Huntingdon Canoe Club has been running Winter paddling pool sessions for club members for several years. The club has decided to trial a limited number of spaces in our 30-minute pool skill/practice sessions for
non-members. These sessions take place every Sunday at One Leisure In Huntingdon (https://www.oneleisure.net/centres/huntingdon/), last 30 minutes, and are a great opportunity to learn some new skills, practice existing skills, and meet club members, coaches, and leaders. These particular non-member sessions
are for those who have already attended a taster session but have not become a member of the club. Please note, that separate taster sessions
or
new-member sessions will be advertised separately in the Spring.
This link/booking is for non-members, for members - please log in to the membership area and book via that link.
Disclaimer: Unless otherwise advertised, these are "Peer Paddle sessions" and we cannot guarantee that a specific coach or trainer will be at the session. We hope to advertise separate taster sessions, new-member sessions, and/or specific skills sessions (such as rolling sessions) in the future.
Note: These are for closed-cockpit
Kayaking only. At this time we can only support sit-in kayaks,
NO canoes, stand-up paddleboards (SUPS), and no sit-on kayaks.
Book by 5 pm Sunday: Please book by 5 pm on the afternoon of the Sunday session you wish to attend. If you book after this, please message the Huntingdon Canoe Club member's Facebook group (HCC Lounge) to let us know that you have booked. When booking after 5 pm, we cannot guarantee that we will have an available boat ready for the start of the session.
Dates: Current dates on offer: 20th October to 15th December (hopefully, more to come in the new year)
Cost: £11 (for non-members, if you are a member, it's £8 - please log in to the membership area)
Max spaces available: 4 - We are currently trialing opening our pool sessions to non-members, so we are limiting the spaces available to 4 (with 8 spaces for members, making a total maximum of 12).
Session length: 30 minutes **
Session times: 6:00 - 6:30 pm & 6:30 - 7:00 pm. You are welcome to book both slots to get as close to a full hour ** in the pool as we can accommodate.
Arrival time: For those booked onto a 6 pm start time, please arrive 10 - 15 minutes before your session is due to start (15 if you wish to get changed in the changing rooms beforehand). For those booked onto the 6:30 pm start time, please arrive 5 - 10 minutes before your session is due to start.
Logistics: Club coaches, leaders, and members, generally congregate in the car park of One Leisure and enter the pool by a side door. The session leader/coordinator will help coordinate getting boats and equipment into the pool through the side door. Please be ready to offer assistance with moving your, and others, boats around.
Under-18: If a paddler is under-18, club rules require that a responsible adult is present for the duration of the session - the adult does not have to be in a boat/the pool and can sit and watch. If sitting and watching, the adult does not have to book a slot.
Fully booked?? : If a session is fully booked, then you may email
[email protected], or post to one of our Facebook Pages, and we
may be able to offer additional spaces depending upon up-take between members and non-members.
Please do not turn up without a booking.
** You may not get a full 30 minutes, or a full hour in the water due to the time and logistics of getting boats, equipment, and people, in and out of the pool.
Club equipment: Boats, spraydecks, and paddles
can be provided. If you would like to borrow a club boat (and equipment), please put this into the form, and please indicate what size boat you feel you would want to use (if you know), and we will
try and accommodate this. The sizes are Small, Junior, Medium, and Large, and size is broadly determined using weight and height. (Hopefully further clarification to come).
Own equipment: If you’re bringing your own boat that’s fine, but make sure it is immaculately clean, inside and out, before you put it in the pool. One Leisure takes a dim view of us dumping mud, gravel, leaves, etc from our boats into the pool. If you are found to have a dirty boat, we reserve the right to ask you to use a club boat, or to leave the session.
Be aware that the chlorinated water might discolour any material-based paddling kit you use at the pool (i.e. Padding in the boat, Buoyancy Aids, Spray Decks, etc, so where possible recommend rinsing in the showers at the end or rinsing the padding of your boat at home with water.
What to wear:
- A swimming kit, a T-shirt, or rash vest can be useful.
- Buoyancy aids are optional, while it is useful to practice rolling with a BA at least some of the time the water is chlorinated so if you’re using your favorite, newest BA give it a very good soak and rinse as soon as you get home. There are usually 1-2 old club buoyancy aids in the kit bag.
- If you’re practicing rolling or rescues, goggles and nose clips might be a good idea.
- If you’re going to spend a lot of time upside down or are prone to ear infections then swimming ear plugs might be for you.
- Don’t forget your towel.
