Paddle power at canoe club event

Canoeists aged seven to 70 took part in a canoe slalom event on the River Devon near Alva at the weekend.

Paddlers from all over Scotland flocked to the event, hosted by Strathallan Canoe Club, to test their skills on the course over the two days.

The site is home to CRCats (Central Region Canoe Advanced Training Squad) who are currently offering sessions to new paddlers aged eight-11. The only prerequisite is good water confidence.

Interested parties should contact crcatscoach@gmail.com for information.

For some youngsters who started paddling at the end of last year and who also attended pool sessions over this winter the weekend was the first time they had competed.

Three young CRCats paddlers - Heather Hale, Eilidh Kettles and Cameron Brown - excelled themselves by gaining promotion within the divisional system and others won medals for their age groups.

The sport of canoe slalom covers all abilities, from novices who race small rivers like the Devon, up to international and Olympic paddlers who race on the fastest and hardest of waters. CRCats is proud to have had a part in training several world class paddlers in recent years including Fiona Pennie and David Florence, who will both compete in the Olympics in Rio de Janiero later this year.

A canoe slalom course consists of two types of gate, green and red, all of which are in numbered order.

The green gates are downstream gates and are paddled in a downstream direction. The red gates are known as upstreams and are paddled in an upstream direction.

Athletes must not touch or miss any gates, as doing so will result in either a two second (touch) or 50 second (miss) time penalty.

There will be another event at Alva on the weekend of June 11-12.