Deben Canoe Club

Overview of our programme

 Deben Canoe Club offers a range of paddling opportunities including:

• regular weekly paddles on the river Deben on Wednesday evenings (summer only) and Thursday evenings (all year)
• indoor sessions in Deben swimming pool every second Saturday evening
• regular monthly paddles at the weekend, either on the Deben or some other nearby river, on the first (and sometimes third) Sunday of the month
• occasional trips further afield
• training courses for beginners and improvers – most years we offer structured courses for new and improving paddlers. Typically in the spring or early summer, and held weekly over six weeks
• the club does not directly offer training for coaching qualifications, but the Deben Watersports Centre does occasionally offer such training
• we now have access (at the centre) to two Ergo Kayak Paddle training machines and offer occasional sessions through the winter

Further details are given below. One-off and occasional paddles are notified to members by email. Please make sure that the club has a current email address for you.

 

Wednesday evenings

The Wednesday evening paddles are intended for beginners, families and teenagers although they are open to all. Prospective members may be allowed to join these paddles at the lead coach’s discretion. These are relaxed, sociable paddles which go at the pace of the slowest participants.

All Wednesday evening paddles start at 6.30pm and typically finish around 8.30pm.

 

Thursday evenings

The Thursday evening paddles are primarily targeted at adults. All Thursday evening paddles start at 6.30pm and typically finish by 9.00pm.

Thursday paddles are aimed at reasonably competent paddlers. The pace is set by the slowest members of the group and whilst the group will always look after everyone on the water, it does become frustrating for the group if complete beginners slow everyone down. So we ask that beginners complete one of our beginners’ courses before joining us on a Thursday.

 

Pool sessions

 

Roughly every second Saturday the club runs a Pool Session at Deben swimming pool in Woodbridge. These sessions run throughout the year and are a great opportunity for members to improve their paddling skills.

• all Pool Sessions start at 5.00pm and last an hour. You may use the changing rooms shortly before 5pm so that you are ready to start as soon as we have the pool
• most paddlers wear a T Shirt over their swimming costumes
• all equipment is provided, although some members bring their own boats
• if you bring your own boat it must be thoroughly cleaned before it will be allowed in the pool. The club and pool management reserve the right to refuse entry to any boat which does not appear completely clean
• sessions cost £5 per member or £7 per non-member. Non members may only attend for at most two sessions before joining the club. This is a condition of our insurance
• families will be charged for the first three paddlers only (so, a maximum of £15 or £21)

If you have any questions regarding pool sessions please contact the pool session team pool@debencanoeclub.org.uk

 
Courses for beginners and improvers

All our courses are run by British Canoeing accredited coaches and lead to National Governing Body (NGB) approved awards. During the season we typically run the following courses:

• Beginners Courses leading to the British Canoeing Paddle Start and Paddle Discover awards
• an Intermediate Course leading to the British Canoeing Paddle Explore award
• Foundation Safety and Rescue Training - FSRT.

We also run more advanced training on an occasional basis:

• Touring Awards including Touring, Open Water Touring and Multi-Day Touring
• White Water Awards including Whitewater and Progressive Whitewater
• Open Canoeing Awards including Canoe and Progressive Canoe

More details on all these awards at the New Personal Performance Awards website.

 

Land Based Paddle Fitness & Skills

The club has a small group that train using the two Ergo Kayak machines, at the centre. Dates are irregular so please check the calendar for details. This activity is open to all members without prebooking.

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