Interesting times by Greg Spencer

Interesting Times Chairman's Introduction – OCA Newsletter, December 2014 Does an accomplished kayaker who hops into a canoe for the first time (demonstrating effective control) merit recognition as a “canoeist”? Should that kayaker be able to add “canoe” to his or her “paddlesport” coaching or leadership remit simply by being able to do familiar things in the different craft? Is being able to use a single-blade all that's involved? Would you find yourself nodding as an advocate pointed out how our accomplished kayaker must also show some recognition of the “traditions” of canoeing? Might you at least expect someone calling himself or herself a “canoeist” to have tried out lining, tracking, poling, snubbing and both improved and rafted sailing? How critical is it, for you, that a “canoeist” has racked up at least a few short trips and “some overnight camps”? Perhaps, instead of understanding the canoe as a “versatile” craft, your understanding of canoe comes from a different tradition. For example, not every canoeing tradition (or coaching scheme) includes poling. Moreover, some poling traditions are of a specialist activity in specialist craft – of using a canoe deliberately configured to do nothing but poling. At the other extreme, whilst some coaching schemes expect a river canoe to be outfitted with a saddle and straps, and to be fitted out for rolling... others explicitly exclude such approaches! In the late 19th Century, the founders of the American Canoe Association grappled with various sailing and paddling traditions, with the dedicated paddling canoe being considered a very specialist category of craft – one perhaps most closely identified with the the ultralight Rushton “pack” canoes used for negotiating

ponds and streams in the Forests of the Adirondacks. At the other extreme, the founders recognised the classic British tradition of specialist open water (including coastal) cruising canoes – including canoes with decks, sailing rigs and leeboards.

As we approach the 60th anniversary of the Open Canoe Association (founded 1956), we've been thinking through these matters, trying to establish what it means to promote “canoeing” here in the UK in these “interesting times”. What follows highlights just some of the thinking to come out of this process. Adventure Sports Coaching Our Association doesn't exist to promote one vision of canoeing, or to sit in judgement over other conceptions of canoeing. We can, however, highlight diverse understandings of what canoeing can mean within the UK, and promote canoeing in ways which reflect the richness, diversity and complexity of a British Open Canoeing scene which is vibrant, dynamic and increasingly sophisticated. Matt Thompson of Wilderness Canoe features elsewhere in this magazine and is one familiar OCA Provider who has been consistently prepared to explore, articulate and act upon a rich conception of what canoeing might mean, beyond merely switching craft. He has recently been offering “Expedition Based 3 Star” trips to train and assess canoeists in the environments he associates with the canoe. He has also been taking inexperienced canoeists into the heart of places like Assynt (at times, in quite challenging conditions) to provide a quality of experience he finds inseparable from the canoe, and to facilitate insight into calibre of decision making and judgement needed for his charges to become independent in those contexts. At the recent English Canoe Symposium, Ray Goodwin gave a related talk on the place of strategic thinking (decision making and judgement) in expedition contexts. Like Matt, Ray's very much wedded to the canoe as a means of traversing wilderness, and he has long been keen to note that the “trad” skills of his training courses are tools we need to understand how to apply in relation to meaningful application environments. This is a view shared by Jules Bernard - the L5 Coach involved with the Open Canoe Association's ongoing Leadership Development Programme.

At the end of November, a veritable host of Adventure Sports Coaches descended upon Plas-y-Brenin as Marianne Davies hosted the Canoe Wales Coaching Seminar. Loel Collins took centre stage, and discussed his research into the genre of “coaching” that Matt, Ray, Jules and others practice. Loel summarised work he'd done before, where he'd discussed things like fostering independence, manipulating risk as a distinct component of the environment, and learning about judgement, based on our own and other people's experience.

Anyone interested in this side of Matt, Ray and Loel's lines of thought might want to get hold of the next issue of Code, where Marianne Davies will be discussing a “constraints based” approach to coaching centred on the affordances (possibilities) for action which shape the unique “performance style” we each adopt – the way we each find our own, unique approach to the many and varied challenges of becoming consistently effective in our complex, dynamic open-canoeing environments. Alternative Approaches Underpinning all of the above are things like passion for adventure, an obsession with challenging environments and a commitment to lifelong learning: perhaps reasons the above coaches became involved in coaching in the first place. Related possibilities might include desire for solitude, peace and quiet, isolation or social contact with friends – and we should not overlook quite different motivations, such as enthusiasm for the physical work out involved in eating up the miles at a good pace, or for the mind-clearing focus that comes with taking stroke after stroke. None of the above coaches have lost sight of “participation for personal well-being”, but in our discussions we can locate any emotional connection in diverse ways. For example, for the Adventurer, the emotional connection can come to be linked overwhelmingly with the broader experience. For the performance boater, such connections can come to be seen as almost incidental: a nice bonus, after the small matter of being “effective”.

