Thameside Entries - Opening Soon
Entries will be online only, should open early next week

Winter Training
This was taken yesterday morning

Come and welcome the New Year in at Reading Canoe Club 2012 is a very special year and one in which we have lots to look forward to.... Date 31st December Time 7.30pm ‘til late Music, yummie food, games and lots of fun Cocktails on arrival (inc non alcoholic ones) fireworks at midnight.. Put the date in your diary! Do sign up on the door downstairs or email or tel 0118 9404252 If you want to help us organise it please contact Gail, Hayley or Tamsin

LUZMORE K2 RACE - Cancelled
From Richmond website: “Unfortunately the Luzmore K2 race has been postponed indefinitely. We will attempt to run it in the future if circumstances change"

MRC Newsletter
Nice to have MRC newsletter, one correction. The second athlete training day is being held on 18th February, not 28th as in the Chairman's letter.


Southern Region Standing

CLUB	HEN	PAN	LON	BAN	BCCC	RDG	FOX	WIN	TVC	SOU	TOTAL	Worst	Final
Basingstoke	10	10	0	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	27	7	20
Banbury	6	8	0	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	24	6	18
Longridge	8	10	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	22	4	18
Reading	9	6	0	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	23	6	17
Falcon	8	5	0	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	22	5	17
Pangbourne	5	7	0	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	5	14
Southampton	4	4	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	4	9
Wokingham	3	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	1	6
Bourne End	3	2	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	2	6
Cokethorpe	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1	3
Newbury	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
Eyot	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Marlow	1	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Dks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Windsor	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

AGM
Hope everyone enjoyed the AGM, any feedback on the new time? Looking forward to Awards Dinner on the 26-Nov – see you there? Dinner tickets available.

Pool Dates
Slight correction to the pools dates sent in the news letter, 19-Nov-11, 03-Dec-11, 10-Dec-11, 14-Jan-12, 28-Jan-12

MRC Training Days
Certainly worth attending

Ivan Lawler coaching days @ Elmbridge
Two days coaching this winter.
10 December 2011
Second date to be confirmed

Applicant criteria
1. Club coaches that have had club paddlers on International trips are invited to bring two paddlers to the training days
or
2. Club coaches from clubs that went to the 2011 Hasler final are invited to bring two paddlers to the training days.

The cost is £50.00 per paddler per day and limited to two paddlers from each club.

The club coach should be prepared to involved in sharing course content at their club Sign up

Winter training and 5k races - Sunday 29 January and Saturday 18 February 2012

The MRC winter training days will be either:

Category 1/2 Girls/Women/Canoes/Boys div 4 or better; Men div 3 or better
Category 3/4 Girls/Boys div 6 or better

Club coaches should fill in the form for paddlers at the their club who would like to attend

From the juniors a development group will be identified from attendees at these two days to attend the Ghent marathon.

It is emphasised that this is a development trip to Ghent. Sign up

AGM 12th November
Just a reminder about the AGM on 12-Nov, change to format this year with the business side after the Saturday morning club session. Coffee and cake will be served. Prompt start at 12:00

Awards Evening 26th November
This year we are having a separate evening to celebrate individual and club achievements (and have dinner!) look out for sign up sheets

No Kit Thursday
Just a reminder that the No Kit Thursday policy is still place, any kit or toiletries left in the changing room will be removed.

Flat water Essentials
Fairly new company, selling a lot of the flat water essentials obviously – Certainly worth checking them out http://www.flatwateressentials.co.uk

Training Program
We have lots of people delivering sessions these days.  From time to time it may not be possible for that person to make a specified session. We don’t want to spam everyone when somebody gets stuck at work etc. to this end we are setting up distribution lists, so if you regularly attend a specific session and want to be kept informed please sign up for that session’s notifications. Please send an email requesting which session you want to stay up to date with.

Pool Dates – Winter 12
We have booked the following pool dates, please let Brian know if you are planning to attend any sessions: 05-Nov-11, 19-Nov-11, 04-Dec-11, 18-Dec-11, 14-Jan-12, 28-Jan-12

Sprint Fees
As the racing season comes to end, it is time to settle your race account bill. Remember that are sprint and marathon team leaders are voluntary to support the club and you. Please don’t waste their time chasing you. Payment can by cheque or internet transfer – really simple!

