Golden 10 - K2 10km race

Kath took a few photos as we all raced round.

Results on the club website.

April K4 10km

Starts

Turns

Finishes

May K4

Despite sudden downpours, there was a good turnout for the May K4 in the Ken Phillips series, with Paddlers from Nottingham, Lincoln, Loughborough, Burton, Wey & Leicester. The K3 stroked by Matt F sadly suffered equipment failure, otherwise, they looked in danger of being in the medals.

Here's the short version of the video - longer one available on request.

Meanwhile, more photos in the Picassa album. http://picasaweb.google.com/nottmkc/K410KmRaces?feat=directlink

Results on NKC website. http://uk.geocities.com/nottinghamkayakclub/resultstore/K4May09.htm

July K4 10km

It was a mostly calm, warm and sunny evening for the July K4 10km. There were 7 crews with paddlers from Nottingham, Lincoln, Chelmsford, Leicester & Chester paddling. There were varying standards of steering the turns, wash hanging and timing in the entirely mixed crews. Only one boat had a time handicap, with a crew ranking total of 18 (I think) against crew rankings totalling 22, 23 & 24. In theory, they should have caught the "pack" and very nearly did catch the 6th placed crew, however their turns probably added about 200 metres to their course each time and with 7 turns during the 4 laps, obviously paddled about 1500 metres more than the rest.



The two leading crews reaching the finish line.







The evening was also an opportunity for the under 12s (some under 6!) to develop their skills in the Rocket mini K4s further down the course.

Go to the Gallery for more photos http://nkcgallery2.blogspot.com/
Results here when available
Photos - Mick

K2 10Km Race - Saturday 13th October 2007

The annual K2 10Km race took place on a slightly dreary Saturday afternoon although on the water the conditions were near perfect. It was good to see entries from both Soar Valley and Lincoln to swell our numbers. The 9 boats in the A race started so fast that the cameraman failed to get any pictures of them although we have the B/C start and the Lightnings.
Neil Blackman and Jon Folland of Soar won the A race, Norman Mason and Craig Duff won the B race, while Des Storey & Tony Malcolm took the 5 Km C race by default. Ziggy & Tadek Chmiel topped off their great season with another win, this time in the same boat! Full results at http://uk.geocities.com/nottinghamkayakclub/resultstore/K2_10_07.htm

Wednesday July K4 10km Race

Considering the recent weather & height of the river, paddling on Holme Pierrepont was a pleasant relief & 9 K4s turned out to race. The inclusion of the Fast Track Women's members added a different dimension, however it was not entirely popular.
It was a bit of a lottery as to which one of the women were in which boat & how skilled or fit they were, which led to a real inbalance in the crews & for some a very disappointing & uncomfortable race. For most it was just a "paddle round" with little satisfaction. The only real race at any point was for 2nd, 3rd & 4th places in the last 250 metres.
The inclusion of "whole" crews with clearly inaccurate handicaps also caused some consternation & there were mumblings about the value of continueing the races with such bias introduced into a situation, that in previous years had given a better balance of crews & fairer competition to all concerned.
This concern was expressed from the level of junior up to top senior & may herald the end of the enthusiasm for these popular monthly events. Several paddlers declared that it would be their last K4 10km race due to the unfairness of the crews/handicaps. The varying, but cumulative discontent stems from a variety of gripes that can be summarised as:

• Apparently the old criteria of being able to do under 60 minutes to Clifton Bridge in a K1 as the minimum eligability (or a recent & reliable marathon ranking) has been thrown by the wayside & the races are now open to all.
• The inclusion of inexperienced paddlers makes the boats seriously uncomfortable to paddle 10km in.
• Crews made up from paddlers that are not included in the "mix & match" are usually hard to handicap & are either at a huge advantage or a huge disadvantage & really only end up with a time trial.
• The benefit & pleasure of being able to paddle in a crew that is balanced against the others is being lost.
• The benefit & pleasure of being able to paddle in a crew including paddlers much better than yourself is being lost.
• Most people that do the races are there for an event, not to train to paddle in a K4 & feel that the two should be separated.
• Anything that biases the crew composition unduly reduces the competitive & social elements of the events.

Comments based on other, but less general feelings have also been muttered, but perhaps these can be overlooked. It would be a great shame if these events faded away through a loss of enthusiasm. The benefits, including introducing many to the delights of K4 racing & given the average club member, who would get little chance to race in a competitive crew, with more experienced paddlers, would be lost with them. Perhaps the last in the 2007 series on August 29th will see how many were just feeling a bit sore & how many feel that it is no longer for them.

The results of the July event can be found at http://uk.geocities.com/nottinghamkayakclub/resultstore/K4July07.htm

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!

Nottingham K4 10km - May 2007

Conditions were good for the first of this year's K4 10km races. Mixed crews with paddlers from Nottingham, Leicester, Lincoln & Soar Valley, fought it out. The early breakaway group of 3 boats were the eventual medal placings, with a 2nd group changing places throughout the race for the 4th, 5th & 6th places. Neil's crew, although fastest, had a handicap start that made it very hard for them to reach the action. They managed to catch Steve's crew before the finish.

Actually, most of the "action" took place in the 2nd group where a variation in steering tactics by the 3 strokes brought Dave Belbin's, Matt Enoch's & Harriett Farish's crews into actual physical contact on most of the turns. Nobody got heated about it, nobody changed crews, although they could have & nobody sustained serious injury.

For the actual facts & figures, click here.

The winning crew of Matt Foulger, Cathy Howell, Michael Simms & Des Storey