March Update

It’s almost the end of term! We’ve got some updates to share.

NSR Success

We had a great weekend at NSR and special well done to Michael and Will who won awards including first place in their competitions on the weekend. Full results and photos up on our Facebook Page!

Meeting TONIGHT!

Reminder we have our General Meeting tonight at 6pm in the Cargill lecture theater, discussing the elections and plans for next year. Please try and come along.

Brayford Clean Up

Another reminder about the Brayford Clean Up happening on Wednesday, this begins at 10am right until 3pm, more details in your inbox or the Facebook Group. This will also be the last session of the term.

Last sessions of the term

There last Brayford Session is Wednesday the 16th, and there is no pool session this week. Sessions resume after the break on April 6th.

Development fund good news!

We are pleased to announce we’ve been successful in our grant application £496 worth of new safety kit: These included: X8 Wetsuits, x1 Mountain First Aid Kit, x2 throwlines, x1 Group Safety Shelter, x3 Karabiners & Safety Tape, x2 Pairs Roof Straps, x2 river knives, x6 Airbags, x1 Set Dry Bags, x1 River Guide.

This fantastic news means that’s £496 extra left for us to invest further into the club. This grant was secured under the new system which replaced to old development fund request in front of sports committee, applications are now decided by the ‘sports zone’ officers from the SU.

This kit will be purchased gradually over time so you’ll see benefits right until June when the purchases will be complete. Overall this means we have spent almost £900 worth of new kit this year, including paddles in October, Decks in November, Helmets in December!

LCC refurbishments

We’ve been informed from the Lincoln Canoe Club, who’s building we use on Wednesdays that they are undertaking refurbishments & decorating during the easter break, while we hope this will be finished for April there might some effects on Wednesday sessions so we advise you arrive earlier to account for any extra time in kitting up.

Elections

It’s election week, over the next 6 days you’ll be able to vote for next year’s committee, all nominees will be at the meeting tonight to answer any questions and discuss there plans so make sure you hear what they have to say. Voting can be done 24/7 online at www.lincolnsu.com/vote until the 20th of March.

Hoodies & Mid-Layers

Ah yes, firstly as before we apologise for the issues and frustrations with getting the club hoodies this year. As mentioned before in previous posts we’ve been struck with issues with PlayerLayer stock and service. Here is the update we can provide:

The SU is now in the process of terminating its contract with PlayerLayer due to issues across the board for all clubs, including ours. However the current contract remains in place until the end of the academic year, meaning we are not free to seek alternative suppliers. Also due to this process all communications to PlayerLayer from us now goes via the team of the SU who are dealing with the contract termination. This team have been on hold during February (due to the SU elections) so no progress was made for 2 weeks.

After discussions with the SU, VP activities, President and CEO of the SU, we are now looking to end our order with PlayerLayer as there is no foreseeable chance of gaining the ordered stock. On top of the fact all remaining stock are now in the possession of the SU (that does not included the hoodies as they have yet to even be manufactured). At this time we are arguing for us to go with an alternative supplier which Societies and non-competing sports team can do so. Dependent of this outcome of discussion will depend if we remain waiting for hoodies from PlayerLayer or we can seek alternatives, as we agree ordering these in December and still being empty handed in March is not fair on us, the members.

We will keep you updated as soon as we can, however these discussions can remain private due to the sensitive nature of contracts involved.

Apologies once again, we understand you’ve paid fairly for these products and we are working as much as we can to get leisurewear to you as we do every year. We never thought we’d be facing these issues down the line as what the SU and PlayerLayer promoted back in the introduction of this system in September!

Anglesey

Our annual surf trip is just under 2 weeks away, we are going to provide a final details of timings and activities this week so keep an eye out for that. If you are yet to pay the remaining costs please can you do so ASAP at the Students’ Union, we’ve extended the deadline as some have missed the 2nd payment.

So it’s been a busy month again, any questions drop us a message.

Happy Paddling!

February Update!

With lots coming up and lots going on, here’s an update on what’s new!

Sports Committee

Our Presidents, Vice, Kit Sec and Web & Media Officer all attended the SU Sports Committee on Thursday to hear and discuss issues relating with SU sports. Sammi spoke of new insurance details, guest speakers from the Police and new sports publication and the update with Varsity. It was also confirmed that the contract with Player Layers is in the process of being terminated based on the overall poor service. Minutes of that meeting can be found here https://lincolnsu.com/your-union/how-we-are-run/minutes.

Varsity

As this year we planned to take part in Varsity, however Hull University Canoe Club have pulled out of taking part, so as such we don’t have a team to compete against.

Player Layer – Hoodies & Midlayers

As you know from previous posts, we’ve been experiencing issues with getting the order of the club hoodies to you. Since December we’ve been poorly communicated of the stock issues with Player Layer and have done as much as we can to get a reason why it was not addressed before we ordered hoodies and why it has taken so long, the most recent delay in getting stock (bearing in mind this stock needs time to further be printed/embroidered) is due to Chinese New Year. The Mid-Layers are ready to be printed however we only find it fair to get both at the same time in order to keep all members happy.

