 5/6 race. I was nervous about steering it but it all worked out ok! We avoided clag ups (as well as arguments between other paddlers!) and finished second.
The long journey was definitely worth it, the river was pretty if you got a chance to look at it while racing! Kaths biscuits deserve a mention as they tasted nicer than ever. Thanks for a fun day guys, Beth x

Round the Bridges - World Record

The weather was not perfect, nor was the river but at least it was down. Juniors outnumbered seniors with the whole range from 8 to 16. There was a great crop of PBs with the most outstanding being Hayleigh's new World Record for Women's K1 which has stood since Tina set it in 1993. A great time - 5:29, sadly I hadn't got my camera because she looked as awsome as her time suggests! (I don't use that word lightly either!)
Congratulations also go to Tadek, Zyggy, Minnie, & Joe. Tadek's is possibly a World Record Lightning Time at 8:11. The record books don't show what boats people use.
First time sub 6 minutes for me this year I think - my all time PB is in sight - less than 10 seconds to go.

June 2007 K4 10km

Click here for the results.

10K K4

First 10K K4 this year for me as I wasn't able to do the last one, and it was an enjoyable race. Our crew, including both Mick and Kath, with Paul in the front, held on just behind Ian's team until the 3rd top turn and they then managed to start catching the leading boats. We ended up 5th. Well done Hayleigh's crew! And second time in the winning boat for you Cathy!

Burton or not?

Not! Sadly the race on one of the most enjoyable courses in the Midlands was cancelled due to flooding! The message that the Hasler race was cancelled & a 10Km race would be run in its place was on their website and Kath, Beth & I were half way to there before the phone message, that it too was cancelled, stopped us in our tracks. We made our way reluctantly back to NKC & like most of the others who had planned to race at Burton, braved the conditions on our end of the Trent.
Most people headed upstream towards "the Pipe" which gave a similar sort of distance. Rumour has it that Matt F swam! Someone must have tipped him in, because the conditions were easier than some of the Friday night Mix & Match K2 sessions during the winter. With some hazy sun & a very rapid downstream leg, ours was a pleasant paddle. Beth had little difficulty & the paddle was lazy & relaxing.
Pity about the race though - we were all hoping to see the new Burton Clubhouse as well as enjoy the racing. Next year then ...
There is, however, a K1 10km race there on the evening of Friday 29th of June for those that can make it - sadly I don't think I can, unless all the Lightning paddlers want to go!
Details downloadable from the Burton website.

Friday

A few people braved the conditions. After the violent thunder storm, it was only the real enthusiasts turned out for Round the Bridges. Beth, Shob, Rex, Alison, Norman & Tom started off, while Tadek & Zyggy paddled to the Toll Bridge before returning to join in. The river was full of debris & flowing fast. The new "cruising hotel" that has joined the Nottingham Princess, throws up a large wash & that just added to the general hazards. Beth seemed to enjoy it all, except for the weed that kept building up. Norman decided that discretion was the better part of valour & used a Trimmer, while Alison resorted to swimming at the downstream turn. However, she was the only one who managed a PB at 7:18. In view of the conditions, it won't be long before she is sub 7 minutes.

Tuesday - Clifton

Not a memorable Clifton apart from Kat & Gilly taking nearly 3 minutes off their PB which was quite outstanding. It was a reasonable turnout with a few doing Beth's junior session too.

Leamington

The weather was warm & sunny, but unlike last year there was little water in the Leam which left the weir portage as the best option for the higher divisions. Despite the big split in start times, NKC turned out a reasonable cross section, even though GCSE exams & D of E activities had cut the junior members to just the Lightnings. Tadek, Ziggy & Ozzie all produced excellent performances again.
Chris Carter had the best senior result in Div 4 K1, but don't believe the results on the Leamington website at the moment, he wasn't really 10 minutes ahead of second place.
Kath & Tony produced the best K2 result with a 2nd place in Div 7/8 doubles.
Richard Meyer might have been 4th out of the 1st portage, but had made it to 2nd by the end, by a process of elimination.

Steve Bagshaw was another who made up ground after the first portage, finishing 3rd in Div 3.


Kath & Tony established their 2nd place early on & held it to the finish.

Friday evening.

