Sweetwater will be running a 2 day intensive freestyle course exclusively for female freestyle enthusiasts. Dennis Newton (GB National Coach) and Claire O’Hara (2010 European Silver Medallist) will be providing a coaching programme aimed at establishing a solid foundation of manoeuvres that will leave no place of the feature untouched or un accessible.

Our intention is to provide a highly motivated and fun learning environment that provides you with easy to understand breakdowns of each skill, how the skill and feature interact, and the body movements required to achieve the desired outcomes.

As with all our courses we aim not just to coach you the latest freestyle skills, but also empower you with the skills to self-direct your own learning and continue acquiring those tricky moves you desire. Our guarantee is that you will achieve a slick set of manoeuvres and understand what is required to progress to achieve your ultimate aspiration.

Price: £85

To book this course or further discuss you suitability please email: service@sweetwatercoaching.co.uk

In a 2 weeks time I’ll be heading out to join the Swedish Freestyle Team for the final build up to the European Championships, Austria, Lienz – Volcanic ash allowing! Sweetwater has been working with Erik  Westberg their team manger to further enhance their national team training to better support Sweden’s growing freestyle talent in achieving European and world titles.

Link to event website: http://www.euro-lienz.com/

The Speed Loader takes the hassle out of repacking the rope after use. The bag throws easily and accurately and is bright green for high visibility. So what makes the Speed Loader work better than other bags? The bottom of the bag is flat so that it will sit upright on a near by rock or river bank and the top opens super wide making it fast and easy to stuff the rope back into the bag. After stuffing the rope back into the bag simply draw the top string tight, tuck the sides in and snap together. Its simple, easy and most importantly it works.

Features/Benefits:

• Bag Material: polyurethane coated nylon pack cloth
• Mesh side vents: allow water to slip thru and speeds up drying
• Attachment webbing: 3/4 ” nylon keeps the Speedloader tight and compact
• Rope: Polypropylene sheath adds buoyancy and protects the high strength inner core.
• Length: 15m
• Color: Bright green for high visibility

For more information click here: System X

Sweetwater Coaching will be spending some time out in Are, Sweden this summer on the boarder of Norway where we have been invited to a white water coaching festival. We will be providing white water clinics for (class 3-5) river running and steep creeking. After this we will be joining more of our friends on the Nordic tour exploring the rivers in the northern terrorist.

Recently, I have been working closely with Adrian samarrato develop the first of its kind (free access) interactive learning resource for both paddlers and coaches. The website aims to develop paddlers skills and give up to date advice on many aspects of paddle sport from developing those tricky freestyle moves to planning an epic white water expeditions. The site has three sections. Freestyle skills, river skills and top tips. There is currently one article in each section with the aim to release new articles on a regular basis. This is an on goning project and we would greatly receive some feedback.

Here is a link to the site. skills.sweetwatercoaching.co.uk

Sweetwater has been working on developing an on-line learning resource for freestyle and river running for sometime now and I’m happy to announce that phase 1 of creating the content is now finished and phase 2 is in progress . Over the next week we’ll be uploading the feature onto our website for a test run. If all runs well we’ll start the process of populating the skills section with further content. Our Target is to release a minimum of 1 manoeuvre a week…more updates to follow

This is a free resource for the paddler community and we would greatly appreciate any comments or requests  you have. There is a lot of background work going on with the website at the moment and it’s all part of the bigger picture for our service. See you on the river.

The Merrell WaterPro Ottawa  Shoe - made with the assumption that you are going to push them and yourself to the limit. Definately caught my attention straight away. Like most kayaking enthusiasts, I am the destroyer of paddling footwear!

So, I put them to the test during the last 2 months to see if they live up to the hype.

The first thing I noticed was the new improved Vibram sole (something that let down it’s predecessors).  The clever R&D team at Merrell have used a new sticky rubber traction sole. Just the right amount of stiffness to protect your feet, but also a softer rubber outer that snugs boulder contours better to increase surface friction. This has vastly improved their grip both on wet and dry rocks.

The shoe has a neoprene  heal lining and mesh abrasion resistant upper with a intergrated wrap system which  provides great foot support. As the name suggests it is a shoe construction, so provides minimal ankle protection but this is a traded off against, comfort and flexibility for freedom of movement. They  would require neoprene socks in the winter, although I  found them more than adequate with my dry suit socks.

The  WaterPro shoe  has  also proven highly resistant to  the damaging effects of dry rooms and have not cracked or come appart at the seams.

All in all I think the ‘New’ WaterPro Ottawa shoe is an excellent choice for those who are looking for a lightweight, reliable, tough shoe that offers comfort and unparalleled sole protection. It gets a big two thumbs form me.

Features/Benefits:

• Compression-molded EVA midsole absorbs shock and provides support
• Vibram ProWater sole/TC5+ sticky rubber/3 mm siped lugs for excellent wet/dry grip
• Breathable, single-layer mesh upper; Aegis antimicrobial treatment inhibits odor
• Welded PU mesh reinforcements and synthetic leather overlays add durability
• Aegis treated neoprene heel lining and padded tongue
• Abrasion resistant polyurethane-coated synthetic leather toecap
• 4.5 mm anatomical perforated EVA footbed with Aegis antimicrobial to inhibit odor
• Air Cushion under the heel absorbs shock, centers the heel and stabilizes the foot Molded heel pull tab for easy on/off
• Slip lasted construction with an EVA board provides flexibility while maintaining a close, comfortable fit.

Click here for Merrell official UK website: Merrell UK

The website aims to develop paddlers skills and give up to date advice on many aspects of white water paddlesport. I’m happy to announce that phase 1 of the project is in process. This will soon to be followed by photo’s and finally videos. Once we have the descriptions uploaded we will be further refining the content as we adjust the format. This is a free resource for the paddler community and we would greatly appreciate any comments or requests  you have. There is a lot of background work going on with the website at the moment and it’s all part of the bigger picture for our service.

See you on the river.

Exciting news for UKCC Level 2 coaches interested in white water coaching, and wanting to flex their qualification to its full advantage.

The BCU Moderate Water Endorsements is now available. This award is designed for BCU Coaches who hold a 4* leader award and wish to introduce paddlers to Grade 2(3) white water or equivalent standalone features like weirs. Lots of people have been asking me about this award over the last few months, and I know this will be great news for club coaches as it will allow them a greater range of activities for their members.

If you’re interested in expanding your coaching remit, the pre-requisites for training are UKCC Level 2, BCU 4 Star Leader White-water, 8hour first aid and be 18 years or older. Once you have attended a training day you need to complete a development phase that requires the following, 10 hours of logged coaching in sheltered water environments post holding BCU UKCC Level 2, a minimum of 20 hours leading in moderate water environment, post holding your 4 Star Award.

If you already hold the assessment pre-requisites, all you need to do is attend a training day and go straight to assessment.