Unofficial UK Slalom BBS

Stephen, I think we are all going to have to wait and see. I quizzed Emma from the WCA at the Washburn about the costs of running the course at Cardiff and she admitted that the construction of the course was more about political will than a sound business case. The course isn't even going to be ru...

There are loads of double Div 2/3 events so I assume we are talking about Div 1 events. As far as I know the same clubs have applied for exactly the same Div 1 events as last year, and so there aren't any more doubles planned. On the basis that clubs had to have their entries in for next year by th...

No secret agenda really - just being deliberately provocative to get a positive response from the majority (or the few that actively use this forum) that the Cross of St George was still the preferred option. It will certainly be the cheapest to reproduce I would expect. Thanks Dave - an idea on co...

I've no idea where the material will be hosted at this stage. I presume it will depend on how much material there is and what the cost would be. That's not the issue though. Before we can host the material somewhere we need to get it in to the appropriate format for the web. That is a time consumin...

The BCU Slalom Committee quite rightly has a UK wide focus with representation from all the home nations (apart from NI?). English Slalom is therefore potentially missing out on additional investment in the sport because there is no constituted group currently speaking just on behalf of the English...

A number of people have commented recently that English Slalom lacks identity - something tangible that others can recognise English Slalom paddlers by. One proposal I have heard is to make use of the Canoe England logo on helmets, slalom boats or specialist clothing - http://www.tynevalleycc.co.uk...

Does anyone in English Slalom have good HTML authoring skills and would be prepared to give up some of their free time this Summer to help build a website containing loads of advice for slalom paddlers/clubs getting started in the sport? We have a wealth of information available but it is locked aw...

Hi John, Thanks for your other posts which I will hopefully persuade others to reply to, particularly on the coaching side of things. 3.5m boats are starting to become more plentiful although still a little pricey. They are mostly available at Div 1 events but that requires paddlers from your neck ...

Hi Munchkin, I meant beginners to slalom. I see our challenge as helping canoe clubs to get more people to take up slalom, both young and old. To achieve this we need to encourage both paddlers and parents to get involved with their local clubs to help them grow. In too many cases it is just one or...

There are plenty of second hand slalom boats and equipment available that can be purchased fairly cheaply by canoe clubs to encourage the development of slalom. There are also grants available that can be used to purchase new slalom boats for those clubs that can demonstrate a commitment to junior ...

Without access to water with gates hung either on a permanent or semi-permanent basis it is extremely difficult to encourage the development of slalom within your canoe club. It doesn't have to be moving water however - an old gravel pit would do once a health & safety assessment has been undertake...

Canoe clubs should already be providing basic training for their coaches but sometimes they need additional encouragement to become trained in the competition disciplines. Junior paddlers thrive on competition in any form and so a healthy canoe club will be one that supports at least one competitiv...

I am interested to know which canoe clubs are encouraging the development of junior paddlers so that we can provide some encouragement to these clubs to consider slalom if they aren't doing so already. Those that already have an interest in slalom might also benefit from some additional support to ...