Impression of the Cardiff Whitewater Centre

Cardiff hopes to host Olympic Canoeists

Jul 4 2008 by David James, South Wales Echo 

SOUTH Wales’ hopes of hosting Olympic competitors before the London Games in 2012 have been boosted by the news work on a canoeing course will begin this August.
Cardiff council and the Welsh Assembly Government have finalised the funding for an Olympic standard canoeing and white-water rafting centre at the International Sports Village, Cardiff Bay. The centre will be the UK’s first Olympic-standard artificial course using pumped water and is expected to cost £13.3m, some £8.7m of which is being provided by the Assembly.
Richard Harvey, chief executive of the Welsh Canoeing Association, said: “This is wonderful news for Welsh sport. This centre will be of national importance to canoeing in the UK. The centre will cater for a number of canoeing and kayaking disciplines on both the recreational and competitive sides.”
It is hoped that the centre could help attract competitors for the 2012 Olympics considering using South Wales as a training base.
The centre has been designed by French firm Hydrostadium, which has designed courses for the last three Olympic games in Sydney, Athens and Beijing. A spokeswoman for the city council said the centre would be built in concrete with moveable plastic barriers to alter the difficulty of the course. It is expected to be completed in late 2009 and meet all requirements for white-water rafting and canoeing.
Councillor Nigel Howells, the city’s executive member for leisure, said: “This venue will offer-state-of-the-art facilities and will further enhance Cardiff’s reputation as a city of genuine world-class sporting excellence – a real capital for sport.
“The fact that it will be of Olympic standard means that the centre will hopefully play an important role in the run-up to and during the 2012 games.”
Welsh Canoeing’s Mr Harvey said the course would also help train the next generation of Olympic athletes.
He said: “The adjustable nature of the course means that a wide range of users can be catered for, ranging from novices to elite performance athletes. The production of this much-needed facility will lead to enhancements in the development of grass-roots participation and yield greater success in international competition.”

 

Impression of the Cardiff Whitewater Centre

(Above) Course Plan  (Below) Development Modelling

Sydney 2000 Olympic Course

Athens 2004 Olympic Course

Have you heard about what could happen to the HPP whitewater course in

Nottingham?

Plans are nearly finalised for a £1.2m investment into the whitewater course at Holme Pierrepont in

Nottingham. They’re shutting the course for three months from November this year to get started. Major changes to the river channel will change the face of the course forever. It’s a fantastic opportunity, but there’s a problem.

No-one’s asked for our input.

Have a look at the most recent plans we’ve seen, developed by the World Class team:

 

The back channels and pools have been filled in completely with concrete, and the gradient and depth of the course levelled out to make way for more plastic rocks that only create eddies. This means…  

• No waves or holes for groups of whitewater improvers
• Not enough depth to get your playboat vertical
• No power to the features for dipping raft tubes
• Shallow ledges to slam the stern of your wild water racer.
• And a shallow, narrow river channel to punish the shins of anyone practicing safety and rescue.

We’re seriously concerned. Without asking the people who use the course day-in day-out, who work there and who travel the length and breadth of the country to visit it, this could be £1.2m cast to the wind. It could turn the high-volume, deep-pool HPP into a shallow-channel like the Teesside white water course.

Even worse, it could leave HPP a costly white elephant. When the Broxbourne course opens in 2010, the World Class slalom paddlers will desert

Nottingham. And if the changes mean less people paying to raft, canoe and kayak, Nottingham City Council will face a stark decision. Do they keep the course open and lose money with every day of operation? Or do they just shut it?

Ill communication

The prospect of huge investment in the course has been rumbling on for a while now. At the HPP users’ forum on 27th May, the World Class team assured us they’d consider the broader needs and interest of the course’s users. They told us we’d be part of the next stage of the feasibility process. We hadn’t been involved in the process up to that point, but this newfound openness boded well for the future.

