PKC Newsletter No.5 of 2009
Dated04/07/09
While thinking of ways to pass a 24 hour duty, I thought i'd better keep up to date with this newsletter crack, considering its now nearly two months since the last newsletter was sent out. Lots have happened in this time so here goes........
Inaugural Galway Bay Sea kayak Race
This race took place on Sunday the 24th of May, during the weekend of the Volvo Ocean race stopover in Galway. Weather conditions were quiet blustery on the day, and this made for some challenging conditions on the day. The race course varied depending on the Class you had entered, with the Novice Course staying within the mouth of the harbour, while the Standard Class did 3 laps of the outer course and the Racing class managing to clock up 5 laps of the outer course. Phoenix Kayak Club had a strong prescence with 9 paddlers representing the club. Don O'Briens recent success and hard work for the Devizes to Westminister race really paid off with him storming into the lead from the start. Don maintained this throughout to bring home the silverware (actually glass, but you know what I mean)
Results can be found here
Pictures can be found here
Ocean to City Race: This race took place on Saturday the 30th of May. This was a great day out for paddlers and family with lots of vantage points along the route to cheer on the paddlers. This was a great race for two reasons.
1. Don O'Brien of Phoenix Kayak Club took first place in Touring Class in what could only be described as a closely fought race. Well done Don from all at Phoenix
2. This was one of the largest turnouts from Phoenix Kayak club for any race in the past few years. Well done to all who put in the hours of training for this lads. It really showed on the day with Phoenix Kayak Club featuring really well in the Standings.
Results for this race can be found at: RESULTS for 2009 Ocean to City Race
Beginners Courses : The initial plan this year was to run 7 Beginners Kayaking courses over the Summer, however due to the lack of Instructors it was agreed to scale this back to 5 courses.
These courses have been running since Tuesday the 21st of April and again have proved to be a huge success. To date we have completed 3 courses with a total of 78 Adults and Children learning to paddle with us. There is currently a course ongoing with 25 students which is only after its first week last week. I was a bit slow in e-mailing people who had completed the courses letting them know what the club has to offer once they finish their beginners course, but the first few hours of my duty seems to have sorted that with over 50 e-mails being sent out. There is one course left, which begins on the 4th of August and already this is filling up. This is great news on two fronts, the first being an increased revenue for the club to allow us to proceed with Phase 1 of the clubhouse which is due to start in September and the second being the fact that there will be another 25-30 people able to paddle competently in a few weeks.
A huge Thank You must go to all the Instructors who volunteer their time week after week for free. Without these people the course could not go ahead.
Membership Rates: Membership rates were revised at a recent Committee meeting. As a result of this rates for the year are as follows:
- Senior Member €80
- Senior Member (Unemployed) €50 'New Rate'
- Associate Member €35
- Student/Junior Member €35
- Senior Member €50 (If you've completed a beginners course with Phoenix Kayak Club in 2009)
- Junior Member €25 (If you've completed a beginners course with Phoenix Kayak Club in 2009)
Membership is now OVERDUE for the 2009/2010 season. All members are asked to complete a Membership Form in full. Forms can be downloaded here Completed Membership forms and the necessary fee can be given to any committee member.
Date: Sunday July 12
Name: Graiguenamanagh Marathon Race
Location: Graiguenamanagh
Type: Ranking
Water: River
Rough/Flat Water: Rough Water
Organiser: 180kc
Last year we had 14 people attend this race and it was great fun. People from Phoenix competed in various classes with Moya Clancy managing to bring home silverware in the Ladies General Purpose class. This is a relatively easy course with no weirs to be worried about. It would be great to have 20-30 people travel from Phoenix this year. If there are Juniors who wish to paddle in this or if you think your child would like to paddle (parents of members) please do not hesitate in sticking his name down. These races are great fun and safety is always paramount. If you wish to go please put your name down on the forum click here There will be a number of adults travelling so spins will be available if needed. Please be at the site on Thursday night if your interested.
LAST BEGINNERS COURSES FOR 2009
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If you wish to have something included in our next Newsletter please e-mail info@phoenixkayakclub.com
Yours in Paddling,
Dave