Chester Riverside Canoe Club (CRCC) had their third Annual General Meeting as a voluntary organisation on Friday 28th February 2015.
CRCC began life 31 years ago as a kayak and canoe club run by the local authority. In 2012 they were advised that the local authority would be unable to continue funding them, so members, parents and coaches took over the running of the club from January 2013 to avoid it being closed down.
This is a club for young people and families looking to learn a new sport and enjoy the challenge of paddling on rivers around the country with the support of trained voluntary coaches. The club provide all safety equipment, kayaks and canoes to enable people to enjoy the sport. You may have seen them on the River Dee where they paddle every Sunday morning.
Members and supporters of the club attended St Mary’s on the Hill to run through the club achievements to date and their Vision for the Future.
Paddlers voted on the Coach of the Year and Event of the Year 2014 via their new website, www.ChesterRiversideCanoeClub.co.uk . The awards themselves were made for the club by paddler and committee member, Dave Sutch.
Pictured is the winner of Coach of the Year 2014, Jill Smith, and club Chair, Ian McMullen. Ian himself also received a trophy at the British Canoe Union Awards last year for National Coach of the Year 2014. Jill said on winning the award “It was a bit of a shock, but a lovely surprise”.
In summing up the year, Ian McMullen gave special thanks to the voluntary coaches for the support they gave on the Go Canoe day that gives families the opportunity to try out kayaking and canoeing. Their support enabled 145 people to try the sport in the course of one day. It’s two years since the club went voluntary and we are thriving with over 60 members. We had over 2,400 contact hours with young people in 2014 and we hope to improve that in 2015.
Vice Chair, Paul Hellmers, outlined the Vision for the Future of the club including the inclusion of less able bodied young paddlers. Paul is keen that the club caters for all young people of all abilities with additional training to be provided for coaches to support this aim.
The club would like to say a very big ‘thank you’ to all those who attended on Friday and all those organisations, individuals, coaches, members and parents that have supported the club for the past 2 years.