Fresher Taster Sessions, all you need to know!

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Enjoy a taster of Kayaking & Canoeing right here in Lincoln! The University of Lincoln Canoe & Kayak club is hosting 4 taster sessions to allow you to try this exciting sport over freshers. We’ll explain all you need to know on this post.

When Can I come and have a go.

We are hosting 4 sessions across 2 days. The 23rd of September and the 30th of September. With taster sessions at 2pm & 3pm. Please show up only to one as we need to allow everyone a chance to take part.

What should I expect?

You’ll spend 1 hour taking part, 15mins gearing up, warming up and a quick safety briefing then we head onto Brayford Pool, allow you to paddle around, we’ll play some games and activities as well as teach basic skills. It’s flat water so no rapids so we don’t plan anyone to fall in.

Do I need any special kit?

No, we’ll provide the boats & paddles, as well as the safety equipment to get paddling, we just ask you dress appropriate and bring a towel.

What should I wear?

Sports/active wear is good. A t-shirt and swimming shorts/tracksuit trousers, However we’ll provide a CAG to cover your torso from water, however you will get wet, be it from splashes in the water or the rain so please wear clothing you don’t mind getting wet. But please don’t wear jeans or cotton/fleece tracksuits as these absorb water and make paddling unsafe.  Footwear wise, please wear footwear you don’t mind getting wet.

Should I bring anything else?

A change of clothes is essential, you don’t want to be walking home in wet clothes, also a towel and a change of shoes. There is changing facilities so you can leave your belongings in the changing rooms.

Is it easy, safe, dangerous?

We have a team of trained students who’ve been on various BCU courses who’ll be on the water providing coaching and assistance, The Brayford Pool is a flat body so no waves or choppy water will make this great for a first time paddling. The kit you’ll be wearing is also safe and keep you afloat if you accidentally fall in. While the Brayford pool might look questionable some days, however the Environmental Agency has deemed the water perfectly safe to paddle on.

Overall, it’s safe and the easy to paddle on the Brayford.

Where should I meet?

We meet at the Lincoln Canoe Club, based on campus, it the building near the Minerva building (formally M.A.B), to find it walk down the road/path as if you were heading to the level crossing.

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We’d love to see you come along and try this sport out. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on Facebook, or e-mail canoe@lincolnsu.com

Happy Paddling!

Hello Freshers 2015

A big welcome to new and returning students of the University of Lincoln, and well done if you’ve just secured your place. With Freshers Week and moving in weekend fast approaching we’d like to let you in on some of the canoe & kayaking you can get upto in Lincoln during your study and what to look forward to!

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Kayaking? Yes, kayaking.

While you might be loading the car full of stationery, books and the odd cheap bottle of vodka, you might of not thought of kayaking or canoeing. Whereas some of you might be paddle in the hand ready to arrive next month, whatever your situation we welcome everyone no matter ability into our team. This blog post we’ll give you some advice and tell you what’s happening if you want to get into this sport.

 

Who we are?

We are L.U.C.K, University team for Canoeing & Kayaking. We meet up weekly to paddle on open water in Lincoln and surrounding rivers, as well as weekly indoor pool sessions to learn skills. We also travel across the country to paddle different rivers and go surf kayaking on the cornish coast once a year. Kayaking & Canoeing is a great sport and it’s much easier to get into then you think. We as a club provide the basic kit to get you started and with a mix level of ability, you can learn skills from other members as we are happy to help each other out. It’s also cheaper as membership is just £55 for the academic year, covering all equipment use costs & Wednesday Session costs. We also have a thriving social side, from club nights to bowling.

You can see what we’ve been upto over the past year over on our facebook page. www.facebook.com/lincolnunikayak

 

Sounding good, want to get involved?

If this is sounding good, Fantastic. It’s really easy to get involved with L.U.C.K. Here’s how: Visit us at the Sports Faye on the Wednesday of Freshers Week we’ll have a stand where you can ask questions and speak to us face-to-face. Then we host 4 taster sessions, 2 on the 23rd Sept, and the 30th Sept, both 2pm & 3pm on those days pick a day to come down and have a go for an hour, free of charge. (More information will be updated on this blog soon) If you enjoy that then we encourage you to join up. We also want you to feel free to ask us as many questions as you need to. So you can e-mail us over at canoe@lincolnsu.com or message us on Facebook.

 

What should I bring from home?

