2011 10 newsletter

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Volume 35 Issue 10 October 2011

Newsletter F

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Frome Canoe Club is affiliated to the British Canoe Union and is a Registered Charity (Number 1104728)

Trip prices - go up. See page 17 for details,

Congratulations to Lou and Andy (our Chairman)

A baby boy, Dylan, born on 22nd September. All three are doing well.

Our 2011 winter season of paddling begins and we guarantee you won’t find this hazard on any of the trips!

P4 - 6 gives you details of all our early winter trips with full details about what you can expect!

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FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE

Send articles for the next issue to [email protected] by 28th October

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President

Graham Warnecke

Vice Presidents

Richard and Jane Arney

Jim and Catharine Croft

Chairman

Andy Bell

Vice Chairman

Rich Carter

Treasurer

John Kent

Secretary

Pam Dixon

16 Blagdon Walk, Frome, BA11 2YH

Committee Members

Debbie Ashdown

Howard Charlesworth

Sam Charlesworth

Mandy James

Alun Jones

Gareth McGiveron

Karl Waldeck

Sara Withall

Jack Smiles (Youth voice)

Kit Officer

Tim Smiles

In this issue

3 Calendar in brief

4 River Barle

4 River Frome

5 River Tavy

5 River Walkham

6 Dart training weekend

7 Friday Pool Sessions

8 Monthly Sundays

8 Monthly DVD nights

9 River Avon

10 River Frome

12 River Dart - from the archives

15 Late Courses – our passes

15 Coaches meeting

17 From the committee: club trip prices

18 Guess Who?

CALENDAR: details

REPORTS

SPECIALS

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Calendar 2011

Date Event Standard Contact

October

2 Sunday morning session All Pam D

8/9 Tiverton Moving water w/e Passport or 1 Star Pam D

12 Coaches’ Meeting Club Coaches Rich C

19 Wednesday DVD night All Pam D

23 River Barle 2 Star Alun J

30 River Frome Passport or 1 Star Rich C

November


12/13 Dart Training weekend One Star + Pam D

16 Wednesday DVD night All Pam D

27 River Tavy Two Star + Alun J

27 River Dart - Lower and Loop One Star + Rich C

December


23 NO POOL SESSION All Pam D

30 NO POOL SESSION All Pam D


The next issue will be ready for you to pick up from the pool session on 4th November

+ in the table above means that you must have had some moving water

training or experience, eg Tiverton Training or the Dart Training weekend.

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Calendar in detail - day trips


River Frome: 30th October Meet 9am at the Clubhouse Cost £3 Organiser - Rich Carter

This trip will be a good trip for you if you have just got your Passport or One Star qualification this year. But you will need to remember that at this time of the year the water may be cool and the weather may be cool, so you will need to come prepared to with warm clothes and energy food.

Our local trips are always good fun as we get to do the weirs and play in some stoppers, all on our very own door step.

The section we will paddle will be decided on the day and will of course depend on water levels. We like the stretch from Creamery to Langham Farm but there are many other sec-tions we could do. We could for example explore the new fish/canoe pass constructed recently at Iford Weir! Be prepared for whatever we choose on the day.

Remember the clocks go back overnight so don’t turn up too early and have to wait an hour!

River Barle: 23rd October Meet 8am at the Clubhouse Cost £12 Organiser - Alun Jones

The Barle is a great little river, steep and running thought a high sided val-ley, it is sometimes likened to an alpine river.

We paddle the section from Tarr Steps to Dulverton, a distance of about 7 miles.

At low/medium levels it offers pretty much continuous grade 2 conditions with several good play spots. And to make it all the more perfect, the scenery is stunning.

A perfect progression from the Tiver-ton moving water training, you will be able to put the skills you learned into practice.

You will need warm paddling gear, sensible thermals and lots of energy food.

Do ask if you are not sure whether this is a trip for you. We sort out all

the kit you need to borrow on the morning when we meet at 8am.

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Calendar - 2 different trips on the same day

River Tavy: 27th November Meet 7.30am at the Clubhouse Cost £15 Organiser - Alun Jones

The Tavy is a beauty of a river, graded at 2 with one Grade 3 rapid, similar in difficulty to the Dart Loop, but with-out the crowds of people! And it is only about 20 miles further on from the Dart - worth it!

