Paddlefest- The story so far by Paul Donnelly July 2010
I have been involved in kayaking for a number of years and have revelled in
the growth and development of the sport over those years.
One of the great things about this sport is it's diversity but, one of the worst
things is also that diversity. As the sport has grown, the specialisation in one
discipline has become the norm. Some paddlers have heard of other aspects
of the sport but never tried it. I know of many a paddler that has played
Canoe Polo for example and has never sat in a river boat. This analogy can be
used for many paddlers across all spectrums of the sport.
This lack of exposure has limited many a paddler without them realising it.
Paddlers can excel in their field by constantly training in that field and not
trying anything else however, if that paddler was to be exposed to another
aspect of paddling, they will learn something, they may even enjoy that
exposure and broaden their horizons, either way they will bring back key
elements from that exposure which will help them improve in their chosen or
original discipline.
Paul Donnelly - A Canoeing Profile
When I first started to paddle, my background was from Schools Canoeing.
Here I was exposed to Marathon Boats where I learnt the power of a good
stroke in a Marathon Boat.
Developing from here I competed in schools Slalom, honing my edging,
sweeps, steering strokes, power strokes on the straight and adapting them
for white water, learnt how to read the water and pick lines.
As an offshoot of this I took up white water kayaking and used the skills I had
learnt from those disciplines on a white water river.
I then joined a Canoe polo team called Dolphins and every skill that I had
developed was tested to the Max, under pressure, especially recovery strokes,
rolling, turning in confined areas, all this whilst trying to pass a ball....
Pressure indeed.
Whilst still messing around in competition boats, I decided to try downriver
racing boats, even competing in a Lower Liffey ranking race, didn't place
anywhere but, great fun.
Whilst I was dabbling with the Wavehopper at the time, which was the only
WWR boat that I could get my hands on or afford, the realisation of the skill
that I had drawn from other elements of the sport became very apparent.......
This is where the original thinking behind Paddlefest began.
At this time I had also taken on Open Boating and the old saying of ‘half the
paddle and twice the man' is true...... in open boating, brute force and
ignorance will get you nowhere fast.....you have to use the flow so much
more to steer those beautiful boats. When you paddle one of these craft in a
straight line, the angle of attack of the blade shaft is reminisce of a marathon
stroke, yet when you want to turn you really have to get your sweeps....like in
a river boat.
A friend of mine introduced me to Sea kayaking and it was like a kickback to
my school years.. They handle like Marathon Boats and Downriver racers....
You have to edge the same.. the stroke is the same....... Happy-days.
Marathon paddling on the open sea!!! Big waves like in a river!!! Sustained
adrenaline.........the constant changing scenery, wildlife, caves.... I am so
there............!
You put all of these adaptive and honed skills that you have learnt from all
the aspects of kayaking and canoeing, put them in a washing machine and
turn it on.... Full spin..
The result is the physical torque and power of the Freestyle discipline... 0kph
to 100kph in 3 seconds. Thankfully for me I had a little bit of knowledge and
muscle memory from the other disciplines, and so when I got into the
washing machine and went for a spin, I survived.. a little bruised, colour
faded, but all in one piece.
Whilst learning to cartwheel I heard the expression ‘double pump' I asked for
clarification on this and was told that it is how you use your feet to transfer
the energy from the paddle pushing the hull...... I thought to myself.. this is
nothing new to me, I do this all the time on the horizontal plane when I'm in
my river boat, a skill which I took from my marathon days.....
Paddlefest
The concept of Paddlefest is to try and expose young paddlers to the
disciplines, and to try an impinge on them the diversity of the sport but, also
how all of the aspects of the sport are interconnected and help them overall
to tweak, tune and hone certain skills in isolation and then bring them back to
their chosen area.
Remember, from a recreational stance, the more honed your skill and strokes,
the more enjoyable the experience.
From a competitive stance, the difference between 1st and 2nd place, winning
the sprint at the start of a match, making that split wheel could be as little as
a 100th of a second or having a more effective stroke.......... This extra edge
can be achieved by diversifying your training and honing a skill that you can
practice in isolation in another discipline......
‘The proof is in the pudding'
In 2004, I began to get involved with the juniors in Wild Water Kayak Club
through the pool sessions. At that time working with John Healy, we ran pool
session's right through the winter month's right up to March 2005. During
those sessions the emphasis was on basic strokes. It didn't matter so much if
the stroke worked properly, just once it was technically sound. From March,
the students worked with coaches like Martin McCarthy, Colm Ryan and
Adrian Barber- all respected coaches in their disciplines. The students where
exposed to all aspects of the sport over the summer months. They where
exposed to Boating and surfing too and all of this combined has laid the
foundation for the next generation of Athletes. You only have to look at some
of our national team members across the competitive spectrum.... They are
members of WWKC...... the pathway works.
Around 2007 I was introduced to Lar Burke, who had taken over from John
Healy as the junior officer in WWKC. The juniors where heading away on the
annual junior weekend away, and if memory serves me right, they where
heading surfing in Sligo.
The following year, Lar was arranging the weekend away and having
knowledge of the Hidden Valley site in Wicklow, I suggested that he try there
for a change. I was there for the weekend and following a marathon river
trip with Canadians and river boats - 7 hrs in total, I began to think........
Following that weekend, the concept of paddlefest began to form in my
mind... drawing from years of experience and seeing how this would be
beneficial to the juniors, I approached Lar with the Paddlefest concept.
From the early days we knew that this was bigger than us both, it was bigger
than WWKC, and this would have great benefits for all juniors from all clubs.
Whilst Lar undertook the Administration side and I looked after the
Operational side of things, the success or failure would depend on the input
of the many volunteers that so kindly gave up their free time.
Paddlefest is bigger than two people, it is bigger that one club, Paddlefest is a
combination of a lot of factors and people coming together to help develop
the sport, to learn from each other in a controlled and safe fashion and to
take things to a new level.
The ramifications of Paddlefest will leave a legacy on paddlers of the future, it
is up to you to continue the legacy.
The benefits of cross training between disciplines, is of vital importance to the
overall development of the sport of canoeing and to the paddler as a whole.
Failure to acknowledge this, will result in a lot of paddlers failing to achieve
their maximum potential and development....
Herein lies the Origin of Paddlefest