Towards the end of March I headed up to North Wales along with Witty, Michael G, Martin and Forbes, to spend a weekend doing our Whitewater Safety and Rescue Training. The weekend promised to be a cold and wet one, but not without its' fun. We spent the first day above 'The Chipper' on the Tryweryn, practicing our rescue of swimmers using reaching and throwing aids as well as some live bait rescues, involving leaping into the water to rescue a swimmer whilst tethered to your partner by a rope. The boats and paddles didn't even make it off the roofrack on the first day as we spent the entire time swimming, body surfing and running around on the banks! I was warm and dry in my drysuit feeling slightly sorry for the poor guy who thought he'd survive with just a wetsuit... We moved on the the Dee on Day 2 and looked at group leadership skills, protecting rapids and dealing with pins and entrapments. The course will definitely come in handy for our North Wales trip this term and has given us all some more confidence in our ability to safely run rivers and look after groups. I thoroughly recommend the course if you are looking at doing any kind of WW leadership in the future!
If you're interested in the club running more courses like this contact the coaching officer.