It was an evening for lolling around in an open canoe with a bottle of chilled wine & a few strawberries or something! George's course members seemed to find the cool Trent water inviting and swam instead of paddled around.
Surprisingly there was not a flood of casual paddlers, but there were still a few over energetic paddlers who did Round the Bridges with Norman, in the absence of Dave E, who is currently in Denmark with the National Marathon Team.
The river bank was ringing to the strident tones of Nigel as he tried to squeeze a millisecond or two faster time out of Michael, so The Lightning & Junior group paddled out of earshot to Wilford Church & back, before a few of them were infected with an excess of energy and had a go at Round the Bridges themselves.
The most notable performance was from Megan who took 3 minutes off her Personal Best without any shouting from Nigel. Tadek also gets a mention for a PB, which he managed in near silence!

Please help Jon Stannard

Dear all,
It is not often I forward circular mail to anyone, but this concerns one of us - a paddler.
If you participate in Marathon racing in the Midlands you will know the person concerned & his family. He paddles in the lower divisions at most Midlands races.

Jon Stannard has been to our club on several occasions. His son Jamie, is a promising young paddler who's done Round the Bridges alongside us on Friday evenings. (He's the red headed lad from Leamington who paddles K2 with Ryan.)

It only takes a few moments to help Jon.

Read Julie's e-mail, scroll down to Jon's & if you believe this action may help & want to help by signing the petition, click on the link. This takes you to the petition. You just sign up by providing your details & then confirm it by clicking on a link you will recieve by e-mail.
If you are a marathon paddler & scan down the list of those already on the petition, you will recognise several other names from our paddling community.

Julie wrote:
Dear all,
Please read the below email about Jon Stannard.
Jon is a close friend of mine, a fellow canoeist, battling cancer. They have now refused to fund further treatment. Please take a few minutes to support him and sign the petition and pass to anyone else who will help fight this.
Many thanks
Rgds
Julie
From: Jon STANNARD
Hi everyone,
Although I am responding well to treatment my current regime finishes in July. The maintenance therapy I need funding for, has been refused by the PCT (Primary Care Trust). Sue has set up, on an appointed government website, a petition to get this reviewed. If enough signatures are provided then parliament have to sit up & listen. Please take a few minutes to go onto this website
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/rituximab/
And submit your name and I could be around to annoy you for another couple of years.
Thank you Jon and Sue Stannard

Tuesday - Clifton Race

The weather was not the best, with a stiff upstream wind. There were no memorable incidents. PBs of note were from Tim & Jody, Martin & Minnie in K2s & Giles in White Water Racer. It is worth mentioning that the 2 K2s were Dads & Daughters crews. Could this be a new emerging class? Despite a slightly dismal evening 30 paddlers still turned out and did the race.

June Regatta 2007 - Sunday

If anything the weather was even better today. Mixed results, but some good racing. The senior races seemed rather confusing if you bothered to study the programme, as all the crews had been jumbled up. Oh yes, of course, pre-Olympic year & the coaches are raising the axe, stirring the stick, playing the game & trying to get some qualifying times at whatever cost to the individuals. Sound a little cynical? Well nothing's changed, it happens every Olympic cycle. In fact if it didn't happen we would get worried that the coaches didn't care!

At a club level, Kat & Gilly got a few National Championships medals. Tadek came 3rd in the under 12s 500 & Zyggy came first, adding another "tiddly wink" each to their score already in their first ever regatta. The future looks bright!

Considering that it was the senior National Championships, the whole day seemed a little slow. Perhaps it was the hot weather, perhaps it was the absence of the junior Girls D paddlers!

June Regatta 2007 - Saturday

Our best results were marred by carelessness by our veterans, both in individual K1 events & the K2 5km race. Having either won or gained minor placings the two underweight boats also gained us 3 more penalty points. For the paddlers themselves, the disqualifications were just pointless as they should really know better. For the rest of us, the penalty points count against the club score at the Inter-clubs Regatta in September. I can almost forgive the juniors for the ones they gained at an earlier regatta, but Veteran club members with years of experience should really know better.
The lack of the junior girls racing removed some of the more light hearted element of the regatta, but in their absence, Tadek & Zyggy made up for it with a 3rd & a 2nd in their respective 1Km Lightning races.
The 5Km with Marish felt quite hard, especially after my almost decent result in the Masters B K1 100m. I missed the "edge" of having Howard to race against due to his promotion back to Masters A!

Friday Night.

It was a warm & sunny evening & there was something for everyone. Round the Bridges had several takers, the junior group paddled downstream & Norman had a few takers for casual paddling.
When the juniors returned from their paddle several of them were keen to join in with Round the Bridges & that produced no fewer than 8 Personal Bests.
Honours go to Shobhanaa who broke 7 minutes for the first time, Sarah, Agnes, Edith & Laura for the older juniors. Not to be left out, 3 of the Lightning paddlers also produced PBs, so well done to Tadek, Zyggy & Joe.