Then, last week, a casual conversation with one of the slalom paddlers shot down these hopes. They told us the course is shutting in November for three months. And they’re unveiling finished plans on August 11th. That’s a week’s time!

A course for all

All course users NEED to have their say on major changes like this. We want to be involved. And we need to make it clear that changes on this scale can’t happen without everyone’s input.

This isn’t a slight on slalom or slalomists. HPP is fundamental to

UK slalom and to GB slalom’s global success. It’s great to see enormous groups of juniors out training on weekday evenings. We don’t want to lose that. And we’re supporting every paddle stroke our team make out in

Beijing right now.

But as soon as these changes are made to Holme Pierrepont, our World Class athletes will have the Broxbourne 2012 site, built just for them. All we ask is that before making any changes, the course designers take into account all river users – just like the developments at Teesside, the Washburn,

Cardiff and on the Wye. We need to look outside the BCU World Class slalom office if we’re going to find inspiration for a course to last another 30 years – so we can’t make any hasty changes until we know they’ll work for everyone.

We need your help

I’m helping out with communications for a loose group of water users with real concerns about the course’s future. If you want to help us put forward views to represent water users outside the BCU World Class slalom office, there’s one single thing you can do to help. And it’ll take under a minute.

Send us an email

It’s the single most powerful thing you can do to help. We’ve been talking to a million different organisations – the BCU, World Class, Sport England, Nottinghamshire County Council, Leisure Connection and more – and we need to be able to show broad support with a stack of emails. Then we might need to get back to you and ask for further support. From what I’ve been told, we need 280 BCU member pledges – but I’ll confirm that number during the week when I’ve checked my facts.

Send your mail to hpp.concern@googlemail.com. And, if you’re an individual member (basic or comprehensive) of the ECA/BCU, WCA, SCA or CANI, please, please include your full name and BCU number:

I am very Happy to announce that Whitewater the Canoe Centre and tvfreestylers have joined forces to help provide the greatest service to the Thames Valley Kayakers as physically possible. We are both keen to promote the sport and give any advice with kit, technique and places to paddle in the local area. Watch this space for joint projects to provide information and news.

Please visit http://wwtccnews.blogspot.com/2008/07/old-friends-new-new-initiative.html to see the article written by Whitewater the Canoe Centre  

Whitewater the Canoe Centre   is stocked to the rafters with canoeing and kayaking gear and expert staff where else would you want to go? Apart from paddling of course!

Established in 1947, Whitewater the Canoe Centre has grown from a pioneer of glass kayak manufacturer, and become an instantly recognizable retail institution.  Winning retailer of the year in 2000, and winning retailer of the decade 2004 (1994-2004).  Throughout our many years in business our mission statement has stayed the same.  A paddle store for paddlers, run by Paddlers!  The shop moved to its present location in Shepperton marina in 1984, and we have never looked back since. 

Passion for paddling is what motivates us: Flat water, White water, Recreation, Competition, whatever, just as long as we are paddling, rain or shine, Kayaks & Canoes are our life!

Expert advice: All Canoe & Kayaks are good. Our aim is to make sure that you have the best possible boat that most suits your needs and paddling style.

Demo Centre for London & South East:  If you need to make a comparison you can try a Canoe or Kayak to be sure that it is right, on our very own lake!

Service: Skilled staff are on hand all the time, to serve, help, tinker, repair, and fine tune boats and equipment.  

Here at White Water the Canoe Centre we dedicate our lives to the world of paddling, be it open canoes or, kayaks, inflatable kayaks, sit on top’s or specialist boats and equipment, we are here to make your leisure time the best it can be.

We welcome people from all abilities from novice paddler to extreme sports junkie, we can help you get the best.

Because we are situated in Shepperton Marina, we have a demo lake so you can try before you buy, and one of our experts will be on hand to help…

I am very glad of this new partnership and look forward to working with them over the coming years.