The Students’ Union and VP Activities have been informed and have also pushed Player Layer for an explanation, since we are not the only sports team which has had similar issues.

Sorry it looks like we’ve not gotten any further with getting these hoodies but we are trying and have done as much as we can. Next year a new supplier will be used to avoid these issues.

The next steps now is waiting for stock from Player Layer and then getting them sent to be printed and then delivered to us. Player Layer have estimated stock from the end of February so we are now anticipating a delivery date of Mid-March.

Anglesey

As you know our surfing trip to Anglesey is coming up at the end of March, we’ve got more details shared and the copy of the powerpoint used sent via e-mail. The till button is open Wednesday the 10th for deposits/first payment of £45. We’ll then take the 2nd payment from the 10th right until Mid-March in order to spread the costs and make it easier. This way you can pay for the full £90 cost or just split the costs. But if you wish to have a place you need to pay the deposit ASAP from the 10th. The payments are made at the Students’ Union.

New Kit

Since our successful bid for sports development funding late last year, we’ve received delivery of 10 new spray decks. These were tested the other night at the pool session and will be soon be making an appearance alongside our current decks. Our new helmets have been ordered and are in the payment process.

Team Photos

We have our annual team photo coming up on the either the 3rd/4th of March. These are similar to the ones in the past. We are going to try and book a slot on the Thursday because we are off to NSR on the Friday. So make sure you can attend and be part of the official team photo.

Dates for your Diary

3rd or 4th March – Team Photos
10th February – Cathedral Cup Social
18th February – Social Night Out
15th March – Big Brayford Clean Up
26th March – 1st April – Anglesey

Any new updates or news we’ll post here, and keep an eye out on the Facebook group for all the events/info.

Happy Paddling!

NSR Update

With our Surfing trip just been announced (see our last blog post) we’d not forgotten about NSR coming up first, so here’s a quick update on what’s happening.

Firstly, the Till button will be opening sometime this week, we did plan to have it open from Monday but somethings gone wrong at the SU so we’ll update you on that. But this was also planned to close this Friday (29th) but this might be extended due to the issue, but try to pay before then please! As e-mailed the price is £50, same as last years weekend!

Secondly, this years theme is Christmas! Those who’ve been before know that themed dressing up is a big thing and the best ones are usually teams which have a joint costume, so using our creative minds we’ve come up with a great festive idea, but we can’t revel this awesome idea on the blog in case any other university has a sneaky peek and nick the idea, so keep an eye out for the e-mail with all the information you need to know.

And that’s it for now, your 2 event organisers are keeping there hands full with 2 trips to plan and keeping up the socials so keep and eye out for any information.

Happy Paddling!

Surfing holiday 2016

Yes, yes and YES! You properly won’t even read this and skip to the good stuff, so here we go!

We’ve grown up and moved on from holidays on the cornish coast! Ladies and Gentleman it’s our annual surfing week away! And this year we’ve ditched the nasty seagulls and red flags of Newquay and are heading up to North Wales for one of the gems of the Britain, Anglesey!

To fill you in, heres the copy of the e-mails which has gone out today about this trip:

–

Good Afternoon!

Yes, this the email you’ve all been waiting for. The location of our top secret, super awesome, and completely unforgettable week of surfing and top bantz!

A place where Newquay is spoken about in only hushed tones, a place where they laugh in the face of red-flagged beaches, a place where the seagulls present you with chips instead of stealing them from your bare hands. Often known as the Welsh Riviera, and host to a quite staggering 70,000 people on Britain’s 5th largest island, it’s a wonder we’ve never been there before. That’s right ladies and gentleman, if you haven’t guess it already, we’re going to ANGLESEY! Home of the Northern Hemisphere’s longest and fastest zip-line!

Where?

Anglesey..haven’t you read any of this?!

When?

Saturday 26th of March – Friday 1st of April.

These are not the same as the provisional dates so please make sure you’re aware of this!

Cost?

Still not confirmed, we will be having a meeting in the next week or two to go through this and lot’s more with you!

What is the surf trip all about?

Think we only go to kayak for a week? You’d be wrong! An unforgettable week of surfing, white water, nights out, nights in, days at the ‘sea zoo’, climbing, coasteering, much more and time with your favourite committee (especially that president – damn he’s hot), it really is a trip you don’t want to miss.

Transport

We hire a van for the week to transport all kit and kayaks to allow us an uncramped and comfortable journey in the cars! *To book a place in the mighty Megane or the exclusive Octavia interviews start next week*.