This paddle is about 6 miles long. We start in the centre of Tavistock. Fast easy rapids take us out of town, but watch out for a stopper lurking under one bridge in high water. A series of chutes form a grade 2 rapid as we leave the last houses. Below this the Tavy winds through woodland away from civilisation and roads, with fre-quent grade 2/3 rapids and some great surf waves in high water.

Eventually the River Walkham enters from the left and a little way below is the biggest rapid on the river. The final mile has big continual waves in high water. Just before the takeout bridge is a tiny sloping weir which produces a good surf wave/ stopper in all levels.

You will need warm paddling gear, sensible thermals and lots of energy food.

NOTE THE EARLY START FOR THIS TRIP

And for something NEW River Walkham As part of the Tavy trip 27th November Organiser - Alex Nicol

This tributary of the River Tavy is very water dependent and on the day we will make a decision if some of us can do this as an extra.

The river starts with grade 2 rapids surrounded by pleasant wooded valley. The river changes dramatically as it steepens over a series of small ledges, which finishes with a sharp 1m drop.

Collect your wits, as there are now mostly continuous rapids between here and the Tavy. The river narrows and is confined by bedrock, forming numerous eddies which are excellent for practising eddy hopping.

The trip finishes with a short paddle on the Tavy to the get out including the grade 3 rapid. With any luck and some good planning we will catch up with the paddlers on the Tavy trip and join them for the rest of the way.

A grade 2/3 river.

We will have to limit the number of places on this section because of the size of the river. So a maximum of 8 on this section.

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Calendar in detail - Moving water training


PROCEDURES FOR BOOKING ONTO THIS WEEKEND TRIP

The list for Dart Training is in the booking file, clearly labelled, on the desk at every club session. You may want to talk to Pam, Rich, John or Arthur before you sign up for this one. This weekend has a very specific function of training. It is a catered weekend and we discourage day trippers. To book onto this weekend trip, a non returnable deposit (£10) needs to be paid in advance. Or we can take the payment in full.

Remember your name is only on the list when some money is paid up front.

Dart training weekend 12th/13th November Meet 8.00 am at the Clubhouse Cost £39

This is your chance to learn/develop/polish your white water skills including:

breaking in and out of the flow, surfing stopper work rapid running, eddy-hopping and so on.

We paddle the River Dart on both days, working in very small groups on the different sections depending on your ability.

Overnight we stay in a bunkhouse, Powdermills in the middle of Dartmoor. It is a truly lovely spot to be in. You get to sleep on proper beds in rooms of 4-14 people. So just bring sleeping bags and other overnight things, but no need for a sleeping mat.

You can pick up the paddling gear that you want to borrow from the club on the Saturday morning.

Minimum age limit for this activity is 10 years.

Booking a place is essential and the cost of £39 includes transport, training, accommodation and food.

See below for booking arrange-ments.

See also Page 18 for another chance to do the River Dart.

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Calendar in detail - Pool sessions

POOL SESSIONS HAVE STARTED FROME LEISURE CENTRE, FRIDAYS, 8-9pm

Cost £2.50 for Youth members and £3 for Adults

Pool sessions are for practising capsizes, for learning support stokes or learning to roll and for play-boating if you stay in the deep end. Or you can just paddle about and be sociable.

Pool sessions are for everyone!

Bring a swimming costume, towel and money. We provide the boats, paddles and spray decks. We don’t wear helmets and buoyancy aids in pool sessions. It’s easy.

If you want to bring your own boat make sure it is very clean and you should bring it in through the fire exit door. Dead leaves and slugs are not welcome!

We give you a coloured wrist band when you pay at the door. This en-sures that you get a fair and scheduled time in a kayak. Sessions are 20 min-utes long and the order is displayed on the table at the start of the session. When you are not paddling you can swim in the small pool or chat to other members on poolside. Pool rules apply at all times and so no running around etc. and we have to do as the pool lifeguards say.

