Once upon a time & the death of canoe marathon ...

Once upon a time, when the world was very young and life was still fun, there was a canoe marathon race course at Worcester.

I did something called National Championships there and it was fun. There were things called portages, that meant climbing and slipping up muddy banks, carrying boat and paddles. There were things called weir shoots at 3 different places and they were exciting.

And in those days many people raced and many came to watch the fun & excitement. The enjoyment was so great, that I wanted to do more and to learn how to climb banks without slipping and shoot weirs without swimming and paddle up fast narrow streams without being washed back. And so, in the fullness of time, I learned all these arts and it was even more fun. And watching was also fun.

As more time passed, canoeists forgot these skills and the ones called boat repair and they wanted easier things, with less challange, because it was told that canoeists from over the seas were not as good at the skills, so to make it fairer for them, we should make canoe marathon less demanding and less fun.

But the course at Worcester was still one of the best, with portaging around natural hazards, and so canoe marathon survived, slightly diluted but with some fun retained.

And yet more time passed and still it was too hard for some people, so more things were removed – concrete paths and cones and red & white tape replaced mud & fences and tree roots. They provided a portage around … provided a portage around … around … er … er … cones & tape.

And the course at Worcester survived, now quite insipid, a homogenised shadow of the course that first attracted me to the fun and excitement. It still had interest, beautiful, scenery, buildings and bridges, but I had no need of the skills I had learned.

And soon the thing called media and the spectre from over the seas, demanded that the fun stop, that canoe marathon was serious, not fun, that spectators wanted to sit at home, not traipse to things called weirs or portages. And so “laps” were born. And the course at Worcester was doomed.

Why go to Worcester? Wasn’t there a lake at Dorney and at Holme Pierrepont and “laps” could take place just as well on those. Media could get there easier, closer and the skills of canoe marathon were no longer needed, so why was the course?

RIP Worcester Marathon.

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Once upon a time there was something called 10000 metre racing in canoes and kayaks and it took place on lakes at places like Holme Pierrpont and it was fun. It had skills, different from marathon and it took place at regattas. It worked in” laps” and spectators could watch it and enjoy it. And soon the thing called media and the spectre from over the seas demanded that the fun stop, that regattas were serious, not fun, and besides it was too difficult to organise, or to take part … or something … and it faded away.
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In the hands of the great powers that be, and the media and the spectre from over the sea, two branches of the sport have dissolved, faded and vanished. The sport is not for paddlers, but the media and the spectre from over the seas.

Once I watched an indoor “cross country” running race. Once … and I slept through much of that. The media was there and spectators, but it was really just another indoor track run with a misleading name. No mud, no rain, no streams, no country to cross, no fun. And I’ve never seen it advertised again! Maybe it was not the wildest of successes.

Given the London or Boston Marathons to play with, the same great powers that twist and torture our sports, would have them run in stadia. Given the Tour de France and it would be ridden in velodromes, at different venues around France and spectators would not need to climb mountains, or travel great distances or stand out in the rain ….

And what of the legend of Pheidippides and his heroic 24.85 mile run bearing news? The term marathon, honours a legend of heroism, cross country, from place to place, not laps. Perhaps the new sport that is proposed should be known as Canoe/Kayak 40,000 metre racing or Canoe/Kayak Laps. The term marathon misleads and has a hollow ring.

And fun, and excitement, and challenge and skills could all be dispensed with, or at least groomed, and trained, and homogenised and diluted until …

Wii Paddling anyone?

Anker Valley

The weather has been better at Anker Valley in the past, but there was still a good entry from Nottingham juniors and veterans, despite a reminder that summer has not quite arrived. Tadek, Zyggy and Ozzie managed 1 st, 2nd & 3rd in their Lightning races to start the day.

In the second set of races, Heather, Craig & Shobhanaa did the Div 7 K1

While Ricky did Div 9 K1 & Beth did Div 8 K1. Congratulations go to Craig on promotion to Div 6 where he will have the delights of an 8 mile race and portages in the future. He may even get to race Geordie, who did the Div 7 K2 race with Kath this time.

Leanna did her first ever Hasler race with Sarah in Div 8 K2.
In the longer events, Marysh and Alison raced Div 4/5/6 K2 and Mick did Div 5.

Despite the cold wind, Anker Valley once again proved to be a warm and generous host club and the Lightnings in particular had good results and were delighted with their tee-shirts.

Photos thanks to Mick, Rosie & Sarah.

Full Results: http://www.marathon-canoeing.org.uk/results/Anker2008.htm

Juniors in print

Funny how the media think that Paddling and rowing are the same thing. The Shape Up Nottingham fitness campaign comes to watersports, or perhaps it is the other way round. So far the weather has not encouraged anyone to try paddling on a Sunday or Friday. Perhaps when the weather picks up a few more people will give it a go.

Good quotes from Richard and Harriet ... not sure about the other one!!

