Liverpool University Canoe Club

Today the WCA have announced a total change in how Canolfan Treweryn, the National White Water Centre in Wales, pricing structure.

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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