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Calendar in detail - club sessions


Sunday: Once a Month Morning Paddle First Sunday each month . . . At the Clubhouse 10am-noon

Over the winter season we meet once a month on Sunday mornings to stay in touch with each other and of course to paddle the River Frome.

John leaves the slalom poles in posi-tion through the winter months so we can all hone those slalom skills and keep our fitness levels up for the early slaloms next year! Only joking!

Meet at the Clubhouse between 10 and noon. You can stay perfectly dry if the weather looks a bit inclement. You can just chat to other like-minded souls in the meeting room, with a cup of tea in hand, so don’t be put off if it’s rainy or you are feeling a bit un-der the weather – come to catch up on the news!

October 2nd November 6th

Wednesday: Once a Month DVD night Third Wednesday each month ... At the Clubhouse 7pm

We are going to be showing Alex’s DVD of the Scotland 2011 trip, to launch our monthly DVD nights.

This is a real beauty of a DVD and shows the fun and games that our members get up to when they visit the steep creeks and burns of north west Scotland. Look at Jonny here having fun on Big Mans Falls! AND the DVD has the additional bonus that one of our very own members has put it all together so very profession-ally. Do come! Viewing commences about 7.30pm. Tea, coffee, cakes and soft drinks will be available from 7pm.

19th October

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Reports - River Avon

The River Avon

11th September

By John Kent

I had intended paddling the Frome from Langham Farm to Iford but after inspecting Iford weir the day before, found that work was in progress to build a small scale hydro scheme at this weir. So, over to the Avon for all 19 of us.

We did the section Bath to Saltford.

At Weston Lock in Bath whilst we gingerly clambered down the steps a narrow boat steamed (chugged?) in. Fortunately they waited for us all to launch from the jetty otherwise we'd have been hit by the full force of the turbulence as the gates opened. Exciting for some but would have worried the "driver" and also several of our less experienced paddlers.

We had an enjoyable uneventful trip , stopping for lunch at the Shal-lows where we had parked, and car-rying on down to play on the second weir at the Jolly Sailor afterwards.

It was quite windy in places and younger paddlers required a tow at

times. At the weir we all shot the slot (Samantha must be the youngest person ever to shoot this weir) and some practised their rolling in the flat water be-low.

It was a good trip.

Paddlers : Howard and Debbie in open boat, the remainder in kayaks.

Girls: Ellie, Lily and Samantha Boys: Ailbhe, Alex, Max, George and Tierney Ladies: Debbie and Rebecca Men: Austin Millard, Gareth, Howard, Ian Jones, Jonathan, Mark Baines, Pete, John and Terry.

Saltford Marina Weir: Gareth on the weir helps Tierney over, while Pete rides the stopper and Ian looks on.

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Reports - River Frome


River Frome 11th September

80mph winds were predicted as the remnants of Hurricane Katia whirled towards the UK.

Were we going to be blown away? Well yes, actually we were blown away, but not by the winds. It was the quality of the paddling and river leadership which did it. I’m talking about the trip for the aspirant Two Star paddlers.

Get in at Woolverton and paddle to Langham Farm. Seems a bit samey, but it had its moments. Like when Aaron, the first candidate to take the lead, paddled up to the fisher-man, river left, and asked politely

“Which side would you like us to paddle?” And we did of course, do what he asked. Then the same again for the next one, a polite question and the co-operative response. and for the next one. But after the third, Aaron’s gentlemanly approach van-ished into thin air. We just ploughed on through the remaining 14 or so.

And then there was the moment when we came to the walking bits. No matter how many time Alex said to the ‘leader’ at the time “No, I’m telling you, we will have to walk, so tell everyone to get out of their boats”, he was not believed. Shame on you William! Alex’s wisdom in affairs like these is not to be dis-puted. We did get out and walk, on that occasion and three others.

The river, blocked by a fallen tree was easy for us today with no flow to speak of. We just wiggled through. Not sure what we will do there when the rains come. And of course it was shallow today with no water going over Shawford Weir. But Rode weir was shootable and so we enjoyed that one.

Each of the candidates took their turn in leading the group, leaving the coaches to have a really easy bimble down the river. There were actually more coaches on the trip than candi-dates and you can imagine the very predictable jokes that arose during the course of the trip.

