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We booked our assessment at Glenmore Lodge and
also decided to go for 2 days’ training at the same
time. Although strictly speaking with our previous
experience we didn’t really need this training,
Graham and I are both firm believers that you can
never get too much coaching, there’s always more
to learn. We weren’t wrong or disappointed!
On arrival at Glenmore Lodge on Good Friday,
we turned to each other in disbelief to find out
we had been allocated the Head of Paddlesports,
Dave Rossetter for all 3 days…. a mix of delight and
nerves hit us both in equal measure. However,
we needn’t have worried, Dave was great!
>>
Bishop Auckland Canoe and Kayak club
had paved the way to a now full blown
family addiction to kayaking….
we are indebted to that club.
In March 2016, we had decided to take on more
responsibility of running the club and started
to make tentative steps to running regular, club
river trips, lake paddles, etc. However, following
a shoulder injury, I lost my confidence totally in a
blink… all the hard work over the last 3 years gone.
I was so upset. Our dreams of being able to take
new paddlers to experience the thrill and sheer
unique pleasure of running rivers and exploring
lakes looked like a pipe dream. I wasn’t happy!
The Paddlesport Leader Award
sounded different. It sounded like
something we may be able to do
that would help to move us on but
also enable us to get our Scouts
and Club Members on the water...
We have no pressing aspirations to run Grade 3s
and 4s. We advertise the club as one aimed at total
beginners of any age, gender or ability, welcome
those with disabilities and welcome anyone who
would like to experience this wonderful pastime. The
Paddlesport Leader Award sounded perfect all round!
The Award suits our styles of learning
and we are already using the award...
We have a club trip organised on the lower section of
the River Tees, near Stockton this coming weekend.
We already have 10 signed up, a family with
youngish children, all with limited outside paddling
experience, two new members who have lost some
confidence and just want to ease themselves back
into paddling, a couple new to canoeing and a chap
who is looking to find his river legs, slowly – looks like
there may well be an appetite out there for this kind
of paddling, not a bad first event since qualifying!
Above all this award allows Graham and I to get out
there, with confidence, independently and legally
introduce a host of prospective new paddlers to
the great outdoors. What’s not to like about it!
In enters Matt Haydock, Glenmore Lodge Instructor,
where our boys were mock students on his Advanced
Water Endorsement. We liked his approach and felt
he had a lot he could pass onto our boys and were
very keen they both get professional coaching prior
to heading off to University or wherever they end
up. Matt took the boys for a weekend paddling of
a lifetime, doing what they do best on the Tees,
running from high force to and including low force.
Matt didn’t disappoint and at some stage during the
weekend mentioned a new British Canoeing scheme
called the Paddlesport Leader Award, for which he
had just become qualified to assess and train.
and instead use a mixture of canoes, cross over
sea kayaks and touring kayaks, which was great!
We were also treated to the introduction of two
stunning locations in and around Inverness and
Aviemore – The River Spey into Loch Insh and
the River Glass and Beauly & Aigas Gorge, both
locations ideal for the remit of this award.
Assessment day came far too quickly, neither Graham
or I are comfortable under assessment conditions,
but we were well prepared and were provided the
ideal candidates…… all of whom had travelled over
the night before and were extremely excited to be
part of the whole experience! They were a delight
to lead, they had a little experience of paddling and
were happy to try very different boats! Despite a
couple of unplanned capsizes and the wind getting
up on Loch Insh we both passed! We were so
pleased and relieved it had been a very good day!
The training involved a good
mixture of “top tips”, coaching,
access to and gentle persuasion to
embrace the ethos of the award by
abandoning our very familiar &
comfortable white water kayaks...