Banbury
This weekend is the last southern region Hasler race of 2011, slight change to the times so please check race details. If you want to pre-enter please email James or sign up on the notice board outside the gym.

AGENDA
coffee / Tea on arrival 7 - 7.30
Welcome by the Chairman ACM 7.30
Minutes of last year
Matters Arising
Chairmans Report
Treasurers Report
Election of Committee/ officers ( nominations to the Chairman by 1st November )
PDO report
RCO report
STDT Development plan
Regional Volunteer Awards
Presentation / short film members of Kingfisher/ Pathfinder CC's
Presentation of Long Service Awards
Supper/refreshments - 8pm


Level 1 Course @ RDG - CANCELLED
Due to lack of interest the course on 31-Oct 1, 2, 3 Nov has been cancelled

Hasler Final
Top organisation, shame about the number of short laps, otherwise well done to Leighton Buzzard and Viking. Results have been on the MRC website for couple of days. Not the club’s best performance by some margin. But some top individual performances; Jack Foster winning division 5, Sam Kirschstein second in division 3. Our small lightening team; Fred Kemp winning U10, with Daniel Atkins hot on his tail in 2nd. Not forgetting Mathew Atkins and Stephanie Hutchinson just finishing outside of the medals!

Pos	Name	Div	Points	PD	Race
1	Jack Foster	5	20	P4	Div5
2	Sam Kirschstein	3	19	P2	Div3
5	Matthew Walker	5	16		Div5_5
5	Lee Atkins	5	16		Div5_5
7	Daniel Seaford	1	14		Div1
10	Max Todd	4	11		Div4
10	Debbie Atkins	7	1		Div7_7
10	Sarah Mainprize	7	1		Div7_7
13	Brian Greenham	3	8		Div3
14	Flora Jayne-Coupe	5	7		Div5_5
14	Amy Dillon	5	7		Div5_5
18	Anita Seaford	6	3		Div6
18	Hayley Blackwell	4	1		Div4_4
18	Imogen Collins	4	1		Div4_4
20	Peter Mainprize	4	2		Div4
22	David Sackman	4	1		Div4_4
22	Sue Gray	5	1		Div4_4
Pos	Name	Div	Points	PD	Race
1	Fred Kemp	U10M	40		U10 M
2	Daniel Atkins	U10M	39		U10 M
4	Mathew Atkins	U12M	37		U12 M
4	Stephanie Hutchinson	U10F	37		U10 F

Henley Results
Henley finally have got some results out though there already have been a number of corrections so please check your result.

Level 1 Course @ RDG
We are hosting a level 1 coaching course at Reading Canoe Club 31-Oct 1, 2, 3 Nov – more details

Paracanoe[Poster]
Please see the note below and the attached poster from Steve Harris – Paracanoe Programme Manager.  Please circulate to anyone you think may be interested in this opportunity.

‘GB Canoeing (Paracanoe) is embarking on a Talent ID search in order to identify a number of athletes, who have the performance standard and the time commitment, to be able to train towards potentially representing Great Britain at World and Olympic Games’.

5km Results
Results

Autum Canoe Training Days
Reading Canoe Club are running a series of training days, to promote High kneel Canoe racing at the club. The first few sessions over the winter are aimed at paddlers who already have a level of competency in their boats, so they are being capable of being coached and working on their technique, and training in a group environment. We will be running beginner training courses in the spring. Coaching will be done by Derek Hall, and as a peer group.

Booking is essential so we know you're coming - please drop Craig an email

Dates are as follows:

16th October
13th November
18th December

Provisional program for the first session is as follows: (numbers dependent)

Arrive 9.30 for 10am on the water.
10am - 12pm Video work
12pm-1pm lunch and video review
1.30 - 3.00 500m and 1000m efforts putting techniques into practise
3.30pm go home for a hot bath....