Meet the Staff

The Names Behind The Faces.

George Woods: Shop owner since 1987, George first started paddling C1 in the early 80’s competing in slalom events around the UK. He finally made the premier devision in 1992.  Since then George has stopped slalom paddling and turned his attentions to freestyle (Team GB 1995 Pre worlds, 4th place)and River Running. (First C1 descents of many Himalayan rivers)

Mark Gees: The Man behind the paddles, Mark was shop owner back in the early days when the store was formerly called Twickenham Canoe Centre. After many years away from the retail industry, Mark was press ganged into running our very efficient Accounts Department. Mark’s forte is speed, coming from a marathon and sprint background. A former British Team Worlds K2 paddler, Mark is now the senior British Coach and a jolly nice man!

Mike Scutt: The man who can repair your broken bits, and if he can’t, he’ll sell you new stuff.  Mike is a squirt paddler(1st place Hurley weir squirt 2003), river run,expedition paddler.

Pete Scutt: Mikes YOUNGER brother!,  20+ years of paddling experience, and no results to show….(never Mind). Pete has paddled all around the globe leaving his mark, impressing people with his skill and exprience, theres not much Pete can’t do for you!

Seth Ashworth: Slalom is the name of the Game for this young man!

Chloe Hunter:  Brings a feminine touch to our team! An experienced slalom & Polo paddler. Chloe has the competion edge…  Chloe’s experience is well beyond her young years, having worked with the team since work experience,both on the shop floor and at exibitions. A valuable team member.

pics and text from Whitewater the Canoe Centre

Thanks

Gareth

Welsh Canoeing Association announces that paddling is free at the National White Water Centre.
The WCA Board is happy to announce that charges for recreational kayaking and canoeing have been removed at the National White Water Centre located near Bala. Chairman of the WCA Board, Phil Blain outlined “The WCA has made this positive decision in the interests of the sport and in support of the WCA’s push towards a resolution of the access position in Wales”.
“We have shown that even intensively used sites such as this can be managed successfully for the sport and recreation of canoeing in a positive and environmentally friendly manner” said Mr Blain. “It was felt that the Tryweryn is no different to any other river in Wales and that it was essential for canoeing to maintain parity with other similar outdoor activities like Walking and Cycling. WCA feel that any notion of charging for access to the water was unacceptable, much as it is unacceptable to charge for recreation on other natural resources.” he added.
The Centre will remain an operational facility of excellence. It will continue to provide White Water Rafting, Coaching and Rescue Courses and host both National and International competitions under a managed programme.
Paddlers will still need to register at Centre’s reception before taking to the water, but from now canoeists and kayakers will be able to paddle for free.
Site availability will continue to depend on the managed programme of events and exclusive use will be required to meet the needs of competition and coaching operations.
The WCA acknowledges that the provision of genuine facilities that enable canoeists to take to the water such as car parks and changing rooms are something that paddlers would pay for as would payment for exclusive use of a site for competitive events or training. However, payment for linear access along water is not acceptable.
Paul O’Sullivan, Centre Director added “Historically the centre spends about £30,000 a year on purchasing water releases to enable activities to take place on the river. We will continue to secure releases allowing the site to be used in a predictable and sustainable way. We will not be differentiating between releases that we have purchased over those made available through the operational needs of the Environment Agency. Canoeing and kayaking will be free of charge in both cases. We will continue to provide the excellent range of services that our users have come to expect from the centre”
Phil Blain concluded “This is a large investment in the sport. It is hoped that paddlers will recognise this and support the WCA in its aims. WCA will still need investment to maintain the facilities at the centre and the charging structure for facilities is being re-modelled. Paddlers are encouraged to join the Association as supporter members. All voluntary donations for the upkeep of this gem of a site are welcome”
Notes:
Daily information is available at reception. Listed below are some guidance notes for assistance. All profits from the running of the National White Water Centre are invested into the development of paddle sport in Wales

Is this for the Whole of the River?
Yes.
There is no differentiation between the top site and Lower River. The lower river remains an unmanaged “wild” section of river. There is no agreed access/egress point between the centre’s boundaries and the take out point in the public car park in Bala.