Langham Farm appeared all too soon and the next part of the day was the

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Continued from page 10

Reports - continued


A club trip cancelled

assessment for the aspirant Two Stars. Yes! The very wet stuff!

A good trip. Very enjoyable

A big thank you must go to the coaches of this course: Stu, Alex, Megan, Jack and Rich. And to the tester, Darren Oram. Thank you.

We had to cancel our River Wye trip on 25th September. What a great shame.

This was sadly due to a lack of num-bers.... Well actually a lack of numbers of people who signed up on the Trip List. In fact only four members signed. A great shame because this trip would have been good for many of our paddlers who are at an intermediate level. We do know that many people do just turn up on mornings of trip, so there

might have been more people on the day. But as Andrew pointed out while we were making the sad decision on the Wednesday evening before the trip, that cancelled trips might just be the consequence of people not signing the list or letting the organiser know. So EVERYONE, don’t lose you chance to go on club trips! SIGN UP. Trip lists are available for signing at EVERY club session. fI you don’t get to the club sessions - then phone the organiser. Or email Pam.

Paddlers Girls: Isi and Lia Boys: Aaron and William Ladies: Jackie, Julia, Megan and Pam Men: Alex, Guy, Jack, Rich and Stuart.

I went to the clubhouse to pick up the large

black spray decks to use at pool sessions and

the cupboard was bare.

I KNOW we had four of these, so where

have they all gone?

If you have one (or more) lurking in your

garage/back of your car, do please bring it

back for us to use. Thank you. Pam

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The Upper, from our archives - a good read for you!


Just to get you in the mood for those BIG rivers we're soon to be paddling! Below is an account of a second day on the Upper Dart. The first day saw sev-eral swims and rolls, a dislocated shoulder, a walkout by two of the group and a reshaped kayak. Andy V did the honours towing out the injured paddler’s boat ...

So Day 2 goes like this:

Some of us were undeterred by the grinding gristly sounds coming Andy M’s shoulder at the end of the day and swore an oath to return the following day to wage war on the mighty Upper Dart.

So it was then, that the Magnificent Seven (Simon the Sage, Courageous Claire, Daring Dan, Rodeo Ross, Play-boy Paul, Nerveless Neil and Mark from the unknown lands) gathered in the pouring rain at Dartmeet to face the infamous Dartmonster. The Dartmon-ster had gathered its strength over night. It was 12 inches higher than it had been the day before when it had dispatched Andy M, Kris and Bonny Jonny. Today, three of the Magnificent Seven opted for a playful scuffle in the tail of the Dartmonster, and set off for the Loop. So then there were four: Simon the Sage, Courageous Claire, Rodeo Ross and Nerveless Neil. They donned their armour, mounted their steeds and set off into battle...

The waves rose and crashed around our intrepid four watery warriors but they did not falter. They skilfully dodged the snapping jaws of the Dartmonster as holes and stoppers appeared from nowhere, and the rain hammered down from above. Their war was one of revenge. Re-venge for the ill deeds committed by the Dartmonster the day before. Revenge for the pasting received by Angry Andi on his preliminary mis-sion four weeks ago. Revenge even for the tragic demise of Rich’s prized steed ‘Cyphur’ in January 1995.

The Dartmonster was more angry than they had ever seen it before. Our warriors cleverly avoided two vicious attacks by dismounting and leading their steeds along a treach-erous rocky path, ready to launch another attack on the Dartmonster below. Many other warriors were not so skilled or lucky that day. The Dartmonster claimed several victo-ries, but not over our wondrous war-riors. They did not beat the river, but they taunted it, teased it and threw the gauntlet back at the Monster. The tables have been squared. The warriors returned home to their cas-tles uninjured. The Dartmonster lies in wait, gaining strength, waiting for the next battle...

Ed - The date was Dec 29th 2002.

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Cartoon Corner


Reproduced by kind permission of Foxy from Blind Probe.

CONTINUES NEXT MONTH

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Bits and Pieces

FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE Th

ank

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A special get well message to Graham from all our members.

Graham, our President, has not been well lately and he is due to have an operation in the near future.

We all hope the op goes well, Graham, and you will be back paddling with us after Christmas.

