Liverpool University Canoe Club

This year’s AGM has been booked!

6.30-8pm  26th April McAusland Lounge in the Guild.

This gives you plenty of time to get all your nominations in which there does seem to be rather a lack of…

im a student at LJMU, im sorting out a level 1 course and have a few spaces left that need filling. dates and prices to be decided once numbers are confirmed h.l.handy@2008.ljmu.ac.uk" href="mailto:h.l.handy@2008.ljmu.ac.uk">h.l.handy@2008.ljmu.ac.uk

Pics by Dave R

Well done on Wednesday

Only 2 and a bit weeks left of term, but still plenty to keep you amused.

Christie Cup tomorrow!!  Boys and girls.  We won last year…  Still time to get on the teams.  Also would be really good to see everyone at Revs afterwards for (celebratory) drinks and pizzas.

13th March - Safety Day

17th March - St Paddy’s day Hardman crawl.  Set to me immemorable…

20th March - Hannah’s magical mystery tour.  Scotland people really really need to go.  Baked goodies offered for a helper organiser, river leaders and drivers…

21st March - last docks polo of the year. 

25th March (tbc) - AGM.  Chance to pick some new victims, sorry committee for next year.  Nominations are open on the forum.

SCOTLAND!!!!!!!!!!  Yay

****CONGRATULATIONS!!!!  Helen has become mummy to a beautiful baby boy :)   I hope that both of you are well and we get to meet him soon!  ****

Much less importantly, theses are all the amazingly exciting events planned so far:

Sunday 31st January: slalom practice at HPP  (James and Mary)
Weekend 13-14th Feb: slalom  (James and Mary)
Sunday 21st Feb: polo at the docks  (Emily)
Weekend 27-28th Feb: polo in Cardiff  (Emily)
Weekend 6-7th March: NSR  (Flic)
Saturday 20th March: pre-Scotland safety day. COMPULSARY IF YOU GO TO SCOTLAND  (Flic)
Weekend 13-14th March: Safety course
1-5th April: Scotland trip  (Flic)

The weekend’s paddle was very good, well done to our semi-freshers!

In total there was: me, stu, hannah, a hungova Mark B, lloyd, Scott, Ben and Oli!

We did the Leven - down to Backbarrow bridge. The bridge has suffered quite a lot of damage from the floods, and is blocked off to cars, but to our delight the rapid below it is still sweet :-). And then we carried on down and did the section below Backbarrow.

We finished with plenty of day light left so went and did the Kent. The rivers were flowing on a medium to low to our surprise but provided enjoyment to everyone. With team no faff we got off the Kent at around 5ish so plenty of time for the pub!

We did have lots of unfortunate swims by Ben - but it was his first time on white water and afterwards when he defrosted he said he had a real good time. Well done you, you did very well and conquered a lot of your fear

Nearly everyone took a roll under Backbarrow Bridge - I did and Mark did I think but we will blame it on him being hung over. Stu said lloyd was vertically upside-down even tho lloyd will say he was pulling a move!!

Further down river Scott took a very unfortunate swim on the Leven, quite a fun rapid came up around a blind bend, but was handled well by all.

Now everyone was warmed up it was on to the Kent! Nice level. S-bend was quite interesting and I think numerous rolls were taken at the bottom! I was stuck in a huge stopper for quite some time (ahem, I was playing) so Stu came down and decided to plough into me and try and knock me out which just resulted in both of us going over and me still being stuck in it and him getting out fine. I eventually got out and was still in my boat

Next was L-shaped weir where it was a little interesting with Hannah taking a swim just before the weir - but she was rescued swiftly and carried on. Force falls was good fun as usual - I think only stu stayed up right and got a good ‘boof’!

It was Oli and Scott’s first time and they thoroughly enjoyed the excitement of both rivers well done to all and thank you for a great day’s paddling!

Scotland - I think people should hurry up as Grey Corrie Lodge just about full (organisers Speak to Will) Easter is first weekend in April (1st - 5th)

Alps… not sure when end of summer term is but i hope it gets organised and goes ahead!!!

xxx

Forum discussion about 17th Jan trip report

This year’s christmas meal saw lots of stocking-related people descended on Revs for some christmas fun.  There were some fantastic costumes -big shout out to Lois and Kat for their amazing present costumes!  Some interesting ones…Ade’s fishnets.  Some fun but not entirely festive ones…Dennis the Menace.  Some matching ones…and some home-made ones.  I was very impressed :)  Some fantastic food, banter and even better cocktails later and it was time to head into the big city.  After a tour of Liverpool’s finest establishments we ended in the finest (and the busiest) of the lot - the Razzzzz!  A big thank you for to our very social social secs Squirrel and Soph for organising such a night of fun, hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.