If you are planning to pack we have some simple suggestions:

  • Sports Kit: With so many sports on campus and wanting you to try out during the first couple of weeks, pack some sports clothing so you can have a go. For kayaking we recommend, lightweight t-shirts, tracksuit bottoms/shorts etc.. We don’t recommend fleece pants or denim as these can absorb water and be uncomfortable to paddle in.
  • Thermals & Wet Gear: Got some thermals & baselayers, bring them if you want to join in. During the winter months it can get cold, these provide an extra layer to keep you warm when paddling. Wet Gear? Got a wet suit or some boardie shorts? These are great to bring along, as well as simple swimming shorts.
  • Footwear: Let’s be honest, you might fall into the water in this sport, don’t worry everyone does. So be prepared to get your shoes covered in river water and the rest, so if you have a set of old shoes you don’t mind getting wet, bring those, no studs however.

 

This and some common sense (a towel) you’ll be ready to get paddling without footing a bill for stuff you already had at home.

 

Wait? What About that expensive kayaking gear?

Just like all sports, Kayaking & Canoeing has specialist kit, which can be very expensive. We do not need you to have any specialist clothing/kit to join in. As a club we provide members with enough of the kayaking gear to get started. A buoyancy aid (BA) CAG A waterproof overlayer, Decks a piece of kit to stop water getting into the boat  and helmets when needed. We also provide paddles and a boat.

 

Previous paddler, have you own kit already?

Then we welcome you to bring your own kit along. Each year members join with various amount of kits, We also can store your boat & paddle in our secure store with the rest of the club boats. If you thinking of bringing your own boat or paddle then get in touch and we’ll explain how to do this.

 

So what now until the Sports Fayer?

If you like the idea of joining us and giving kayaking a go that’s great, we already mentioned some things you can pack if you want to get involved about. But here is some things you can do in the meantime as well:

 

 

If you have any questions feel free to e-mail us canoe@lincolnsu.com

 

And we look forward to seeing you in September!


Happy Paddling.

Another year ends, another era passes.

WOW, is it the end of term already, and with Wednesday’s midnight paddle and last nights summer meal still fresh in our minds, I’d thought we’d write a post on how we celebrated another successful year in the Canoe & Kayak Team!

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Well first of all I can’t talk about the past year without a mention of our special anniversary. In the academic year of 2004/2005 a keen paddler by the name of Shaun Hazell sought to find other kayakers within the then still young University of Lincoln, and created the University of Lincoln Canoe & Kayak Club. Now 10 years down the line, LUCK is one of the biggest sports teams on campus and has had countless of memories, of which when we came together at the end of April to celebrate in our special event. So a huge thanks to Shaun who has helped the club over the 10 years!

So how can we talk about 2014/15, well, we can mention Tyne Tour and our array of hats on show, and how we even managed to get into The Linc (the proper printed version as well!), or to our first Canoe Trip to the River Wye and getting ‘re-educated’ into proper canoe sitting position, to our Pub Golf social in which.. well we won’t mention that!

We can talk for hours about those times we swam down rapids, cruised in and out of eddies,  began life long relationships with rocks, surfing the tides at fistral beach and being too cool for NSR! But what we’ve come to really enjoy  and remember about this club is not just the sport, but the people we meet and become friends with.

And that is how we can talk about 2014/15, this year for many of our team will of been there last year. From those finishing 3 year long courses, to completing masters. Many on the team will be leaving this summer, and for all who’ve been around for the past year or 2 years it’s something we can’t imagine seeing that generation gone.

There are so many people to mention, Charlie King, our current treasurer (who is much nicer to you when you don’t ask for money), has managed to become friends with almost everyone! Ever the one to provide kayaks on the wednesday sessions we’ll miss her colourful array of Kayaking gear, and DIY gear, and headwear, and all of the colours!

Tom Candy, former Social Sec, Former Vice President and always a friend, while he might of missed the mark on the amount of pool sessions he managed to organise. He was always better at making sure everyone was okay and having a good time, be it on a river in the middle of Wales, to the dance floor in Skint!  And without Candy, there would be no Joe Brightmore, a friend who while might of been missing on the water, was everywhere else at the time! We’ll miss his increasing complicated football organization skills and worried about who’ll fill those shoes next year!

