Clydesmill - Scottish National Whitewater Course

The Course

What will the course look like ?

It will follow the successful design of the 2000 Sysdney Olympic AWWC, on a slightly smaller scale; it will use movable obstacles to create a series of rapids, waves, holes and eddies. A short 2nd channel will help expand the course capacity and contribute to a choice of channels. The flowing water will be lifted by pumps at up to 12 tonnes of water per second..

The course will be set in a landscaped park with a centre and outside facilities. The centre will have the hot showers and changing, a café, and a shop. For time off the river and any non canoeing visitors there will hopefully be space for a volleyball pitch and fitness course, with seating for spectators to watch their friends or competitors on the course.

What might the course do for you ?

WYou may come from a variety of user groups, who are looking for different features - from the general public doing exciting whitewater (WW) rafting, thru intermediate paddlers doing recreational boating to experts doing challenging moves and races..

Check out the options -

	Rafting No previous experience required! You don't need to bring much gear - just the right attitude - willing to join a bunch of 5 others who will form a team, paddle a raft and tackle the wild waters. So you turn up at Strathclyde Loch Watersports centre where you meet your raft guide - an experienced 'white water technician' who's training is heavily safety orientated. She (or he) hands out your wetsuits and paddles and briefly describes the safety rules. Enough talking! - on to the water. Initially, on the flat water of the loch, you learn to all paddle together. The onto the white stuff. Soon your guide is urging you on "Paddle Hard!' and all hell breaks loose!
	Duckies Inflatable kayaks (a.k.a. duckies - don't ask us why, we don't know) - are great for introducing newcomers to paddling on white water. Should you capsize,there's no worries about getting out of the boat - in fact, 'capsize' isn't the right word - ' sort-of-flopping-over-the-side' would be more appropriate, and would certainly raise a laugh from your mates. Seriously, though, these are craft that behave a good bit like a kayak - more manoeuvrable on WW and very much more under just your control than a raft - with or without a second paddler in the boat with you?
	Canoes and Kayaks The Scottish Canoe Association's coaching scheme, part of the British set-up, is one of the best in the world - careful progression with emphasis on safety and control. The scheme takes you from complete beginner with the 'Star tests' through to level 5 coaching; flat water or whitewater; kayaks or open boats (i.e. Indian/Canadian canoes) - choice is yours.
	Established Canoeists Recreational - nowt better than just going for a wee paddle on the river - although this one is a bit more intense than your usual river run in Scotland! We recognise that recreational WW boating is one of the biggest branches of canoeing and the AWWC is an ideal, accessible site to build up your skills or just simply have a bit of fun. No more day trips just to go paddling! - now you can finish work, get a quick paddle in (and perhaps a quick thrashing in the stopper) and home in time for tea!
	Slalom Dedicated slalomists like Olympian Mark Delaney are really happy to see the Scottish AWWC happening. More and more international slaloms are being held on artificial courses and it's important to get the feel of an artificial course in you preparation for the event. Additionally, having an easily accessible training site so close to the city is vital to the future growth of the sport.
	Playboaters Hotdawg! - A branch of canoeing where you can only gape at the stunts these guys pull! Playboaters (a.k.a. Rodeo boater) play in a 'hole' or stopper - a grippy water feature that provides the energy to pull stunts - in 3 dimensions! This is very much the cutting edge of canoe sport,with scores of new, stylish and sometimes downright whacky designs and shapes of performance craft. -
	WhiteWater Racing This is easy to understand - you start at the top and aim to get the fastest time down the course - faster times tend to go to those who stay upright....These boats are long enough to give you speed, volume enough to survive the biggest waves - but the trade off is the skill to keep them on an even keel. WW sprints are a great spectator sport.

Safety
Safety is paramount when designing a course, all participants and visitors will be required to follow safety guidelines clearly displayed at the entrance to the course. All participants will be expected to have suitable experience or be under supervision of a coach.

please mail any comments to info@clydesmill.org.uk

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