One small step for paddlers, one giant step for teams

One small step for paddlersOne small step for paddlers

On the weekend of the 18th/19th August, 14 rafters from across the country descended on the National Watersports Centre, Nottingham for a weekend of individual development and training.

The one small step for paddlers saw a wide range of experience from everyone taking part. From 4+ years of international racing experience to only being in a raft for 3 months, it was lovely to see everyone bouncing ideas around. I think everyone involved felt that they learnt something new over the course of the weekend.

The weekend started off bright and early on Saturday morning with a technical session on the flat water. The session was looking at raft control and playing with new ideas on how best to control the corners whilst turning. After lunch, it was time to take the new skills learnt onto white water with a session on how to take the dry line.

This consisted on working on raft control to keep the boat tracking in the right direction. Also focussed on was how to boof over the bigger features. The final session of the day was spent looking at how best to take eddies. How to work on taking them high and working out how to avoid sliding down the eddie.

After a well-deserved night’s sleep, everyone was up and ready to start again on the Sunday morning. The day started off with a session looking into how best to tacklemultiple downstream gates and working on setting your angle early.

The weekend ended with a few fun head-to-head battles. We also had an opportunity to work out how to surf across some of the more difficult waves.

One small step for paddlers, one giant leap for teams

It may have been one small step for paddlers, but it was one giant leap for teams. Overall it was an excellent weekend. It was amazing to watch everyone learning something new or coming away with new techniques to practice ready for the next set of races.

Beth Kirby, Development Weekend Director