Photos of past courses.......
What to wear to a basic canoeing session.......

We understand that many new members will not have the confidence or experience to paddle at a general club session and would prefer to attend one of our club run LCC Paddle start (introductory) courses. They typically last a couple of hours and our experienced coaches will guide you through your first few hours with us and cover all the skills required to give you the confidence to attend a club session and paddle with others to further develop your sills.

The course includes the selection of the right boat and equipment for you. We have over 180 different canoes and kayaks for you to choose from. We will show you how to get on and off the water and how to paddle and turn the boat. The introductory session may include a short trip or a chance to try many of the different canoes and kayaks on our racks.

You can paddle any kind of preferred paddlesport craft (kayak, sit-on-top, tandem craft, polo boat, sea kayak, racing canoe or paddle board etc.)

Syllabus for LCC paddle start......
Paddle Start Crib Card
Paddlesport Start Training and Assessment Notes (For coaches)

Part A – Personal Paddling Skills
A.1 Take part in, and understand the importance of a warm-up
A.2 Get into and out of a boat/craft with help from the bank
A.3 Balance in/on a boat/craft ready to hold a paddle i.e. showing an active posture
A.4 Go forwards
Experiment with:
A.5 Moving the craft backwards
A.6 Stopping the craft whilst moving forwards
A.7 Turning the craft
A.8 Moving the craft sideways
A.9 Going forwards in a straight line
A.10 Edging without losing balance

Part B – Optional Rescue Skills
B.1 Capsize and be rescued
B.2 Capsize and self-rescue

Part C – Theory
C.1 Know how to put your equipment away (Safe emptying of boats)
C.2 Know what is appropriate paddlesport clothing
C.3 Know the name of your nearest club or centre
C.4 Know why it is important to wash your hands after paddling
C.5 Know the meaning of the term ‘diet’
C.6 Know your resting heart rate
C.7 Know the effects of weather on your paddling
C.8 Know how to safely stow equipment in/on your craft
C.9 Know the importance of staying with your craft if there is a capsize

Coaching notes: Physical skills

• Warm up: Why do we warm up? The warm up should be run by the coach. The use of warm up games such as shopping for breakfast.
• Boat checks: Introduce checking over your boat, looking at foot rest, back rest, is the boat in good working order?
• Lift, carry, and launch:  Correct lifting method, straight back, lifting with knees not with back. Safe launching methods, talk about possible damage to the environment.
• Forward paddling: introduce the fundamentals of forward paddling, active posture, kinesthetic (feel), connectivity, power transfer (rotation). Basic forward paddling, doesn’t have to be efficient
• Steering and control: Sweep strokes as the turning stroke, Stern rudder as the steering stroke. Talking about active posture and keeping arm straight is more efficient.
• Stopping boat: should be able to show the beginnings of stopping the boat in 3 strokes.
• Getting in and out of boats: safely getting out of boats at the end of session making sure boats are pulled up and are safe.
• Possible Journey of 1 hour: Complete a journey of 1 hour around the docks
• Emptying boats: safely emptying boats of water, straight back bend knees.