Merry Christmas!!!!  See you all in the new year, and indeed new decade.

BUCS slalom is next term - check your diary for the 13/14 Feb now - you can grab your place now by telling James/Mary, at the dinner tonight, at the pool session tommorow, or by email: slalom@lucanoe.info. Video of LUCC at BUCS slalom 2008:

If you want to know exactly what sort of excellent weekend you’d be letting yourself in for, ask anyone who went on the recent BUCS WWR (see Finn and Lois’s report) - The BUCS slalom is very similar, (camp, race, party, camp, race some more) but at a different venue - the short artificial course near Nottingham, with the added fun of going between (or attempting to go between) some stripy barber poles.

Find out more about BUCS slalom: BUCS slalom website

Message from James:

Ok guys, seems early, but this has to be booked well in advance, deadline is the end of term!

BUCS slalom 13th&14th Feb at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham

Its subsidised by the AU, so should be a very cheap weekend (as a guide WWR was a mere £10). It should be suitible for all who have been on a few river trips, as it is an artificial course with lots of safety, but
we would like as many of you as possible to come on the *practice weekend (date TBC*), esspecially freshers to keep carnage to a minimum for the actual event! Its going to be an awesome weekend with plenty of partying as well as paddling and everyones welcome to cheer on/offer moral support/fish the rest of us out! Send replies to slalom@lucanoe.info

Get your names down now, and get practicing!     Cheers,  James

Reminder of how BUCS works:

Its a race - short white water course, attempt to go between the poles. You are elegible to enter the race as long as a) you are a proper student of Liv Uni and b) you have your AU card (sports card) c) You tell James soon so that he can send the entry form in. If you aren’t a proper liv uni student, you can still go along and help with safety/getting the C2 back up quickly for multiple runs/paddle and accompany freshers down the river/take pictures/cheer from the side.

Cost: About £10 for the weekend, which is basically the cost of the (ace) party. This year the party theme is: Valentine’s day. The AU subsidises the accom and entry fee, which is why the weekend is so cheap.

Participation counts: Its a competition between all british universities - by entering the race, you win points for Liverpool Uni - in fact, you get a point for just making it down the course. You get more points if you do middling well, and loads of points if you come in the top 10. You can enter the race in the normal class (usual river boat, suitable for everyone, or if you like,  a proper slalom boat), or in the C1 or C2 class if you’ve had a proper practice in those boats. Also, there are team events, where you do the course in threes. There is a maximum number we can enter in each class, so sign up quick. We add up all our points, and compare with other unis. We usually do well overall because we have a good mixture of decent paddlers and new folk willing to have a go. In BUCS WWR, Liv Uni came 5th, wooooo! Impressive stuff. Here’s to success in the slalom too, have fun.

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LCC: Monday night 14th December – 8PM at Liverpool Marina, “Genes Advanced Whitewater” will be showing. FREE TO ALL INTERESTED PADDLERS

This is the last Monday evening in local club LCC’s talks series before Christmas but they will resume again in early January.

“Gene17″’s third DVD in the advanced whitewater techniques series, covering boofing, flaring, drops and waterfalls.

The evening will be held at the Liverpool Marina Bar and Restaurant. As usual, the upstairs conference room (past the bar and turn left up the stairs)  Please arrive for 7:45ish for an 8:00pm start. Maps and more details of the venue…..

Liverpool Marina Bar & Grill, Coburg Wharf, Sefton Street, Liverpool, L3 4BP

Report by: Finn M and Lois

Photos by: Jon W and James R

Following Violet’s advice: bring every piece of clothing you own, we arrived at the sheds a little late with many large bags in tow to see everyone else with the same monumental quantity of necessary bags. Good to see everyone was in the full swing of getting stuff ready very efficiently, however we were shortly joined by Orla and Kieran who helped us slow down our preparations to a stop. They decided winter camping really wasn’t for them and they certainly weren’t going to spend a tenner for the opportunity. Guys, what a mistake!
After a quick trip to The Green Giant and The Big L for tea we got on the road for the short journey to our camp site near Skipton. There was an air of quiet concern towards the rear of the bus and towards the front: The Idiots Guide to The Universities Architecture Course. Tents went up in seconds for some when we got to the camp site, Trucker12 had his awesome pimped out van with integrated insulation. Overflow and DrummerBoy must have been on their 4th by the time their tents were up and the drinking continued on our journey to see RubberDuck. Shocked by his rare clothing addition, a ‘typically RubberDuck yellow’ hat which complemented his all seasons leggings.
 