Accommodation

Staying in the luxury, kayaking focused activity centre, this location offers not only the chance to stay in extreme comfort for a week, but also to try a range of new activities at reasonable prices! This includes:

Climbing
Coasteering
Sea Kayaking
Walking
Diving
Sailing
Windsurfing/Kite surfing

We’ve also been gifted with a pub, known as the ‘Paddlers Return’, onsite and open for our use! To have a look yourselves go to:

http://www.angleseyoutdoors.com/accommodation-gogarth-dorms.html

As said before, we will be having a meeting in the next week or two so you don’t need to decide until then. But please give it a good think so after the meeting we can get it all paid asap!

Any questions feel free to email back 🙂

Your ever loving Committee xxxxxxxxxx

So there you have it! We’ve so excited to be doing this change of scenery for the club, last years week away was a load of fun but issues have been creeping up regarding Newquay for a few years now and we feel it’s time go somewhere else, explore new coasts and the other activities on the island! So we hope you are sharing in this excitement as well and will join us, even if the pasties won’t be a good, but the banter still will!

Happy Paddling!

New Term Update

Hello everyone and welcome back to January, we have some exciting updates for you:

NSR 2016

First of all NSR is back this year and we are planning on attending after our year out! If you don’t know what NSR is; it’s the National Student Rodeo, a kayaking festival/party weekend down the road at the White Water Centre in Nottingham. It’s a weekend of free style kayaking and features races, time trails and play boating. While there is a lot of skill on show, it’s a student event so expectations are not to high so don’t feel put off! Off the water there is a festival style atmosphere with other university teams, spectator areas, visits from Kayaking manufactures (chance to spend those xmas pennies) and 2 large parties in the evening!

The dates are the 4th – 6th of March and involves 2 nights of camping. There is also a theme each year, (the blog image should give some clues) and gives us a chance to dress up as a team, and the winning team gets loads of prizes, like literally boat loads! Our 2 events organisers are getting the final arrangements done but if you want to come you can register your interest now, check your inbox for more information. The weekend will cost £50 that covers the tickets, accommodation and entry into the parties and one nights of food. You’ll see more information on the blog and on your e-mails.

Varsity 2016

This year the University of Lincoln Students’ Union Activities and Hull University AU will be competing in 3rd ‘Humber Games’, or Varsity. And this year we are pleased to be entering a team to compete against Hull University Canoe Club. While we work out the details of events etc.. The date will be on the 16th of April and this year Hull are hosting. We’ll have more details soon once we agree of the details with HUCC.

Sessions resume

Brayford Sessions are going to resume on the 13th of January, please don’t be fooled by the mild December we had last month, it will be cold! So while your loans still fresh in your account buy some cheap thermals.

Pool Sessions are resuming on the 17th of January!

Hoodie & Mid-Layers

We understand you might be getting frustrated with the lack of Hoodies this year, and even though we’ve taken your money your still are waiting. So here is what is happening.

In October we connected PlayerLayer the SU supplier in placing an order of Hoodies & MidLayers, We wanted to add our logo and members names so it required the bespoke design/alterations so needed to be cleared by Player Layer before we took orders. Then we advertised in October for hoodies as normal, and took orders right until the 16th of November. Then we allowed 2 weeks to pay for the hoodies. As always with bespoke orders (as in the past) we took payment first. This is done to make sure we have to money to pay for production and also to make sure people who have ordered some can pay for them, and not being left out of pocket.

Once payment was confirmed we sent off the order to Player Layer on the 7th December. Understanding the festive period would mean the 4 week production time would be extended, so we hoped these be delivered at the start of term. PlayerLayer then responded adding specifications of design on the Mid-Layer needed to be changed as in the time of the original design a new policy was introdcued about location of members names, this added another week onto production time.

On the end of term (17th of December) PlayerLayer contacted us about Stock issues with the hoodies, Issue being there is no more stock of the hoodie until February. by this point all of our committee members had returned/returning home and SU drop-ins had finished so the issue was not raised for the SU. PlayerLayer offered an alternative product but seeing this not what members have ordered we thought it would not be right advertising one product and then receiving another.

The Player Layer office, production team , Students Union office then closed for the festive period on the 24th. Meaning nothing was resolved during the break.

Upon return we’ve now contacted both PlayerLayer & The Students’ Union about the problem we are still facing. These have been passed onto the Vice President who is now looking into this issue.

And thats were we are about hoodies & mid-layers, we’ve been effected by mis-communication from PlayerLayer, Red tape and being told about issues to late. We are still aiming to get the original hoodies & mid-layers which have been ordered to you ASAP. And we’ll keep you updated on the blog.

Other Kit News

Our new helmets & spray decks have been ordered and will be with us soon! We’ve also added another pair of split paddles based from feedback in Wales, these are of better quality and will easier to use in the case of if your primary paddles break or are lost.

Communication feedback

Before the end of term it was raised on improving feedback, so from 2016 we’ll be publishing agendas & minutes of committee meetings, if you have any ideas then we’d like to hear them! Drop us an e-mail!

Happy Paddling!