Paddling Trips
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Get Involved | Open Pool Session | Beginner Outdoor Sessions | River Thames Session | Canoe Polo Session | Paddling Trips | Training | Other Outdoor Activities
In addition to the club’s regular River Thames and Canoe Polo sessions and the separately run Open Pool Session there are regular trips, activities, coaching and leading opportunities which are appropriate for various skill levels.
As paddlers progress they gain their independence on the water, learn the necessary skills to paddle efficiently and effectively, and ultimately lead groups in appropriate conditions should they wish to do so. A list of regular trips and rivers, along with some guidance on the progression from beginner to expert (what experience you might need to take part, etc.) is available in the next section below.
The movement skills learnt by regularly attending weekly sessions and moving progressively through beginner to intermediate trips should transfer to any discipline, be it Sea, Surf, Open Canoe, White Water Kayak, Flat Water Kayak or Canoe Polo.
As a rough rule of thumb and depending on how much paddling they do, members new to paddling and who have attended a full year of the BCC trip and activity programme and regular weekly sessions should generally find that they are at or around the British Canoe Union (BCU) 3 Star standard for White Water Kayak; 3 Star Surf; and / or 3 Star Flat Water Kayak (although they will not have the piece of paper to prove it). Details on the recently revised BCU Paddlesport Performance Star Awards can be found | here.
There are, however, no hard and fast rules as everyone progresses at different rates. Neither is there a fixed progression where the next level is reached when a particular river is completed. The jump in skill level is more marked between the higher levels and most paddlers will need to do several trips at a certain level to demonstrate that they are confident and competent before moving up. At the end of the day, the best way to learn is to get involved and have fun.
[edit] BCC Trip & Activity Paddling Progression Guide
This list is a rough guide to the regular trips and rivers we go on. It is not meant to be definitive and the experience required for each is open to debate. At the end of the day all bets are off if water levels are high or in flood.
Level 0 Beginner
- Open Pool Sessions
Level 1 Beginner next steps
- Shepperton day trip - flat water
- Thames Tideway at low tide
- Medway - flat water, 6 miles
Level 2
- Mole - flat water, 9 miles
- Wandle
- Thames tideway paddles including Thames Cruises (to Wapping or Richmond)
- Putney Polo - Introduction to Polo sessions
Level 2 introduction to white water
- Symonds Yat
- Thames weirs when very low
- Surfing - easy
Level 3 white water - beginner next steps
- Lower Dart
- Northampton Nene course
- Thames weirs when low
- Cardington
- Barle
- Exe
- upper Usk low to medium water
- Usk low water
- Surfing - small to medium waves
Level 4 white water intermediate
- Dart Loop (low-medium levels)
- Washburn
- upper Usk medium+
- Teifi
- Holme Pierrepoint
Level 5 white water - improving
- Vrynwy
- Dart Loop (medium +)
- Lower Tryweryn
- Dee Low-medium
- Usk medium to high water
- Surfing medium waves
Level 6 white water - nearly there
- Tryweryn top site
- Dee high water
- upper Dart Low water
- Easier Alpine rivers
- leading others on low level paddles
Level 7 advanced white water
- Dart Loop high water
- Upper Dart (medium to high)
- Alps - Austria (big volume)
- Alps - France (technical)
- Other big water trips
- Surfing - large waves
- lead up to levels 5
Superstar!! (no room here for your ego!!)
- confident and competent on all
- competent leading others at all levels (which means fishing people out when they swim)