No joking a very cold night for some of the single tent occupants, not a huge amount of sleeping to be had. It didn’t rain though which was a bonus. At some point during the night DrummerBoy realised he had forgotten his Cag, not a good trip to be doing that. DrummerBoy was the first person to be racing in the morning and sprung into action sharpish at Mamma D’s call.
We woke up on Saturday ready for a day of racing. It was pretty cold but not raining - unusual for Yorkshire. Mamma D drove us all down to the start with the sound of Christmas songs and the lads all changed into their gear for their early races. DrummerBoy made a grand start to the day on his white water racer, and a solid time of 9min59 from Overflow put him top of the Liverpool boys. Bandit, Beaver and BossMan were also awesome. LilDuck, also at the event took a spare slot and had a great run. RubberDuck then had a little triathlon to be getting on with, time to release the C2!!  Mamma D and Sodbuster did amazingly in their C2 to make it down in 11th, only swimming 3 times! RubberDuck (keeping cool on the CB) in sweet contact with Overflow throughout rescued the forsaken craft each time.
The K1 races secured a lot of points for the girls, with Violet coming an overall 5th, closely followed by Sodbuster and Mamma D in 9th and 14th – nice one. FullMoon, NightQueen and CueBall also put in wicked runs. Distructo may have swum!!! The girls team events then got underway. Sodbuster, Mamma D and Violet put in a great time of 10min37 to secure 3rd place for the girls. FullMoon, NightQueen and Distructo lead by DrummerBoy then made it down with no swims to come in a respectable (I think) 10th. Overall it was a good day for BUCS points and a great day for burgers. Huge thanks to Mamma D, Sodbuster, SuicideJockey, DrummerBoy, Overflow and Violet for being amazing safety throughout the day, and Trucker12 for shipping everyone from the finish to the top multiple times!
Once back at the campsite the team prepared to eat dinner with some van-side drinking games, which to be honest I’m not convinced anyone understood. The free dinner was yum. With full stomachs we then headed down to join the party. Pretty good night with much crazy dancing; the like of which I’ve never seen outside Liverpool Canoe Club. I feel we owned this party. We then made our way back up to bed to get some quality sleep before Sunday’s races.
We arrived at the river, just below the Thruscross Reservoir, all singing Christmas songs. Sodbuster reckons this should be a new tradition for club trips….. throughout the year! First team to run in the morning was Overflow, Bandit and DrummerBoy. They bashed through using Dancers, preferred over the wave hoppers for this run, achieving 16th out of 43 teams. Overflow and DrummerBoy had bet Mamma D, Violet and Sodbuster that they would beat their time. The excitement when they did actually beat the time is testament to woman’s power in the club, two men have never been so happy to beat a girl’s time. Time to beat: 10:37.0, Men’s team: 10:23.2.
The sprints followed the last team runs. A very short section of river with fast flowing water no major hazards just one aim, GO DAM FAST!!! The eager beavers from the other Uni’s were all queuing up at the start for quite a while. That’s not Liverpool’s style… We waited along the short stretch till there was no queue at all and they were pleading for us to get on before we showed everyone how to do it. With major logistical preparation, like clockwork, we took over the start line. Mamma D, Sodbuster, FullMoon, NightQueen, Distructo and CueBall all bashed their way through without any hassle and recorded some ace times. Scores: Violet, 6th. Mamma D, 12th. Sodbuster, 13th.  After DrummerBoy grabbed Mamma D’s paddles Overflow and DrummerBoy got on to do there runs. Very shaky from DrummerBoy but an awesome run by Overflow. Overflow, 21.81… 24th. SuicideJockey, 24.19… 31st out of 112 men. Just an idea of how close this run is. Trucker12 was excellent grabbing everyone as they crossed the line, legend.
With literally no faff the boats were on the trailer, people changed, everyone but Overflow (who was late and therefore, left behind… and might still be there). On the bus and we’re good to go.
Everyone was well speedy at the sheds, we were away within minutes. Makes me wonder what usually takes so long!!! Mamma D did a great job of not falling asleep at the wheel too often and also missed most of the gates out of the camp site. Thanks for dropping us all off.
We have put in some results here but it makes us a little cross eyed so for full results go to: http://www.bucswwr.org.uk/results.php
 
Report by:
DrummerBoy & Destructo
 
Disambiguation
 
Flic - violet
John - trucker one two
Ade - rubber duck
Mary - mamma D
Sam - over flow
Finn- Drummer Boy
Kat - night queen
Lois - Destructo
Kim - Sodbuster
Mel - Full moon
Jim - Suicide jockey
Rhys - Boss Man
Emily - Cue Ball
Iain - Beaver
James - Bandit

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