PADDLER 30
PADDLER 30
Em , Baz and Bella Walker are a brilliant kayaking family who kindly organised the food for the camp . Trying to feed 50 people four times daily is no mean feat , and the Walkers have excelled this week . They have not stopped ; I cannot express how grateful we all are to have them . As Em said , “ Something like this needs volunteers to run it . And so we volunteered !” Em is a keen kayaker herself who has recently got into freestyle . She wanted to see how grassroots freestyle works and hopefully take back some ideas to spread with her club to increase freestyle participation , particularly among the female and junior members of the club . Thank you SO MUCH , Em , Baz and Bella , for all your hard work keeping everyone fed and happy this week ! And thank you to Frome Canoe Club for loaning all their kitchen equipment for the week !
Finally , there is me . I bumped into Tanya a few months ago at HPP , and she asked me if I would be keen to be involved with the camp pastorally as a ‘ camp mum ’. I am a keen paddler who enjoys getting out on the water and sharing that passion with others . As a teacher , I also love working with young people . Their energy and enthusiasm are infectious ! So , combining that with paddling , it wasn ’ t a hard sell to get me to say yes . It has been wonderful to see the kids grow over the week on and off the water , and it is an absolute privilege to be a part of that .
THE WEEK OF THE CAMP
Camp officially started on August 21st , but things were already getting busy on Sunday . River Legacy kindly lent and put up the camp ’ s main marquee as a mess tent . As paddlers arrived , more tents were put up , and the feeling that something exciting was about to happen grew .
DAY 1 :
Monday morning saw a flurry of activity . Half the paddlers arrived on Sunday evening , and the other half were due on Monday . The rest of the juniors arrived in beautiful sunshine , and the final tents were set up . Camp started with some introductions and an initial session looking at boat outfitting . After a nutritious lunch , everyone geared up , and we headed down to the white water course .
The afternoon was spent on the water with the paddlers split into two groups for two sessions . With such a variety of paddlers in age , experience and ability , it was essential to ensure that everyone felt safe and could build confidence before focusing on freestyle . The first session was with Mike and Tamsyn on the lake doing some roll practice . I hopped on the water with them and joined in . This session was finished with one run down the course to catch a few eddys .
The groups then swapped , and we met Den and Matt for a swim safety session . We were looking at how to swim down the course safely . No one minded jumping in for a quick swim on such a hot day ! This session also ended with a quick lap down the course .
After this , it returned to the camp for food and throwline practice games before a well-deserved sleep !
DAY 2 :
Tuesday morning came with a pre-breakfast yoga session by Tamsyn . It was another sunny day , and the paddlers were keen to get back on the water . Following a mass warm-up on the bank , the paddler split into groups and got straight onto the white water course . After one day , it became clear what each paddler wanted and needed to work on , so groups were roughly split to try and accommodate this . I swapped my boat for a camera and witnessed the sheer joy happening .
From surfing and working on river running skills to going straight into working on specific freestyle moves , each paddler had something to focus on and a coach to support . During lunch , the conversations were shared excitement as they caught up on what each other had been doing . Everyone seemed happy and had a clear goal they were working towards .
Post lunch , there was the opportunity to have a go at an inflatable ball race . This involved working in teams to get a giant inflatable ball down the course , with the team completing it in the quickest time winning .