2 Star Course and Assessment.

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andy g
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2 Star Course and Assessment.

Post by andy g »

Guys,
Over the next few weeks I will be running a course which will lead to you being able to gain the CE 2 Star qualification.

This course should be suitable for all polo players who want to gain the award and be able to paddle unaccompanied on the lake , those recreational paddlers who have already gained 1 Star and wish to progress their skills, plus anyone else who just wishes to progress.

There will be 3 pool sessions, 2 lake sessions and an assessment on the lake. The pool session will take place during the Wed evening general session at Crook Log pool. The Danson lake sessions on Saturdays from 10.30 onwards.

It is not compulsory to attend all sessions, but if you want to get the best out this course I would strongly recommend coming to at least one pool session to practice underwater skills and rescues, but this can be done at the lake if you don't mind getting very wet and possibly cold (although the water is quite warm now) You should attend at least one session at the lake before the assessment in order to get some open boating experience.

The syllabus is here: http://www.canoe-england.org.uk/media/p ... 0Oct13.pdf
Please ask if you have any questions about this syllabus.

The dates are

Pool 29th July, 5th Aug, 12th Aug , 19th Aug.

Lake 1st Aug, 22nd Aug,

Assessment: 29th August

Please let me know here , or via mobile (0) 7703 823619 , or email andy dot garlick at yahoo dot com if you would like to com along and join this course.

Andy

Jules
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Re: 2 Star Course and Assessment.

Post by Jules »

Andy

I need to do this so please put me on the list. It's short notice for this Wednesday but I'll try to get there, otherwise I'll be there on Saturday.

andy g
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Re: 2 Star Course and Assessment.

Post by andy g »

Thanks Julia

I gave 4 dates for pool sessions but you will probably only need to attend a couple (as long as everything goes well! ;-)

Andy

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Martin Boardman
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Re: 2 Star Course and Assessment.

Post by Martin Boardman »

Andy,

Thanks for this - Appreciate the opportunity to work on the 2*.

I am in the South Weds 29th, so will be at that Pool session. No guarantee about any of the others yet, will need to wait and see what work comes in.

Martin.

andy g
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Re: 2 Star Course and Assessment.

Post by andy g »

Well that was a successful start to the course with Martin, Julia, Lewis II , and Lewis III all completing some of the underwater work in the (relative?) comfort of the pool.

We will also be joined by Ada , Lucy , Anna and Jessica for future sessions, so we have a good number of participants.

For those of you who cannot download the syllabus I will bring some copies along. I will also bring along a handout to cover the theory section of the award.

Andy

andy g
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Re: 2 Star Course and Assessment.

Post by andy g »

Pleased that Sharon will also be joining us for some sessions.

BTW: Just to clarify things when I said you can paddle the lake unaccompanied after gaining 2 Star, I should have specified that this only means you can paddle without an adult present. There must be 3 of you of similar standard at any time. Paddling solo is both against the club guidelines for lake use and a breach of good practice.

Andy

andy g
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Re: 2 Star Course and Assessment.

Post by andy g »

Guys

I won't be at the lake on Saturday , so I would suggest the following:

Practice all the turning and edging skills from last week.

Put some time into making your forward paddling as efficient as possible , lead with the shoulders and use trunk rotation.

Try some low and high support strokes , but make sure another paddler is near who is confident at rescuing you.

If you can, take an open canoe out and paddle it tandem.

Good Luck and see you at next Wednesday's pool session.

Andy

andy g
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Re: 2 Star Course and Assessment.

Post by andy g »

This Saturday at the lake we will concentrate on open boating and practising your skills in this craft.

As there are only 3 open boats in the store it is likely that we will need to be be paddling them with at least 2 paddlers per boat.

Andy

andy g
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Re: 2 Star Course and Assessment.

Post by andy g »

Guys

I am sorry that we did not get the opportunity to do any underwater work yesterday due to the possible presence of algal bloom in the water. The tests will be back next week, let us hope that by next Saturday all will be clear.

We now have 2 coaches , since Paul has joined us , and he will be here through to the assessment, which is great as he brings a different perspective to me, and you benefit from this.

We now have only one pool session before assessment next Saturday. It is up to you to make the most of this by practising the skills that involve immersion pretty solidly.
I know that some of you do enjoy polo a lot and are prepared to forgo the 2* training, be warned that the skills targets are absolute and we cannot make any allowance for having missed the practice.

The assessment will take the form of a journey around the lake , paddling between various stops where we will examine each skill on the syllabus.
We will give one demonstration only for each skill that we want you to perform. You will get one attempt at it, and only if there is time , will we allow a second attempt.
The initial part will be surface skills , leading to the final part where will go through all the wet work. As paddlers who have attempted skills are likely to be very wet and possibly getting cold, it is unlikely that we will allow 2nd attempts at rescue work, so please give it your best shot first time. The weather has been pretty kind to us so far , but in case we do get a cold or windy day it would be great of your parents/etc could be ready with something warm when you come off the water.

I will be asking each of you random questions during the session about canoeing and kayaking matters, the answers are to be found in the handouts I have been giving you.

andy g
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Re: 2 Star Course and Assessment.

Post by andy g »

Good News!

The Environmental health Officer has cleared the removal of the no-capsizing recommendation , so we can go ahead with the planned assessment tomorrow

We are advised to keep all the underwater work to the main body of the lake, rather than up by the island.

Despite this all-clear please make sure that all cuts and scrapes are well covered with waterproof plasters, and please make sure that hands are washed before taking on food or drink, and that everyone showers off as quickly as possible after exiting the water.

Please ensure that you have read and understood the handouts as there will be a random question for each of you.

We will be awarding 2 Star British Canoeing pass certificates at the end of the session for all whose performance merits it , and for those who perhaps need some more practice there will be 1 Star certificates for those who do not already hold the award.

Andy

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