Elmbridge Hasler
Details for Elmbridge Hasler here

Facebook
Check out reading canoe club on facebook facebook.com/ReadingCanoeClub
You will need to "Like" the page for updates to appear in your news feed

5km Results
Results

Henley Hasler - Sign Sheet
Are you racing at Henley on Sunday? The sign up sheet has to come down tonight, email James Keeble or enter on the day

To find out how to book your place please contact John Handyside

National Sprint Championships September 2011
Having sorted last year’s weed problem, there was not a lot the Nottingham Organisers could do about the strong cross winds (the end of Hurricane Katia apparently.) Reading paddlers largely coped well with the conditions but there were some results that were definitely wind affected with conditions favouring lower lane numbers.

Despite conditions, Reading paddlers managed an excellent haul of 22 medals of all colours. Following similar success in the National Marathon Championships last month, (Amber Owen U16 K2 National champion and Imogen Collins Silver medallist in U18 K2,)the girls again got Gold medals in K2, Imogen in U18 200 and 1000m with her partner Emily Illinesi of Elmbridge and Amber with Bethan Owen of Addlestone in the u16 500m event. In addition to this, Amber got gold medals in the u16 k4 events and silver in hotly contested U16 1000K2 and 500k1. Her set was completed with a bronze in the 1000mk1. Imogen meanwhile also got silver medals in the 500 and 200 U18 K1 and K2 and K4 events bringing her haul to 7 medals with a bronze in the 1000m K1.

In the boys events, Andy Potterton raced hard to a bronze medal in the u18 500 K1 and also got bronzes with partner Tony Kirscshstein in the 200, 500 and 1000 U18 K2 events – good luck to these two and Amber in the Olympic Hopes Regatta in Poland at the weekend. Sam Kirschstein finishes our list of medallists with 2 bronze medals in the u16 1000 and 5000m K4 events.

Mention should also be made of the fact that our other girls U18 paddlers, Emily Chalk, Sophie Collins, Amy Dillon and Amy Turner all performed well making several finals in their various events. Thanks also to our loyal senior paddlers, James, Pip , Alo, Tony, Paul and Craig who also competed in their age or class events. On this note, we only had 2 u16 paddlers competing at this regatta and no u14s – hopefully next season will see some new young paddlers coming up to the Nottingham Regattas. This will be particularly important if we have any chance of retaining the Macgregor Paddle, which we were presented with at this event – see photo. Well done everyone for a great sprint season – will be chasing you now for fees!

National Sprint Championships
A small (but very select!) team of Reading paddlers are travelling to Nottingham for the last time this year to take part in the National Sprint Championships - good luck to everyone taking part - hopefully the weather won't be as bad as the forecast currently predicts but at least weed shouldn't be a major problem this year.

Reading will be presented with the MacGregor Paddle on Sunday at 13.00 - so can all paddlers and supporters attend the presentation.

AE Photos have contacted me to say that they will be at the Regatta and if you would like photos of you or your loved ones paddling, please contact 07796 371215 / email

John & I decided to enter the event whilst my dad was still fighting Guillian Barré to bring much needed awareness and funding to research the virus.

With my dad passing away this May, it only makes our efforts all that more important and personal. My father was a true gentleman, sports lover and dedicated father. He spent large parts of his time to coaching & umpiring cricket and hockey. He always encouraged and supported me in all my crazy adventures and it is fitting that our biggest test is dedicated to him.

We are raising funds for both the UK and SA Guillian Barré charities. Here is a link to our just giving page www.justgiving.com/Drummonds-IronMan.

Please feel free to forward this email to friends and family as you so wish.
Just to give you a little insight into how far the IronMan challenge is (it makes me quiver each time I think about it).

The swim is 3.8km (2.4miles) equivalent to 190 lengths in a 20m pool
The cycle is 180km (112miles) equivalent to walking from Stoke Row to Nottingham (which according to Google Maps takes 1 day and 13 hours)
The run is a full marathon 42.2km (26miles).

The race starts at the Henley Management College. The swim is a loop upstream along the regatta course returning to the College for the transition to bike.

The bike route passes through Nettlebed, Highmoor, Stoke Row, Peppard, Cane End, Checkendon, Ipsden, Stonor, Christmas Common.

