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Freestyle
What is Freestyle? Freestyle is the fastest growing discipline in kayaking. It is all about playing the river and extracting the most from every feature on the water. Freestyle involves performing tricks and is the aquatic equivalent of riding at a skateboard park or the snowboarder's half pipe. It encompasses everything from carving up a wave, cartwheeling in a hole, to aerial barrel rolls. The discipline is dynamic, athletic and requires you to develop a high degree of control over your boat as well as spatial awareness. Competition Freestyle competition is new to the Services but an inter-service event is now held annually and as the discipline gains momentum the RN will look to run its own Freestyle Championships. Keep an eye out for event details on this website. Who can get involved? Any kayaker can give freestyle a try, even on flat water! Ideally you will need some basic white water experience but most importantly you will want a solid roll. Equipment The RNKA does not have pure freestyle kayaks available for people to try but some clubs do now own freestyle/river-runner hybrids that you can try out. If you decide this is the discipline for you then make sure you seek advice on what to buy before parting with your hard earned cash. Boats are expensive and there is a mind blowing choice on the market. Also, as an RNKA member you can get substantial discounts on kit so it pays to ask first. To find out more please contact the RNKA Freestyle Sec White Water Racing
What is it? White water racing is all about speed. As you can see from the photograph it requires a unique style of kayak, designed to get down the white stuff as quickly as possible. Competitions involve making individual timed descents of a section of river (anything up to Class 4). There are usually a series of heats with the fastest times proceeding to the next round. Not surprisingly the quickest boater wins! White water racing requires fitness and stamina as well as a good understanding of white water in order to get the optimum racing line. It is quite different to a recreational white water decent but the great thing is it is all on the rough stuff. Competition The Navy aims to enter teams at the inter-service level annually and there are opportunities to compete on the BCU circuit as well. Want to know more? To find out more please contact the discipline secretary. Canoe Polo
The Game Canoe polo is a fast paced game that combines personal skill with team work. Teams of 5 compete in a suitably sized pool or on a piece of open water and the aim is to score as many goals against the opposition as possible. Simple! The great thing is that anyone can give this aspect of kayaking a go and most of our clubs play regularly on club nights, using scratch teams made up of club members. CompetitionThe Navy runs an annual competition and also enters RNKA teams in the inter-service and other national events. Want to Know More? The Navy enter all the UK National Competitions and have teams entered into National, Area, and friendly competitions that run through out the year. Please see the events list or speak to the Polo Sec for more details. All RN & RM paddlers are welcome to train and compete for places at the events. The friendly and local events are ideal for those new to the sport, and you can receive one to one training before, during, and after, the events; or at local Canoe clubs if you want it. The majority of Tournaments we are currently entered in to are in the South West, however the National events include: Liverpool, Hull, London, and Cardiff. Next event: Inter-Service Canoe Polo* @ HMS Temeraire 21-22 Nov 2009 Link to signal/admin order The Internationals are not confirmed yet but are likely to be: Merseyside (Liverpool) - 12/13 June 2010 Hull - 03/04 July 2010 London International -14/15 Aug 2010 Cardiff - 31 Jul/01 Aug or 07/08 Aug 2010
Sea Kayaking History Sea kayaking is historically one of the earliest forms of paddling, with archaeological evidence suggesting highly developed craft and skilled hunter-fishermen as far back as 500 BC. Nowadays sea kayakers are not normally in the position of fishing for the family fayre, but the craft are remarkably similar in lines to their museum forerunners. If you are interested in trying out the sport there are ideal opportunities to join BCU organised paddles and meets with experienced sea paddlers. Sea Kayaking is environmentally friendly and appeals to all ages who enjoy open spaces, salt air and the feeling of being at one with nature. The sea is not, however, a big lake and the ocean has a temperament and character which needs to be understood. Weather, tides and charts should be considered and journeys planned. Not all sea paddling is on calm water, for some the essence of the sport is in meeting challenging conditions and undertaking long open crossings, or playing in over-falls and tide races. A new development in recent years has been the introduction of sea racing: standard expedition kayaks are raced over a distances of up to 12 miles. All the races are friendly and informal and have touring classes. Sea kayaking for many however, is a quiet individual experience to be enjoyed quietly, away from the crowds. Symposiums are great social events as well as being informative and practical. Whatever sea paddling means to you, the Sea Touring Committee is on hand to help if you need them. Sprint & Marathon
Sprint Sprint Racing is one of the two Olympic events in the canoe world, and takes place on flat water at regattas. Distances raced are 200m, 500m, l000m and 6,000m. The racing kayaks and canoes have to conform to international standards and specifications. Racing takes place in singles, doubles and fours in both canoe and kayak classes. Marathon Marathon racing is an event combining skill, stamina and tactics and can be enjoyed by paddlers of all ages and abilities. It attracts large numbers of canoeists onto the rivers, canals and lakes of the UK throughout the year in a wide variety of craft. Marathon covers a wide range of events with distances from a few miles to over 100. Many longer races are divided into classes based on age and gender of competitor and type of craft. Races forming the Haslar Trophy competition in England cater for single and double canoes and kayaks and are raced in divisions based on ability. Novices compete over distances of about 4 miles and the most experienced race over distances of up to 12 miles. Competing If this unique discipline appeals then do not hesitate to contact the discipline secretary about competing. There are opportunities (as well as financial support) to compete at inter-service and joint-service levels as well as nationally. Surf
There is nothing quite like dropping in on a glassy ocean wave and carving it up. The speed is awesome, the power can be terrifying but once you've tried it and got it wired you will be hooked! Learning to surf kayak You can go on courses run by the Joint Service Adventurous Training Centres to learn to surf and to gain BCU qualifications. Additionally tri service surfing expeditions are organised France this September for example). RNKA club trips do take place so ask at your nearest club or contact the Surf Sec for more information. Competition The RNKA enters a team in the Inter-services Surf Kayak Championships each year. Competitions involve numerous heats where your best wave rides are scored. It's all about extracting the most from a wave - to win you need to rip it up! Slalom
What is it? Slalom is one of the longest running disciplines in the sport of kayaking. Whilst the concept has changed very little over the years the skills required remain an essential part of kayaking. Being able to drive a kayak down a slalom course, maximising speed and efficiency in the water, is very challenging and any slalom training will pay dividends in all white water disciplines. Competition? Competitions are normally run in a series of heats where the best times over a number of runs go through to the next round. Competitors run the course individually against the clock and you will be amazed at how demanding a 2 minute descent can be. Within the RN/RM there are opportunities to compete both at Service and Inter-Service competitions as well as on the BCU slalom circuit.Want to know more? Contact the Slalom Secretary to find out more. THIS PAGE IS DESIGNED TO GIVE GUIDANCE ON THE COMPELATION OF SPORTS SIGNALS
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