Who does this apply to?
All recreational canoeists and kayakers who paddle at the centre. If exclusive use of particular sections of the river is required for events or training then a charge will still be made for that exclusive use.
This does not affect white water rafting clients who already get full use of the centres facilities as part of their rafting session.

Do I still need to sign on?
Yes – The centre remains a managed facility and users need to be aware of and consent to the conditions of use and sign to say they are competent to paddle. If you are under the age of 18 then your parent or guardian will have to sign you in at reception.
Paddlers will have to sign in at each visit.

What about exclusive use for events and training?
There will be a full programme of events and courses running and some of these activities will require and be provided with excusive use of sections of the water. Daily information is available at reception.

Have the terms or conditions changed for paddling at the centre?
The only change is that canoeists and kayakers will not be charged for using the centres facilities.

Can I get on the river anywhere?
Currently access is from the Centre’s landholding only. Egress is at the car park in Bala. The upper site has access provided and signed alongside the bank. From the lower limits of the Centre to Bala there are no agreed access/egress points and paddlers must respect local landowners’ wishes. There are details in the centre about portage arrangements around Bala Mill Falls which will be updated as improvements are made over the coming months.
Details of access and egress are available at reception and it is the responsibility of the individual user to make certain they know where they can and can’t use the land by the river.

When can I paddle?
Whenever the centre is open for normal operations and there is sufficient water being released from the Llyn Celyn dam by the Environment Agency. The centre reserves the right to close the access to the river in the event of competitions, events, emergencies and environmental issues such as Foot and Mouth.

I have a season ticket – will I get a refund?
If you wish to receive a refund, this will be available on a pro rata basis. Season tickets which do not request a refund can be assured that the balance of funds will be spent on the development of the centre and canoesport in Wales.

What about coaching groups?
Coached groups will also be able to access the river free of charge.
Coaches will still need to sign their group at reception and be suitably qualified to work on the site and meet the centre’s health and safety requirements.
If a coached group wished to hire classroom facilities of exclusive/shared use of a river section this will continue to be charged for and needs to be booked in advance.

What about payment at other sites?
WCA cannot dictate the operations of other sites. As with any sport, participants need to familiarise themselves with the terms of each site they visit.

Can I make a contribution to the costs of maintaining the facility?
Yes – you can join as a WCA Supporter Member online here:

After a special request, the River Dart Country Park is opening it’s doors to White Water Paddler’s for a single weekend this Winter to host Gene17’s highly popular Adventure Paddler’s Weekend, 6/7th December 08.

Gene17 is currently open to approaches form this years top expeds and adventures in order to arrange the line up for the forth coming Adventure Paddler’s Weekend

Currently confirmed is:
Open Forum Question & Answer Session, chaired by Dave Carroll
AS Watersports will have a full range of Test Boats for demo throughout the weekend from the RDCP
And the whole thing is FREE
Talks start 1900 at the River Dart Country Park, the doors open at 1500 and the bar will be serving food and drinks throughout the evening

Full Accommodation including B&B is available on site, please visit River Dart for full details

Whether there is rain or not, we are in for a great weekend, there is always the possibility of Surf plus both Exeter and Totnes boost excellent Christmas Shopping

This years Hurley Classic, run by local Thames Valley professional coaching company KJO, has been changed to December 13th and 14th. So please update your diary. Jacko has said that the full details for the event will be published in September.

