Looking to go to ALPS 2017??? (MUST READ)

This is were all the exciting things will be happening for our Alpine Adventure 2017

Moderator: Eoghanc

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EoinHoward
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Joined: Sun Mar 23, 2014 6:16 pm

As everyone knows our Alps trip is one of the best events of the year. The Alps takes months of planning and hard work from the committee to make it happen. For the rest of the club it’s pretty much as simple as be able to paddle forward and buy your ticket and you're there. The last two years the Alps have been great but there are areas where we as a group have fallen down and one of the key areas is in progression for both personal paddling and progression in teaching. This next coming Alps trip THERE WILL BE CHANGE.

The goal of the Alps is that we paddle every day in white-water that is not available to us in Ireland and for each person to progress. Focus being put on beginners that are learning the skills to handle class 3+ whitewater and development of those set of skills so they can be applied back home. For leaders to develop further their teaching skills and pass them on to upcoming leaders. If we fail as a group to do this we will effect the next generation of paddlers to come. As we progress as college paddlers it is key that we always help and teach the people coming up behind us as it helps them progress faster but also you never really understand something fully unless you are able to explain and teach it.

Every year there has been a minimum standard laid out but really it’s bent to allow people to come and enjoy the trip. There is nothing wrong with this it just means the essence of the trip has changed. Talking to the SU their impression of our trip and people that get to go on it are people who have been to Wales, kayaked all around Ireland and have developed their skills through-out the year. Moving on from this it looks likely that we will have to reduce the numbers of people we bring on the trip each year or change the standard/quality of paddlers so that we can meet the core value that the SU are looking for.

Fresher’s that would like to go the Alps next year will have to prove to the committee that they want to be there to go kayaking and that they deserve to be there. There is no minimum standard set, once the person has the right attitude* to learning and progressing, this is what we're looking for. Your first year in alps is like your “grace” year, after that you really have work to be able to go again. (You get a chance to prove yourself).

*What I mean by the right attitude is someone who can take a swim and get back in their boat, learn from their mistakes and move on. Also showing that you want to paddle and want to learn is key.

People returning to the Alps have to have a “benefit to the trip” or "show that they are improved since last year”. What I mean by a benefit to the trip is someone who is a leader, is willing to teach, people who are reliable for safety and people who are progressing in to that stage of becoming a leader. “Shown that they have improved over the last year”; there is only so much the club can do for you as a paddler but it comes back to the individual to put in some work too. We the committee are not looking for anything massive once we can see a difference from last year (What we want is a person not be re-making the same mistakes as last year). It should be very easy to show progress form one year to next as people come away learning so much from the previous Alps trip.

The level of progression from year to year is easily measured in the river grades at which you run and the attitude at which you run them. Running level 2/3 rivers (Castleconnell etc) progressing paddlers should be catching every eddy, helping in teaching and really should be comfortable on them. On grade 3+ rivers progressing paddlers should be excited to really test their skills and be looking forward to the challenge the river has to offer. Advance leaders should be comfortable on grade 3+/4 rivers and still be able to teach & provide safety and push their own ability to try new lines and hard moves.

Times ticking so get out go paddling and push yourself to be better
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LukeKelly
Big Man On The Board Now
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Joined: Sat Feb 16, 2013 9:41 pm

Just don't be a bellend lads
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Shane_Desmond
Preposterous amount of posts "Preposter-Post"
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Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2015 11:21 pm

Shoutout to whoever did the spell check, good job
Dan
Preposterous amount of posts "Preposter-Post"
Posts: 254
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 8:05 pm

Excellent post, I have a bit of a flue this week but generally am paddling most Fridays if people want to come. Richie likewise. Get out and get paddling remember to smile (and put money in the credit union)

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