WEDNESDAY SESSIONS A very big thank you to the volunteers

who have given up time on Wednesday

evenings to help with the club sessions.

We have had the most amazing summer with loads of participation by members and non members.

And it all would NOT have worked

without you! We have had Mums and

Dads who have helped in the rota in the kit room - a challenging job!

Then there have been the regular session leaders, the instructors who

have taken the slalom groups, fun groups, polo groups, Passport, Dis-

cover, Adults-Only and Tasters. And we mustn’t forget the people on

the door who deal with a demanding queue of paddlers, the ones who

pick up the litter every week and keep the banks strimmed and grass

cut. And finally those members who come for a chat and then get

roped in to put canoes away at the end when everyone is tired...!

THANK YOU EVERYONE.

Ed; This of course means that Graham will have to miss the Tiverton Training weekend this year. Will we manage without him, I ask? For everyone’s information Graham was the one in the club who started the Tiverton training for us, way back in the 1900s - well October 1983 to be ex-act. Although started as Instructor training/assessment weekends, they have been operational since then with one gap (1987), and Graham has not missed one, till now. Very sad.

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Bits and Pieces


COACHES’ MEETING Wednesday 12th October

At the Clubhouse 7pm

A meeting to review the coaching

programme of 2011 and to start planning for 2012.

Do come if you are an existing coach or want to start on the coach-ing ladder.

We would also like to hear from members if they have any com-ments about the summer pro-gramme. Email Rich with your views: [email protected]

CONGRATULATIONS

Passport Passes

Fraser Lukins Brown Gabby Lukins Brown Lewis Townsend Aiden Paige Max Best Ellis Price Aaron Morse Wayne Townsend

A BIG THANKS must go to Megan and Jack for stepping in and coaching this course which wasn’t planned initially but happened in response to demand! .

Two Star Canoe and Kayak

Passes for Lia Hobbs William Jones Aaron Ginger Guy Ginger

A demanding course with skills needed in both canoe and kayak, a lot of wet work and river leadership thrown in to stretch the candidates. Congratulations every-one. Thanks to Stu for being the lead coach in this course and for being so accommodating with the variety of other coaches who worked alongside you: Alex, Jack, Megan, Rich. Read about the 2 Star trip on p10.

Three Star White Water Kayak A special mention to Harry Bloodworth who took his 3* in September and passed. Congratulations Harry. See you at Tiverton!

MEMBERS CAN ADVERTISE

SALE ITEMS FOR FREE IN

OUR NEWSLETTER Email details with a photo to

[email protected].

Your views are important to us

There are several ways you can

communicate your views or ask for

items to be discussed.

Committee meetings are a good

way. They are held on the first

Tuesday of every month. If you

want to raise any (canoeing!) issue

for discussion contact any one of

the committee members. (P2 for

details)

Youth Members: we have a Youth

Rep especially for you: Jack Smiles.

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Bits and pieces

Calling Coaches

Any one interested in progressing to UKCC Level 2? There is currently some interest in this qualification within our coach-ing team and so we are trying to find out who else is keen! Let Rich know if it’s a yes.

Thank you George George disposed of the massive card-board pile left over from the cardboard challenge. The soggy

cardboard was a nightmare to pile onto the fire, but you know George, he loves a chal-lenge! Once the fire was going, it was a cracker indeed. It was prodded and poked, stirred and bashed by a very vigilant George who had been given an old wooden paddle by John for the purpose. The paddle didn't last long. Never mind. The fire got rid of all the cardboard. Thank you George and Gareth and John.

Thank you, Andrew, for the

donation of £20 to buy the

biscuits for club sessions.

Very much appreciated by one

and all!

Biscuits, biscuits, and

more biscuits!

Membership Prices, 2011

Youth £16.50 Adult £26.50 Family £42

Put this date in your diary: 21st January 2012 Club Social and Awards Ceremony

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Bits and Pieces


Medical Blues

OR Five reasons why you shouldn’t go to Glasgow:

1. While in ER, she was examined, x-rated and

sent home.

2. She slipped on the ice and apparently her legs

went in separate directions in early December.

