Festive greetings,

So that’s a rap for Sweetwater’s 2009 calendar. It’s been a great year with lots of new developments. The highlights included coaching national freestyle team members to success in the 2009 world championships with two golds and many more reaching the finals. We look forwards to supporting Team GB and other European countries in 2010. Our ‘steep creeking coach development’ courses developed in our consultancy services capacity have also been a great success both home and abroad and we are look forward to adding these programmes to our open calendar in 2010. We’ve also spent most of the summer working abroad including Nepal, Sweden, US and Canada, providing river running and freestyle courses.

There are lots of other exciting developments going on behind the scenes and I’m looking forwards to talking more about these in the New Year.

It’s been a pleasure being a part of so many people’s adventures and discoveries in 2009 and we wish you all a very merry Christmas and the very best for 2010.

Here’s a couple of photo’s I took yesterday, whilst visiting a local Christmas fayre

Lisa feeding the birds before heading over to the Christmas Fayre

The Humber Bridge 5 miles from my house

So by now you’re wondering where are the pictures of the fayre…afraid I was too busy eating to take any pictures.

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

I’m happy to announce that phase 1 of the skills section is in process . Over the next week we’ll be populating  the skills section with content starting with freestyle and river running descriptions. 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.

Hellooo, We’ve finally made it back to the UK – all be it briefly as I dash off to Sweden in 10mins (a nice short blog I hear you cry).

Had lots of fun climbing Kili, although I think we might go for a beach holiday next year.

Lisa and myself at the summit

Kilimanjaro Base Camp

Lisa and Dave climbing the ridge up to base camp.

Almost all set for my trip to Tanzania, where I’ll be climbing Africa’s highest peak Mt Kilimanjaro standing at 5896m, the prep has been going well apart from a minor setback from a sprained ankle. But the ankle seems to be recovering quickly so hopefully all will be good.  It will be strange climbing a mountain without my kayak for a change – I keep looking at my kit bag thinking there is something not quite right! Speak soon, stay safe.

We are currently working on the final touches to our freestyle skills section and Jon our web wizard will have a test page up soon. In the meantime check out the resources section for all sorts of advice from planning expeditions to nutrition for paddlesport (we keep adding to these resources on a regular basis) it’s worth checking them out from time to time. Let us know if there is anything you would like to see in the resources.

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.

Hi All,

Some great news. The new BCU Freestyle Awards are going live with the introduction of the 3 Star Award and Level 1 Module. For those of you wondering about the freestyle awards here is some info that may help;

What are the benefits of freestyle star awards?

I guess the first thing to say is that the BCU awards in general provide a hub for gathering the current thinking in paddlesport skills and techniques. This allows the star awards to draw on the knowledge of high-end specialist coaches and athletes from around the UK and pass this knowledge onto all levels of coaching from grass roots club coaching to future national team coaches.

The freestyle star awards provide a clear development pathway. They offer recreational paddlers the opportunity to gain a range of core elements that provide a foundation for the latest moves in freestyle and allow them to benchmark their ability against a national and international standard.

For those who already involved in freestyle competition, the new awards and modules will provide improved training and support services, either through direct participation in the awards scheme, or through the indirect precipitation of coaching techniques and resources that will surround these programmes.

How do I get involved at a coach level?

If you are coach UKCC level 2 (moderate water) or Level 3 and higher and are interested in coaching the new BCU 3 Star Freestyle Awards you will need to sign up for the new freestyle level 1 module. This is done through application to the BCU coaching office, please email; info@bcu.org.uk

I’ll keep you in the loop (pardon the pun) with the release date for 4/5 Star as it happens.

Happy paddling