Liverpool University Canoe Club

Thank you everyone for such a fantastic weekend, especially to the drivers for doing such a good job…and to Stu H for making our weekend by swimming on flat water!!

So, we set off on friday night with the least possible faff (thanks to the crack van packing team), although I think everyone now believes that if you’re late, you will be left behind (Kieran)! So when everyone finally arrived in the toasty bunkhouse it was time for some hardcore “relaxation”.

So despite what looked like some fairly epic hangovers, we were in the Dart carpark by 8am. After some complicated shuttles it was time for some people to go off and do the Upper Dart, whilst others went on a scrambling adventure to try and find somewhere to watch from. Congratulations to Fred and Ben for being the first to use our new swim paddle .

Team cheerleader finally arrived at a rapid and settled down for some entertainment, when Flic appeared and in the way only she can, used lots of flapping and actions to explain that we may like to go and find Kim. Kim definitely deserves a prize for being the smiliest person to have given herself a new facial piercing. Thanks to everyone who carried her boat back, and especially to James for giving up the opportunity of afternoon paddling to get Kim patched up. Kim also deserves 10/10 for commitment to boating for getting stitches instead of glue so she could paddle the next day.

So after this bit of excitement, it was time for everyone to go paddle the Dart Loop in the beautiful sunshine. Everyone did really well, and we had some first time river rolls, and minimal fishy incidents, so smiles all round. About half-way down we had some seal-launching fun…I think Tolly will remember to do his deck up next time!

Saturday evening gave us some entertainment with mass vegetable peeling for what turned into an epic vegetable curry, apologies for the level of grumpiness coming from the kitchen! We also had some rather creative presentations on kit and safety by James, Stu E and Fred…

Sunday morning started with a lie-in until 7.30 – that what happens when I’m too tired to get up apparently! After a really speedy van packing and hut cleaning we were off to Exmoor to paddler the Barle. This was a pretty chilled river, so left plenty of room for binning and pinning and general fun – James managed to portage a flat section which is an achievement even for him and Earnie got his paddles stuck up a tree. However, the prize has to go to Stu H and Ant for swimming on flat water!

Sadly there was nothing left, but to head home…unless you stopped at Ant’s mum’s for food of course  . Everyone made it back, which is made even more amazing since the van has been running on fumes for 80 miles! After prising people out of the pub, unpacking was completely faff free, so it was back to Kelly’s for some.

Thank you everyone for coming, drivers for driving, leaders for leading and a special few for being quite so entertaining.

Hannah

The first tournament of the year was on a very hung-over Sunday morning, and the club and managed to get two full teams together.
The men’s consisted of Chris, Iain, Sam, Tolly, Kieran and Ant and the girls was made up of; Mel, Hannah, Bubbs, Emma and Rach Y.
The Mens team were entered in the top division, which was, as Sam put, ‘like going swimming once during the week and then competing against someone who gets up at 6 each morning to train’.
The first game was against a strong Bangor team, the team played well creating chances and giving a strong team performance, only going down 2-0 at half time. In the second half Tolly pulled a goal back but Bangor’s experience showed and the game finished a respectable 5-1.
The next game for the Men’s was against FOA, the home team, the men’s team produced a performance that could only be described as ‘Brave’ and we won’t mention the score.
Warwick were next for the Men’s, an excellent first half performance meant it was 2-2 at half time. The game then went to 3-3, but Warwick remembered how to play and scored 4 goals in quick succession and the game finished 7-3.
The men then played Manchester, the first half was closely competed and the team were 3-2 down at half time. In the Second half the Manchester team dominated and it finished 9-2. The first Victory of the day came against a Nottingham team who didn’t turn up.
The Girl’s first match was also a technical victory as Lancaster forfeited, so we played a friendly and worked on team tactics. The second game against FOA C was, well, interesting, as these players were smaller than average but still beat us.
After a lot of encouragement from Ginge we played Hallem and put up the best fight of the day with Rach and Emma sprinting, Hannah in goal and Bubs and Mel in defence. Bangor ladies were next and although it was a no binning match Emma went over and was finally rescued after a strange attempt at a T-rescue from the other team.
Following some much needed chocolate kindly supplied by Ant the Girls’ took on FOA C again, when we had convinced their coach he couldn’t play in a girl’s league. Unfortunately yet again their training showed and they won. Considering none of us had really played polo before and never as a team the amount we improved by the end of day was amazing.
So it was off to Revs for some Pizzas and Drinks with everyone wondering ‘did Rhys ever make it out the kitchen?’

Chris Kayley and Melanie Booth

Lots of smiling freshers, a few enthusiastic olds, 3 days, 2 buses, 2 rivers, 2 amazing socials, 1 lake and 0 faff = 10/10 for freshers trip 2010.

Thank you to everyone who came and made it such a memorable trip and I hope you all enjoyed it. A special thank you to Ben, Stu and Sam for driving so well (and for only reversing into one car) and everyone who led on the rivers. It was also lovely to see so many old(ish) faces.

So, on friday night, lots of very punctual freshers arrived at sheds…and managed to pack the van and buses in 40 minutes!! I think this must be a club record, in fact a certain ex-captain arriving a few minutes after we left phoned me to ask if there was a problem! So it was straight to the pub for some welcome drinks and a few more in the hall before people started crawling away into some unusual sleeping locations – in a cupboard and under the stairs to name but a few.