The run is a four lap route from Henley Bridge to the Flower Pot and then back along the Thames Path finishing at Phyllis Court.

You can take a look at the route and more details of the race on:

challengehenley.com
justgiving.com/Drummonds-IronMan

Hasler Finals - South Region
Final standing for south region and Hasler Final details

Nationals [Stuart West]
Please Note: Due to potential issues with "Travellers" in the vicinity of the racecourse the access to the camping and Parking areas will be a lot tighter than in the past. If you are going to be arriving late on Friday or Saturday evenings (after approx. 8pm) please make sure you have the contact number 07818 428743 as if the gate is closed you will need to call it to be let in.

I hope that everyone will be understanding and patient, as the expense of evicting any "travellers" that gain access to the racecourse during our event have to be borne by the canoe club.

The presence of the travellers in the area also means that campers should be vigilant, do not leave valuables unattended in tents or on show in cars..If you see anything suspicious please inform a marshal asap.

Entries

Simply click on the link to vote: http://www.facebook.com/InternationalCanoeFederation

Poll closes at 5pm on Wednesday 24th August 2011

Worlds
Has started! Results trickling in... Ladies K4 wins their heat straight to A Final and 2012 qualification. That's how you do it - well done, looking forward to the Final.

Worlds [Event][GB Canoeing]
Racing starts tomorrow - check out the program (5 days). The GB Team looks ready to go, with most Olympic events covered. Shame no K4 1000m, C1&C2 1000m. There might even be coverage on the BBC.

Entries need to be with Worcester Canoe club by end of next week (19th August), therefore PLEASE SIGN UP THIS WEEKEND (13th / 14th August) AND BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK (w/c 15th August). If you are away - please email your entry to James Keeble

Please ensure that you detail what class you need to be entered for.

Sella Results Updated
Update Sella results [here]

Liffey Descent 2011 postponed until 8th October due to lack of water.

As you are aware the annual Liffey Descent has traditionally been held in early September. It had been intended to run the 2011 Liffey Descent on Saturday 10th September next.

The main attraction of the Liffey Descent over the years has been that it is a ‘big water’ event. The flood for the event is provided by the Electricity Supply Board through the release of water from its upstream reservoirs. The ESB has however recently advised the Irish Canoe Union that reservoir levels are currently at a 35 year low and that having regard to long range weather forecasts and its own water demand forecasts it will not be in a position to release water to facilitate this year’s event in September. It has indicated that it will be in be better placed in October to facilitate a release sufficient for the ICU to run a satisfactory event.

As a consequence this has left the ICU with a difficult decision – to run the event on 10th September as originally planned but without a flood or to postpone it until early October when there will be a greater possibility of the traditional Liffey Descent flood.

Having considered the matter in great detail and having taken into consideration as many factors as possible including, but not limited to, matters such as potential clashes with other events, mean temperatures in early October and the likely impact of future Liffey Descents in the event of running a ‘dry’ race, the event Organising Committee has arrived at the conclusion that, on balance, the most appropriate course of action is to postpone this year’s Liffey Descent until Saturday the 8th of October.

The ICU regrets that it has been necessary to take this course of action and is conscious that this may not be popular in all quarters. It would however remind canoeists that the release of water is a matter completely outside the control of the Irish Canoe Union and is one solely for the ESB. It is considered that the running of the race in the absence of the excitement generated by a flood would detract from its value as the premier Irish canoeing event.

The postponement of the Liffey Descent, although regrettable, is considered to be in the best interests of the broader Irish canoeing community and the decision to postpone has been taken in this context.

The 2011 Liffey Descent Organising Committee

Iirish Times.com - Dearth of water halts Liffey Descent

How to qualify for the Olympics?
Just be the fastest? Well it's not just that easy, check out the qualification guidelines for sprint and slalom.

Lots
RDG 5km Results 1-Aug
Sella Results
BOA Racing weekend Bath to Bradford / BOA Hasler
MRC Annual Consultative Meeting, check out the Agenda, chairman’s report, accounts etc
Liffey Entry Form

Our sincere condolences are with his family.

