Unofficial UK Slalom BBS

We still have space for those who would like to have a great weekend with us. Info is on the Canoe Slalom web site. As usual I am going to be nasty and charge late fees for anything arriving late with a postmark of 24th March or later and please note that it is a bit more painful this year. Judges are most welcome and we will be grateful for any volunteers, we will hopefully get judging stints as short as possible. I will get a provisional start list up sometime next weekend. We are not short of a few drops of water and are not anticipating any water issues - if you ask nicely we would be happy for you to take some home with you.

Thank you all who have diligently observed closing dates and sent me your entries and money. Today was unfortunately the last day before the dreaded late fees. I do look at the post marks of any arriving after today and have been known to find a little sympathy lurking in the bottom of the barrel if Royal Mail have contributed.

More importantly we have been inundated this year and will have a lot of boats to get down the river. I have not closed to entries but it would be worth eMailing me ASAP if you are considering a late entry as it is possible we might get to a point where we cannot accommodate you even when you come bearing gifts of late fees.

Spring is definitely here and although I am not promising bikini / speedos weather it is looking good at the moment for a great weekend.

Information has now gone off to the CanoeSlalom website with provisional start lists and it will hopefully be posted there soon.

To avoid any confusion if you are using satnav and have not been before you can use post codes PH15 2QY or PH9 0PL. Strange though it may seem the boundary between the two crosses halfway down the course!!

The information that has gone out unfortunately includes PH15 0PL which won't work!!!

"Spring is definitely here and although I am not promising bikini / speedos weather it is looking good at the moment for a great weekend"

According to my fourteen year old Speedos are for weirdos. Looks like I'll have to wear my mankini again

I'd just finished me tea - oh look there it is again

Kendall - we look forward to everyone here (including weirdos!) - even you in your Mankini although not sure it will be the appropriate garb for the local establishments!

We have a huge entry for this race and it is Easter weekend. We are also expecting less than the sunshine we have ordered - it came early for the Prem this weekend so we may have to make do with snow!

In the interests of trying to maintain good relations with the villages in which we race we are going to have to cram as many as possible into the station yard car park. There is normally a charge for parking during races made by the SCA which is used for maintenance of the site and the provision of facilities such as the showers etc. As you will see if you have not been recently it has been improved since last year.

As I am going to need to ask your help in double parking behind friends (and even perhaps enemies) as tight as we can manage I have agreed with the SCA that we will pay your parking fees as a block payment and have in effect hired the car park. (The SCA are still running the camping.) We are also currently negotiating for overflow parking elsewhere and I am hopeful that this will be available next weekend. Please could everyone come to the Station Yard and will will park you there or somewhere else. Could you avoid parking elsewhere in the village as this will maximise passing trade for the village businesses and perhaps give us a few casual spectators.

We will be pleased to accept voluntary donations at control and the cafe (Station Yard) in recognition of us paying for your use of the facilities. If everyone donates £1 a day it will go a reasonable way towards our costs. If you don't we are not likely to do it again!!

Anyone who would like to judge this coming weekend at Tully would be very gratefully received as volunteers. If more are not forthcoming we might have to invoke the rules which allow us to use paddlers to judge. Non paddling judges are particularly welcome as we already have a huge entry to get down the course. We will find a way as an alternative to a judges run to make you feel valued.

We are aiming to have the course up and available for free practice by lunchtime on Friday although I have to note that this is not the same as official practice and there will be no rescue facilities provided by us. Please therefore make sure you are on the river with the support of your coach or if without one that someone bankside will be watching out for you.

We now have snow although we hope to have most of it melted by Saturday.

Met Office forecast improving. Water levels have been fairly low at Tully but will probably rise a little for the weekend and we should have good racing.

Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:

A cold start with a frost in many places, rain and sleet quickly clearing southwards on Thursday. Becoming milder thereafter, although mostly rather cloudy, with some light rain.

Kendall may need his fur lined mankini for the weekend?

Any chance of getting heaters to warm up the ground before we pitch our tent at the campsite!?!?!?!

How deeps the snow up there?

Just dug the car out in the pennines ready for the trip up there tomorrow

Les

Hi

I'd be happy to judge on Saturday so long as not judging div 2 men K1 or C1. I will have photographic duties then.

Nia

Overnight snow at Grandtully has melted; there is residual, intermittent cover on the hills above 300m. LIght northerly winds and cloud-cover are incresing wind-chill. Water levels are still low.

Sounds also tropical compared to my snowshovel workout earlier

les