8.45 came very quickly for some, but a very hoarse Hannah woke everyone up for a day of paddling with only minimal levels of meanness. And so it was off to Lake Coniston!
Despite the wind (and there was a lot of it) the sun was shining and everyone got onto the lake for some fun and games. We all went back to school for various games of british bulldog, the rock game and follow-the-leader. Congratulations to all the freshers for keeping so enthusiastic when all the old fogies were grumbling about the wind.

So after a lunch of sandwiches made that morning by a pro production line, more paddle games, lots of getting in the way of walkers and watching our resident pro playboaters it was decision time. To river or not to river?
Those of us who werent too cold and/or hungover buddied up to tackle the Crake, a river leaving the lake with some rather pesky trees who caused some of our group to get a bit wetter than they intended. Everyone did really well, and we only had a couple of fishy impressions despite some fairly tricky rapids to contend with…in fact some of the freshers were doing better than some of our more experienced members!

So it was back to the hall for some scrummy food care of Rach and Laura, and an evening of fun and games. After about a thousand rounds of suck/blow and the painful slappy hand type game, there was….the baked bean tin game and ensuing hilarity. I’m sure there will be photos to follow! I’m pretty sure that the rest of the evening is a blur for most people…

Sunday evening proved the anti-faff attitude of the weekend, with some speed cleaning of the hall, leaving it nice and sparkly. So it was off to the Lune, with everyone having a go, and doing a fantastic job too. I’m sure the sunshine helped, but there was a lot less carnage than anyone would have predicted. The Lune is a very long and rocky river, but everyone stayed enthusiastic, including our swimmers…maybe it was the fantastic atmosphere of the trip rubbing off. The special prize of Hannah’s last chocolate muffin went to Bryn for being so committed and enthusiastic and improving so much in so little time. But thats not to forget all our other star paddlers

Sadly, after packing the vans get again it was home time…

To quote a not usually easily impressed Ginge “Congratulations on the best freshers trip ever”…I for one agree. And I certainly hope you do too.

But dont worry too much if you’re now sick with envy for not going…get in touch with Mel to see if there are any spaces left for Tyne Tour and keep your eyes peeled for information on any more trips.

ps Dont forget that to get the full LUCC experience, you need to become a member!

Hope to see you all on a trip soon

Hannah

Hey guys

Sorry this may not be interesting to all of you but to everyone who went out on the alps trip last summer this is a photo of the slalom section of the river (where there was the rope bridge i think) in spate, pretty impressive.

Hello again,

Sorry to bother you again, but I have news on how to join our fantastic club. We have so much going on this year, and in order to get involved, you need to be a member. Happily, its as simple as 1,2,3…

1) Go to the desk at the sports centre and say “I would like to join the canoe club please”. Its £30 for liverpool uni students, £45 for everyone else, £17 if you’re already a member of the AU.

2) Print off the first 2 pages of this form, fill it in and give it to me (Hannah). The other 7 pages of the form are the risk assessment, which you should all read before you sign on the dotted line.
Membership form 2010

3) Enjoy a year of paddling fun.

The AU are being a bit more strict with us this year, so if you’d like to come on a club trip (including freshers trip), you have to be a member. You do however, get lots and lots for your money: use of our (very new and shiny) club kit, boat storage and pool sessions and the warm fuzzy feeling of being part of the best club ever. I get asked every year whether there is a way round paying, there isnt, so please dont. It is really important that you join, as it affects our insurance for transport and on the river.

Dont forget your pennies for signing up to freshers trip (this weekend!!) at the pool session,

See you on the water!
Hannah

Hello and welcome back!!

Whether you’ve been around forever or brand sparkling new, there’s loads going on this term.  There’s something for everyone here, whether you’re a total newbie or absolute pro there’s something going on especially for you.  This term we’ve got river trips for all abilities, polo tournaments, slalom and wild water racing and thats not to mention the socials.   

Here’s just a few dates for your diaries to get you started:

Sunday 26th September – Freshers’ Fair:  why dont you come down and see whats going on?  You really wont be able to miss us and we’ll be in the sports hall all day.  Would be great to see all those old faces there too!

Thursday 30th September – Pool Session:  7.30 at the university pool.  There’ll be loads going on, and a great opportunity to get yourself in a boat and meet us all.  Whether you’re after freestyle, polo or just basic skills there’s something for everyone.  We’ll be heading for drinks afterwards for your first taste of our famous hospitality.

Saturday 2nd October – Docks Extravaganza:  11am at sheds (in the car park opposite the sports centre).  We’ll be heading down to the Liverpool docks for some splashy fun.  There are warm showers and its absolutely FREE.  Afterwards we’re heading to our sponsors Revs for some great deals on food and drinks.

Friday 8th – Sunday 10th – Freshers’ Trip:  Quite possibly the best weekend of your fresherdom.  More details to follow, but we’re off to the lakes for a weekend of boating fun.  We’ve got seriously great accommodation lined up, two days packed with paddling, and an atmosphere you’ll never forget.  All in all a fantastic opportunity to give it a go and come and meet us all.

That’s not to mention Tyne Tour, BUCS WWR and so so much more… 

To hear more, make sure you get yourself on the e-mail list by visiting groupspaces.com/Lucanoe/.  In addition, we’ve got some intermediate/advanced trips in the pipeline, just keep your eyes and ears open.  If you’ve any questions about whats going on, membership queries, or want info of any of the trips, then just message me at membership@lucanoe.info. 

Looking forward to seeing you all on the water!

Hannah

As of this afternoon Liverpool University Canoe Club and Liverpool Canoe Club are officially affiliated.

This is very good news for our club since we’ll be able to use their facilities and coaches. They gain some of our gear for their use and in doing this we have gear down there we can use.

All very positive things!!