  

Building relationships with local Business’s has always been something that I have been more than happy to do. I am always looking at ways to increase the awareness of tvfreestylers, but at the same time try and increase services available for tv paddlers to use. You may or may not have noticed that recently there has been a post on the forum about places to go and reside after paddling. For some time now quite a few paddlers have been visiting the Red Lion, but the recent refurbishment has brought up the question, where should we go now? Maybe you havent taken a second thought about The Dew Drop Inn, maybe this is because you have never heard of it. Its a lovely little Pub off the beaten track in the middle of the beautiful countryside, you can find  The Dew Drop Inn at the southern end of Hurley village in Berkshire. They are just off Honey Lane and you can get to them from either the A4, A404 or the A4130.  
They are approximately 5 miles from Henley on Thames, 6 miles from Maidenhead and 4 miles from Twyford.

Please click on any one of The Dew Drop Inn links to view their menu.
If you want to make a table reservation, then please ring them on :- 01628 824327  

 
  
The Dew Drop Inn
Honey Lane
Hurley
Maidenhead
Berks
   
dewdropinn@hotmail.co.uk

   

My back ground is I started doing freestyle before River running, so most of my experience has been paddling flat hulls with edges.

Where have I used the new Jackson Hero 2008? Firstly I tested the boat paddling upstream against a quick current and then Ferry Gliding across the current before dropping into a river wide playhole at Plattling Germany.

Big Bouncy grade3-4 wave trains, with big and small eddy’s on the River Inn from below Pfunds to Prutz in Austria.
Steep technical Grade 3-4, narrow low volume with one 4 meter drop, on the River Glenner, Switzerland.

I personally really like the Jackson fittings, and find them extremely user friendly, easy to adjust fairly faultless and easy to fix if the worst happened and something was to break. The Jackson boats also have a cleverly designed thigh grip that is in the actual shape of the shell so doesn’t require any adjustment at all, making the boat more versatile and quick to adjust for a new person to paddle. Also to mention that as the Hero is a crossover boat between river running and creeking, it doesn’t have the happy feet foot system, it has a full plate foot rest, which adjusts in the same manner as the back rest by the use of rope and a special cleat. This system is used as the rope will absorb a certain amount of shock, but then will break, or slip through on extreme impact, therefore shock absorbing and taking the stress out of the blow and hopefully protecting you from broken bones.

First impressions of the boat as with all Jackson Kayaks was how quick and easy it was to adjust the boat to fit me comfortably.
On the water it felt very familiar and paddled very similar to the Jackson Fun, this is because the Hull design is taken from the all ready proven Fun design. My expectation was even though the boat was short it was going to be fairly quick and dynamic. This was exactly what I found, as soon as I paddled the boat upstream against a steady current, it was almost as if the water wasn’t even moving. I then started ferry Gilding the boat from one stantion across the river about 20-30 metres to the next stantion. This is not possible in my Allstar. The directional speed and tracking of the boat was spot on and I couldn’t believe how easy it was. I then went down stream and dropped into the play hole at Plattling Germany. Those who are familiar with this feature will know it’s a fairly retentive stable but friendly hole. The Hero is not a long boat so its manoeuvrability is fairly easy for a river/creek boat. It surfed and carved across the hole just like the Fun, I even tried looping it and got the biggest pop out I have ever done. I felt at home and in complete control, so leaving the hole was a very calculated and easy procedure.

My next test was going to be River Running, which is what I was most looking forward to. The water levels in Austria were stonking so it was a perfect opportunity.  The first thing I noticed on the river was how dynamic breaking into and out of eddy’s, with the same snappy feeling I get from my Allstar or fun into an eddy. Something I haven’t got from paddling displacement hulls. I like this feeling and this may be particularly suited to me as I have been brought up on paddling boats with flat hulls and edges. There is one key thing though, if you don’t jack the boat right up and engage the rails then you won’t get the aggressive snappy entry you will get a skippy effect. This is not a fault of the design just a technique that can easily be learnt. I suppose what I have learnt from this is if you are from freestyle/ or slalom back ground you will feel right at home with the Hull of this boat as it reacts very similar, if not then you will have to learn some new techniques before getting to grips with the Hull design.
Paddling down the River through big wave trains and avoiding big holes was very positive dynamic and fast. The transition as a Freestyle paddler into this boat was fantastic and the basic feel was very similar. The Hero resurfaced very quickly, and stayed above the water line most of the time. I found it very manoeuvrable and it liked to play the River. The flat Hull and edges enabled you to catch the wave on the fly and surf, for me this is a great bonus as it increases the fun that can be had on the way down. I felt very comfortable and adapted like I had paddled the Hero a few times before.