Our Vice President, Joshua Williamson has been a regular face on our socials, from his ever increasing ability to drink far more than the average human being (and even kayaker) to his ever well organised Crawl of Duty helmet challenge! He’ll be missed, not just by the bars he manages to keep open, but by all who has come to meet his cheeky charm and humor, you’d be surprised (and slightly terrified) to know he’ll be working soon of creating cars to be sold to the public! And of course not to forget his drinking partner and former treasurer Oliver Barrow who will be leaving also!

And while there is many more people we could of mentioned, (and sorry for not!) We could not talk about this leaving generation without the mention of our President.

Our President who has served 2 years in her role has done an outstanding job, and has provided a honest and approachable face for many in the team. Kind, Caring, hard-working and just friendly, it’s with great sadness to say Rachel Turner will be leaving this summer as she has finished her 3 years study. For the past 2 years Rachel as overseen a massive expansion in club numbers and overseen and helped 2 committee worth of problems, from getting kicked out of our storage shed, to being the chair on all of those committee meetings! We can say it’s been a pleasure having her as our president for the last 2 years!

So while it might of not yet sunk in, that in September we won’t be seeing these people coming down on Wednesdays, we’ll still be sure to remember that we can’t spend the rest of the time wishing for their return, as a new committee takes its role from July and a new set of freshers will appear, we’ll begin a new generation of kayakers at the University of Lincoln and hopefully be as great as the last committee & generation.

So to everyone leaving and those yet to join, we wish you the best of LUCK!

 

Midnight 1/2 Marathon Paddle 2015

As the academic year draws to a close, the University of Lincoln Canoe & Kayak Team are undergoing one of there key fundraisers. And the team plan to smash their target of £500 to spend on new safety equipment. 

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Each of the teams members will be paddling in teams of 2-3 in Canadian canoes down a 13 mile (a half marathon) stretch of the river witham in Lincoln. However the team will be doing this task during the middle of the night, with a set off time planned at 10pm just after sunset. Meaning the team members will have to work as a team to navigate the route with no sunlight.

The funds raised from donations & sponsorship will be going towards new safety equipment for the team. Including replacing damaged Bouncy Aids, throwlines and new first aid kits. Money will also be spent on coaching up members to provide safety during river trips, allowing the team to paddle more rivers across the UK and encourage more students from the university of experience this sport safely.

The team will be doing this task on the 3rd of June 2015 and will set off from the University’s waterside campus at 10pm and return once the 1/2 marathon has been paddled.

Anyone who wants to support the team can donate online here: http://www.youcaring.com/sports-fundraiser/midnight-paddle/351885

You can follow the team during the build up for the event over on twitter @lincolnunikayak

Canoe Trip 2015, River Wye

55 km of river paddled in just 2 days, The University Canoe & Kayak beat records on there trip to the River Wye this month.

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On Friday the 6th of March members of the Lincoln University Canoe & Kayak team (L.U.C.K) made there way down to the border of Wales to enjoy a weekend of canoeing on open water. More specifically the River Wye.

The River Wye is the fifth longest river the UK and stretches some 215km, at some parts it even forms the border between Wales and England.The water was moving steadily and the weather was in our favour. Instead of running the 2 day route, we signed up to run the 3 day route, but still in 2 days.

Starting from Hoarwithy, on the 7th of March, the team of 18 set off in 6 Canadian canoes down towards the end point in the town of Ros-on-wye. The weather much to our surprise, was perfect. The sun was shining onto the clear water and the wind was settled. With 2 members in each canoe teamwork was key, the back paddler is responsible for the steering of the boat, while the front paddling is responsible for providing the ‘power’. Both members needed to work in sync the keep the boat moving at a steady pace and keeping it stable when the wind did blow in the wrong direction.

However the lack of rain and high winds made paddling the first day a breeze, even if we did manage to cover 30km, none of the teams spirit was dampened! And a well deserved pub meal was in order when we arrived back at camp.

The 2nd day the weather had turned back to being British, leaving Ros-on-wye the team back in the canoes set off down to Symonds Yat, right on the border with Wales. Passing on route were the ruins of Goodrich castle. While a few issues occurred when one our freshers managed to get himself caught by a fishing line on the bank, but the weekend passed with no swimmers or capsizes. Finishing the days paddling at 3pm the team got off and set back home to Lincoln.

Overall while it might be far off from the most thrill seeking of rivers, but it provided a great chance to nail down our Canoe skills and explore one of the most popular paddling rivers in the UK.