Liverpool University Canoe Club

Beijing Olympics: Slalom and Flat water racing are scheduled for the following times, you can watch on BBC online or BBC1/BBC2:

11-14 Aug Slalom, from 8am-10.30am BST each day

18-23 Aug Flat water racing 8.30am-11.30am BST each day

To whet your appetite, here is Scottish David Florence testing out the Beijing artificial slalom course (C1):

The rest of the GB kayak team are:  K1 slalom Campbell Walsh, K1 slalom Fiona Pennie, K1 sprint Tim Brabants, K1 sprint Lucy Wainwright, K2 sprint Anna Hemmings and Jess Walker.

More links: BBC olympic canoe page, BBC olympic canoe blog, British Olympic Assoc, video diaries of athletes

Thanks to Chloë of BCU for sending out the schedule times.

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Posh frocks, lunch with the folks, graduationing! Congratulations everyone graduating this summer! (More pics of folk in funny hats pls)

Fantastic news: Today the Welsh Canoeing Association (WCA) have announced a total change in the Canolfan Treweryn (National Whitewater centre for Wales) pricing structure.

This affects us when we paddle the river Tryweryn.

The price has changed from £7/£14 for BCU/non BCU members to… FREE!

For discussion of why they’ve done that, see:

UKriverGuidebook Thread

and

Announcement on the WCA website

The underlying reason for this is that the WCA feel that charging a fee which could be interpreted as an access fee is entirely against their philosophy of “access for all”. So instead, they are now aligning themselves with a lot of paddlers who, despite being quite willing to spend vast sums on their sport every year, believe that everyone, walkers, cyclists, kayakers, swimmers should have free access, to footpaths, bridleways, and rivers.

This is quite a brave change to make - the centre is still going to cost money to run, and remains a white water activity centre which needs to break even.

The changes mean that from now on, visitors will still sign in at the centre building, but will not be charged a fee. Visitors can still make a donation to WCA, which will be spent on the upkeep of the pathways and carparks and on the ongoing access campaign.

Its unclear whether visitors will be charged for parking, or whether this will also be by donation - it would seem quite reasonable for them to charge for parking, and certainly for showers, as in those cases they are providing a service. We’ll see how it works as time goes on.

In this move, the WCA have shown total support for paddlers in Wales.

Some ways in which we can support the WCA in return are: Make a donation while visiting the Treweryn. Pay online to become a friend of the WCA access campaign (£10). Become a WCA member (£33).

Ways in which you can support the WCA indirectly: Make use of the facilities at canalfon tryweryn: Buy things in the shop and cafe, and book on the excellent courses which are run there (personal qualifications, safety and rescue courses etc.)

Well, this is really a big change, and I suppose with that kind of example, we should all try to change a bit. I might even make a resolution to start using the showers - more pleasant for lift sharing. Everyone wins.

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I’ve unpacked, and have found a battered bit of cereal packet inscribed with various swims. Blimey, quite a lot. But also an impressively long list of folk who managed to keep their hair dry.

French Alps “No Swims” list is as follows

Flic, Andy R, Lloyd, Ade, Dinny, Alison, Moik, Clur, Ruth, Cath, Phil H, Greg, DaveO, Martin, Matt C([edit] had a technical, hmm this list is getting shorter ), Sambo? (inflatables don’t count), Jandles? ([edit]: No: swam on the guisane).

For the swim list, go to the linked forum post.

Both the zero swim list and the swim list are unlikely to be accurate - corrections please.

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From the point of view of a Fresher, having never been to the French alps before I had a whale of a time. The sun shined (most of the time) and the water levels were high which made some awesome paddling possible.

The campsite was a stone’s throw from the slalom course so that had to be conquered first. With water levels dropping from what had been chaotic floods throughout France the rivers were brown and flowing super fast. There were few eddys but still plenty of rocks. On arrival the club went upstream to what was meant to be a placid introduction to alpine paddling. It turned out to be a swim festation as unsuspecting boaters came face to face with rocks and turned upside down on eddy currents. Everyone made it to the bottom, just, and from that moment on the swim handicap was obliterated daily. The swim beers began to come in thick and fast….

Every morning before the sun had even time to creep over the mountain all sleeping beauties were awoken by the morning monster… LLoyd. Enthusiastic and ready for action he rallied everyone into the bus and set off to the river for some more Liverpool river carnage. Fitting in two rivers a day, and each one progressively getting harder throughout the week everyone was beginning to discover the steep, exhilaration and thrill of the alpine rivers. (Or more the overwhelming sense of relief at being alive when they stepped foot on dry land at the take out point.)

I can’t remember the name of the river I was on yesterday, never mind those in the Alps, but the steep gorges and crystal water was everything the holiday brochure described. In-between rivers was cheeky banter, beers, meeting new people and plenty of French baguettes. The campsite was full of university students so it gave us a chance to mingle and eye up the competition for BUSA next year.

The annual meal in the Argentiere was a French 3 course meal, with a Captains Viagra initiation drink handed in Andy’s direction, congratulation’s boy! Maybe it will become a tradition?

On the whole thanks to everyone who organized it, but next year, can we make it say 3months longer? It sucks to be back in the UK!

Report by: Flic

Pictures by: Flic and Mary

Slide Show

Yay, hoodies are here, hoodies are good, nice one MedicDave.

Photos by: Jon