The next test was on a steep Technical Grade 3-4 River in Switzerland. After a hundred metres down the river, we came to a 4 metre drop. This was a man made weir /waterfall. So this was my perfect opportunity to test the boat on a drop to see how well it boofed and resurfaced if it went a little off plan. Keeping the boat on line was excellent as it tracks so well, the drop was a little misleading as it had a lip at the top followed by a second, so it was quite easy to mess your boof stroke up by initiating it on the first lip. Thankfully for me I spotted this and planted the paddle nicely giving me an almost perfect boof. The boat launched away from the fall and landed spot on. The speed was excellent and I was away from the curtain of the waterfall immediately.

 

Eddy hoping, punching small-medium holes was well tracked, fast and very stable. The line on the rest of the river was much tighter more technical and gave plenty of opportunity for mistake. I felt at home with the boat having to use the secondary stability on several occasions.
So the conclusion for the Jackson Hero; I highly recommend it to any freestyle or slalom paddlers or paddlers that enjoy dropping their rails hard into the current to achieve extremely quick dynamic and snappy eddy turns including braking in and out. The boat design is essentially a new age Spud with its high volume and small length, designed as a cross between the Fun and the Rocker acting as the perfect complement to the already strong range of Jackson Kayaks.

 

The Jackson Hero has opened up a new interest for river/creeking for me and I hope that this Kayak will inspire others to expand their skills and venture into new areas.

If you’re interested in a Jackson Hero then you can contact, Berkshire Canoes, Whitewater the Canoe Centre or gareth at tvfreestylers dot co dot uk

Entry to the World Cup competitions in Europe, 2008, needs to be via the National Federation. Unfortunately, if there are too many people who enter (due to time constraints on the competition there is a total limit of 250 paddlers per event) there will be a restriction of 15 people per country, though we are hoping that all GB paddlers who want to enter will be able to enter. We would like to make it clear that the UK Freestyle committee believes the World Cup should be an open event and not a team event (like the World/European Championships), we will therefore not be selecting paddlers on paddling performance to represent Great Britain, and there will not be any support in terms of funding or team managers for British paddlers. (Please see ‘how to enter’ below)

There are 3 events for the World Cup: Prague 15 -17 August (cost TBA), Augsburg 22-24 August (Cost: 50 E, includes camping), Thun 28-31 August (Cost: 40E)

All information can be found on : http://www.kayaksession.com/WC2008.php I have no further info than this.

How to enter:

UK Freestyle will be taking entries via email on a first-come, first-served basis.
Entry will open on Monday 23rd June 2008, 9.00am we will not accept any entries before this time or date, we will not accept any entries after Sunday 29th June, as we have to collate the information and give numbers of entrants to the officials on the 1st July 2008.

Please email your name, category and which event(s) you would like to enter, (you do not have to enter all 3) - to flea at fionajarvie dot co dot uk (put the appropriate symbols in!)

Please send one email per entrant per category - (e.g if you would like to enter both C1 and K1 I will need one email with your details for C1, and one email for your details for K1).

Entries will be on a strict first-come, first-served basis when each event has 15 names on it further names will be entered onto a reserve list.

Squirt Boaters

Squirt boating is not included in the limited number, but you will still need to register via UK Freestyle Committee, so can you also email your entry to the above address from Monday 23rd June, 9.00am.

Thanks,

Flea.