3. When she fainted, her eyes rolled around the

room.

4. On the second day the knee was better and on

the third day it disappeared.

5. Discharge status: Alive, but without my per-

mission.

These are sentences exactly as typed by medical

secretaries in NHS Greater Glasgow .

Ed: let’s hope the next Scotland trip doesn’t need help from Glasgow’s hospitals.

Club Trip Prices

The committee reviewed the pricing structure of the trips, taking account of the historical information from past trips and the rises in fuel costs. It was decided after discussion, that our trip prices would have to go up. Obviously we are sad about this and hope that the modest increases (£2 for day trips) will not prevent members from taking part. However it needs to be noted that the club has not put prices up in the last 6 years and so we hope members

will be supportive of the decision. It is not all bad news though! We have kept local trips the same and these represent extremely good value at £3 per person.

So From now on: Barle and Exe £12 All other day trips £15 Local trips £3 Weekend trip prices are different and are advertised separately.

From your

committee

Thank you Jim! Jim has donated 50 numbered lycra bibs which we can use for our next slalom to make number-ing boats a lot easier. (No jokes about the lycra please!)

And in addition, Jim had donated a whole set of slalom gate numbers. They too, will come in very handy for our slalom next year. See you there Jim.

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Calendar addition and Guess who?


AN EXTRA TRIP ON A POPULAR RIVER It has come to our attention that there are a few people who would like to do the River Dart but can’t make the Dart weekend. So Rich has decided to offer every-one an opportunity to join in a DAY trip to the River Dart.

Sent in by a loving mother (or does she want to get her own back, by any chance?)

Answers to [email protected] for the chance to win a choccy bar.

River Dart: 27th November Meet 8am at the Clubhouse Cost £15 Organiser - Rich Carter

We are scheduling this trip for the same day as the Tavy, and it will cater for two abilities depending on who signs up.

The Lower Dart for less experienced paddlers and our open boaters; the Loop is for those who enjoy a fling down some more seriously moving water. Look out for more information nearer the time.

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Coppernose Points - no real news this month


Log on to http://553390.spreadshirt.co.uk/ and pick what you want in what colour you want.

Choose from the designs by Max Charlesworth, William Jones, India and Philippa Thomas, Alex Nicol and Arthur Belbin . Clothing, in adult and junior sizes can now be purchased, in any colour with the text in black. So choose your fleece, t-shirt or hoodie in what-ever colours suit you best! The range is almost limitless!

Ed - Next month will see the return of the Points Chart. After Tiverton, it could change dramatically!

WEBSITE and our other communication streams! Use the Calendar section of the website to check dates/events /changes to dates. It is updated regularly so if you lose your newsletter you can check there. John has changed the calendar section so it is a google calendar. It carries a lot more information about our events than the previous format. And have you looked in the Message Board? Not used much these days as facebook takes over! Facebook: and finally, there is a link from our web page to the FCC facebook site. Get to check up on the gossip that is flying around—if you have time!

http://553390.spreadshirt.co.uk/

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Don’t miss the DVD night October 19th We will be watching Alex’s production of Scotland 2011. For details of the event see P8.

www.frome-canoe-club.org.uk

CONTACTS

Chairman: Andy Bell 07966 203309

Vice Chair: Rich Carter 01373 864623 [email protected]

Treasurer: John Kent 01225 765168 [email protected]

Secretary: Pam Dixon 01373 473836 [email protected]

Youth Voice: Jack Smiles [email protected]

Canoeing and kayaking are “Assumed risk” – “Water contact sports” that may carry attendant risks. Participants should be aware of and accept these risks, and be responsible for their own action and involvement.

Get all your canoeing

things from the Family

Adventure Store at

Hilperton. BA14 7PJ

Check out the photos of club events or put a comment on the message board!

Alex’s DVD gets a second showing: 19th October

LOOK OUT FOR YOUR NEW

MEMBERSHIP CARD

Find a new membership card in your October’s edition of the Newsletter. This card replaces any old one that you have been issued with, and we catch up on all our new members since February who have not been issued with cards!

The cards, designed by Andy, are not dated, so you don’t need a new one every year. Be sure to look after it!

2011 10 newsletter

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