New opportunities have opened up for the canoeists this year with the completion of the Cardiff International Centre in 2010. This Olympic-standard facility offers white water at all times of the year and is an excellent training facility which our best kayakers were quick to visit. The course is very fast and narrow but is excellent for those wanting to practise on grade three water in safe conditions. In an active year for the Club local trips were again run to Symonds Yat, the Usk, the Tywi  Gorge and Southerndown Beach. The Club welcomed the arrival of Mr Peake who is a keen coach and who has helped many of the new intake advance their skills rapidly.

 In the summer for the first time we visited Scotland. Here we were very lucky with some torrential rain on the drive up meaning that the previously-parched rivers were running well. After a warm- up on the dam-released River Awe on the first day with a fantastic wave at the “Magnetic Boulder” rapid, we were privileged on the second day to be able to tackle the famous Lower Spean Gorge. This is one of the best white water runs in Britain as the River Spean, in the shadows of Ben Nevis, cuts a deep and sinewy channel below the Commandoes’ Memorial down to the loch. The river was remote and exciting and the boys learned a huge amount about expedition-type paddling and working as a team in descending it safely.  On the River Tay, on the next day, conditions were very different on a very broad, big volume river – a bit like the Wye at a steeper angle. After a relaxed early section, practising river leadership, we entered the Grantully Section – home to the Scottish slalom squad. This was a significant set of continuous rapids and the boys tried some white-water racing before finding a series of features on which to practise their swimming. The final day in Scotland saw the biggest challenge so far in the famous Middle Section of the River Orchy. Conditions were perfect with excellent water levels and occasional glimpses of the incredible Highland scenery in the mist. The river was a step up from anything the boys had paddled before, being a rapid succession of grade 3, 4 and 5 drops. Sean Taylor, our very experienced coach and guru, gave the boys considerable confidence in letting them lead each other down sections of this challenging river.  It was five hours of total concentration, with frequent inspections, two portages and effective teamwork that saw the group down safely. With a visit on the way up to the Welsh National Kayaking Centre at the Tryweryn and on the journey down to the English centre at Nottingham, the boys enjoyed six days paddling on a very wide variety of exciting water and the chance to test and extend their skills .

JMH