We are sure you will understand that under the circumstances we have decided to
cancel the Tonbridge Hasler Marathon due to take place this weekend 7th August.

Reading 5km Results
Here

Europena Results
Two excellent medals at the Europeans - full results

Reading 5km
This Saturday we are hosting two 5km races, the first in K1 and second in K4 - see details. There is also a sign up sheet on the marathon board at the club so get your name down if you can make this weekend's race.

Wokingham Hasler
Sunday is Wokingham Hasler (also referred to as Thames Valley Hasler). A good stretch of water and just down the road from our club so nice and local!
Looks like it will be an out and back race format. The sign up sheet is up and deadline for sign up is TONIGHT - THURSDAY! Please fill in the sheet on the marathon board at the club. Let's try to get as many people out as possible and (maybe!) outnumber Banbury this time round!
We are also going to have a team picture before the start of the long course 12:00 – come and find the club flag.

Summer Social
The summer social was excellent - lots of fun had by all. Amusing games organised by Brian on the river made for a fun afternoon followed by a BBQ and a few drinks in the evening. Good effort on the costumes for those that took part in the fancy dress! Thanks to James, Amelia and Brian for organising.

Southampton
Well done to all those who made it to Southampton, results are now up

Swan Upping
You may be interested to know that the Swan Uppers will be in Caversham on the stretch of the Thames between Caversham Lock and Mapledurham Lock between 10.30am and 12.30pm on Thursday 21st July. There is a procession of boats and the Swan Uppers wear scarlet uniforms. They weigh and examine the cygnets before putting identity rings on them. More information

Southampton Hasler - Sunday 17th July - URGENT SIGN UP!
Sign up sheet is now up on the marathon and sprint board at the club so please be sure to sign up for the Southampton Hasler race. A good opportunity again to earn your club some points and also to qualify your personal spot for the Hasler finals. PLEASE NOTE - DEADlINE FOR SIGN UP - Weds 13th July. Though this race is on the estuary, the water is normally calm and sheltered.

Reading Social “Hawaiian” Style
Next Saturday (16th) is the club fun day and BBQ. The crazy games start at 14:00 so please be at the club by 13:30 so we can make the teams up. There will be sign up sheet on the notice board, equal drop James Keeble an email.

The games last until 17:00 and then is followed by a BBQ at 18:00,

Reading 5k Race x 2 (Saturday 23rd July)
Two races over 5k. First is in a K1 and the second in a K4. Check-in at 12:30.Race Details

Thames Valley Circuit (Wokingham Hasler)
Just downstream of us, it would be great if we can have all of you taking part. Mark King is trying to get the adult beginners to do the same. It would be a good idea to sign up to the race and book a club boat at the same time. The club boats are normally booked on a first come first served basis, so if you leave it to the last moment there may be no boats left. Martin Watson has indicated he is willing to tow the club trailer to the venue so this will help with boat transportation. You can do singles or doubles.

Macgregor Paddle - Final thoughts
Winning this for a second year running is an incredible achievement which we had planned for but not totally expected and proves that last year was no fluke! The trophy will be presented at The Sprint National at Nottingham in September. It would be great if as many team members as possible could be there for the competition and photo.

For those of you who like stats, the final breakdown of the results are here

Although some winning and other excellent performances appear not to have scored points, they will have been vital in ensuring that our competitors didn't gain points. Also bearing in mind that our winning margin was only 3 points, EVERY paddler who raced contributed to our victory.

Finally, hopefully people who were unable to attend this year will be inspired by the result to come up to the Macgregor Paddle 2012 to help make it three in a row!

Macgregor Paddle 2011
Amazing victory, we held off a strong challenge from Wey Kayak Club to defend our Macgregor title! Check out the full results. Big thank you to Rebecca Jennings for all her effort in getting the team together.

Having analysed the last five seasons compared to other “estuary races” the results appear to have a very high degree of fluctuation compared to other similar events.

This has resulted in quite a few “questionable promotions” and complaints from the clubs.

The only real difference between Southampton and the other estuary races is the numbers involved at Southampton which results in separate rather than amalgamated starts.