Gailey 2008

The weather at Gailey was some of the best recently, with much of the canal protected by bank and trees. The bit before the Div 7,8,9 turn at the marina was the only really breezy bit on the way back from the 4,5,6 turn. I know many seniors are not that keen on canal races, but there are times when there are distinct advantages, despite shallow water and narrow bridges. The Trent was like the North Sea when we left and worse when we got back to the club.
A limited number of NKC paddlers turned out, which was a pity really, as there were good numbers in the lower divisions and as always we were made to feel welcome. Those of us who went, all enjoyed the day and Gailey were generous with prizes, encouraging us to return. Yet again, the race for me, was against Mark from the local club and it turned out to be a pleasant paddle with a 1000 metre sprint, won by him.


















Full Results: http://www.marathon-canoeing.org.uk/results/Gailey2008.htm

April Regatta

The weather reminded us that winter was not yet over, with hail, sleet, rain, snow and wind - in fact a typical April regatta. I wonder why people think sprinting is a summer activity in this country? Flat water racing - what's that? HPP was modified to be a wind tunnel at the rowers request soon after it was built wasn't it?

A few hardy NKC members turned out. Tim & Lucy did what we hoped they would in the men's & women's A races and we wish them continued success throughout the season.

If that's what Tim can produce with a bad cold, then imagine the result when he's well. Most people seem to be awe inspired at the drop of a hat these days, perhaps due to a real lack of magnificence in their lives, so I rarely use the term "awesome" due to its dilution in the common usage of English. However, I would actually consider Tim's performances to be awe inspiring, especially when the conditions during the regatta were cold, windy and sometimes miserable.

Hayleigh's K2 went particularly well too, with her racing up in Womens A for that, so we hope that she too continues her success during the rest of the season.

Sadly there was a shortage of juniors, although particular congratulations go to Craig and Ricky doing Boys D in their first regatta. They managed to make 1st finals in their events.

Congratulations go to Sandra for her performances and subsequent promotion to Girls A. Lets hope that her even greater successes in Wild Water allow a few more opportunities to sprint.

In his first season as a senior, Michael produced some good Mens C K1s and followed them up with a great Mens C K2 result paddling with Fern! Mike appears at the next regatta in Mens B.

It was good to see Ian Livsey back sprinting again, now Masters A and Tim Webb returned to racing. With Rex, Pete & myself, we now have a regular group of Masters paddlers in addition to the vast range of club veterans we could call on.

Full results can be downloaded from http://www.weykayak.co.uk/Sprint_Frame.html

DW, Good Times, as always!

sorry im so late getting this in..better late than never though i guess, and i still beat beth!
Early morning once again, wasnt too bad though, bright and breezy as usual. This DW experience was definatley a different one to last time, however still very enjoyable. Great company and some great paddlers to watch! Well done to all you guys!
Thanks Mick for taking us once again, look forward to hopefully going next year.
My only complaint.......we had to go home too early! hey ho.
x

Lincoln 2008

Perhaps because Lincoln is in a northern corner of the Midlands region, there seems to be a myth that the weather for the Lincon marathon is cold, wet and windy. A quick look at the photos from 2007 shows that this was not the case then and apart from a steady breeze, not the case in 2008 either, as you can see from pictures from this year's race.

This made for a near perfect start for some of our newer Lightning paddlers to venture into their first race away from the club. Like other canal races, it's a good course for Lightnings, with tow-path access for the entire length, plus a excellent vantage point at the end of the Brayford Pool.

They obviously enjoyed themselves despite only a small number racing from a few clubs. Numbers this year mark an increase in the Lightnings entering Lincoln, so let's hope this is a trend. Well done to Max, Harvey & Olivia. Lincoln were generous in their allocation of prizes, so cups all round.

At the other end of the scale, Rex had a good race coming 2nd in Div 4.

Mick enjoyed the Div 5 race, coming ahead of Mark from Gailey for a change, but as can be seen from the photo, caught by Matthew, a young lad from Burton, who had started in the Div 6 race, a minute behind!

Lincoln is one of the marathons in the Midlands that incorporates real hazards as a challenge, rather than streams of red and white tape on false portages. This adds to the interest not only for the paddler, but the spectator. Of course you have to do the 8 or 12 mile course to enjoy the succession of low bridges, but long may races like Lincoln survive un-homogenised, with their own character.

In the combined divisions K2 race, Norman and Cathy managed to come both first and last, much to the distress of the finishers and the results compilers.

Not wanting to miss out on the low bridges and the extra 4 miles, they finished the short course, but then carried on to do the most interesting bit of the race and crossed the finish line for a second time! No extra points I'm afraid Norm, the Hasler Race Management system has difficulty in allocating points equitably anyway, without people attempting to get two lots. Nice try though!

Thanks to Julie for the photos. Maybe more to follow.

Full Results http://www.marathon-canoeing.org.uk/results/Lincoln2008.htm