I have asked the race organiser at Southampton not to run separate starts on the 8 mile course in order to prove that it is the separate starts that cause the issue.

I ask the clubs to support this one off change so I can get the evidence to prove that we either need to change the format for Southampton, or we make it an event at which there are no automatic promotions. Can you please advise your paddlers of this change for this year and please encourage them to still attend.

Please feed any comments back to myself post the event

Thank you in advance your help with this

Reading CC Social - 16th July - GET YOUR BEACH GEAR READY...
With the votes in, there was a clear winner in the field! Sadly Star Wars missed out (Dan will be disappointed) but this year's theme is a Hawaiian / Beach theme so please get your costumes ready! There will be fun and games on the river followed by drinks and a BBQ. Full details to follow but make sure the date is free in your calendar!

INTERCLUBS SPRINT REGATTA - NEXT WEEKEND!
The timetable and programme are now up on the Wey website - lots of racing but still slots if anyone else is interested in coming up to Nottingham and help the club retain the Macgregor Paddle!

Rebecca (Sprint Lead ) will be at the club on Monday (Timetrial) to discuss people's entries, boat transport etc - so if you've got any queries or late entries- see her then.

You should be able to follow the racing at http://www.canoe-europe.org/Default.aspx

Congratulations to both Amber and Sam and also the rest of the team who also attended the event. Full results

Reading Regatta Results
Slight update to the results

Southern Region Hasler Qualification
Unofficial standing of the Southern region

CLUB	HEN	PAN	LON	BAN	BCCC	RDG	FOX	WIN	TVC	SOU	Total	Worst	Final
Banbury	10	9		9	9	7	9	9			62	7	55
Reading	8	10		5	6	10	8	10			57	5	52
Basingstoke	9	8		8	8	9	7	8			57	7	50
Falcon	7	7		10	5	5	10	6			50	5	45
Southampton	4	6		7	10	8	6	7			48	4	44
Pangbourne	6	5		6	7	6	4	5			39	4	35
Wokingham	5	4			4	4	5	1			23	1	22
Longridge	2	3		4	3	2	3	4			21	2	19
Cokethorpe	1	2		2	2	3	2	3			15	1	14
Bourne End	1	1		3	1	1	1	2			10	1	9
Eyot	3	1						1			5	1	4
Marlow	1	1									2	1	1
DKS					1						1	1	0
Windsor								1			1	1	0

SOBEKA CANOE CUP 2011 – 10-11 Sept 2011 [Henri Vansweevelt] [PDF]
We are very glad to invite your team to our international Canoe & Kayak regatta SOBEKA FLANDERS CUP on the 10 Th. and 11 Th of September 2011 in Zwevegem, Belgium.

This year we also organise the “Youth Games” with prices for everyone!

New: C1/C2 min/kad/asp/jun/sen/vet

Included you can find a pre-inscription form and more information about the regatta.

We offer the following to all foreign clubs to make your stay as pleasant as possible :

Inscription fee : FREE
Overnighting at the club : FREE
(Please make reservations! Limited places!)
Meals : see pre-inscription form

Please send us the list of the athletes (+birthday) and your entries for the race before the 20th of August 2011. After this date we can‘t accept any more entries.

Please note that you have to bring your own boats.

We hope to welcome your club on our international regatta.

River Closure
Reading Rowing regatta this weekend, with river closure in place both days. Will check and confirm times shortly. See http://www.reading-amateur-regatta.org/ for more information.

Hasler Racing
With the river closed this weekend, it might be worth getting down to Royal’s Hasler race. But don’t forget Oxford the following weekend - attendance is mandatory if the club is going to qualify for the Hasler finals. The win at Reading was handy, but is certainly not sufficient. Especially as we still have Southampton to come, which the most of the club has strange aversion to. This is a shame as the course has been shortened, so it’s not actually any different to racing on the river and oddly the weather has always been kind to Southampton.

Oxford Hasler Race
Please remember that the Oxford Hasler is next weekend (Sunday 19th June). I believe the race is down as a K2 race in the calendar however this is not the case and div 1 - 3 will have to race K1. Sign up sheet will be going up shortly so please keep an eye out for this.