At the Symposium, Jörg Wagner gave a presentation from a different tradition: a talk on coaching based on “treating the water well”. Jörg isn't averse to adventure, and routinely gets away to paddle his favoured wooden canoes on rivers like the Allagash, but his focus, when he first introduces newbies to the canoe, is not adventure – it's simply that raw, emotional attachment to the pleasures of moving well upon the water in a beautifully balanced craft. Many who attended the Symposium got to try Jörg's handmade, highly individual wood-and-canvas boats, and “traditional” paddles. Each had “character”. These are not everyone's cup of tea, but no matter where we look in the world, we find some canoeists for whom connection with “canoe people” who hand-crafted these “tools of

the trade” is an essential part of canoeing. This Autumn, the OCA has reached out to the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association and the Historic Canoe and Kayak Association. Next April, we head to the Norfolk Broads for our first “Joint Meet” - to coincide with a Home Built Boat Rally, and a gathering of at least two other related groups. We trust that in the years to come, this event will be looked back to as the start of a productive relationship which we anticipate (amongst other things) giving OCA members access to both vibrant cultures of boating and unprecedented practical and historical expertise. Beards, Tilly Hats, Kelly Kettles, Tarps, Edged Tools and Fireboxes No matter what style of canoe one paddles, and what construction, the canoe appeal of canoeing can still be a matter of aesthetics and stylistic preference. For instance, the appeal for some lies in simplicity: in an empty boat, a paddle, and the freedom to move upon the surface, any which way but none. Some of that ilk like to “go light” for their tripping as well. Adding a hammock and as little else as possible can produce a “minimalist” approach that feeds a distinctive aesthetic of canoe-tripping – a “traditional” one which resonates with what Nessmuk and others were doing in the Adirondacks in the late 19th Century! For others, the canoe seemingly has more appeal when laden, in stereo-typical fashion, with the accoutrements of “bush craft” or “outdoor living”, including much cotton-canvas and steel. The vessel as “pick up truck” comes to mind – as it can, in completely different ways, when encountering a family out with a picnic hamper, or a party of young adults out with beer-coolers. The appeal may still involve multi-night trips, but being able to carry way more than when backpacking may be central to why someone prefers to travel by canoe. Others take their “performance boating” too seriously for any of the above. Minimalism for them isn't a “style” thing, it's about maximising effectiveness whilst pushing limits. Large “trad” boats are driven through challenging lines as if they are just over-sized specialist WW craft – and the mindset is similarly “attainment” oriented. Take a look through the programme at the end of this newsletter for trips to appeal to just about any and all on the above spectrum.

Role of the OCA Membership The OCA doesn't exist to say what is, or is not, canoeing... but each of us, in our own little way, has opportunities to be positive advocates and challenge stereotypes. Through time, we may open eyes, clearing the way to innovation and a progression. At our forthcoming Extraordinary General Meeting we will be proposing that the OCA be dedicated to promoting “the use of open canoes for independent adventure, exploration, journeying and self development”. We trust this is a broad and truly inclusive mission, allowing for huge variety in style, approach, motivation and purpose. In developing our proposal, we suggested that the single most important thing we could do was encourage each and every member to “get out and about, independently, in ways that inspire others”. We do not mind what each members' individual “way” might be, but we trust Members will, through time, find their own ways to “inspire” – and we took the view that “independence” is essential to those we inspire finding their own way. As a grass-roots Association, we concluded that a community approach to progression was essential. To that end, we opted for a focus on “sharing experiences, and learning from one another” rather than of “instruction”. To provide a mechanism for sharing experiences, we then added a focus on “leading trips, and providing assistance to others who are leading trips”. For successive Committees, we envisage the primary practical implication being a focus on a dynamic calendar of events providing opportunities for members to meet up. If we are to ensure our Members are able to put these events on with confidence, and in a responsible manner, we may also need to “facilitate training and mentoring, including opportunities to develop leadership skills”. This is NOT saying we need to provide the same “Formal” sector training that's available everywhere through Clubs and Commercial Providers. It's primarily saying we need to provide the opportunities to learn through experience on OCA outings attended by experienced older hands – such that one may arrive at a Formal training with the knowledge and understanding to contribute positively and challenge, rather than to merely lap up “workshops”.

The above is all going to require a fair bit of hard work. For instance, we recognise a need for us to “offer guidance and resources to members wishing to offer an OCA event”, and to “develop a network of national and international opportunities and connections” - and we envisage a related, ongoing role of “representing canoeists' interests in the wider outdoor community”. We trust these are uncontentious, and that members will also support our commitment to “work with other organisations which promote a spirit of adventure”. Looking Ahead Over the past two years we've built up a network which gives us foundations on which we may build. Nothing embodies that quite so dramatically as our now well-established association with the annual Open Canoe Festival on the Dröme. We're heading back for Easter 2015 and anticipate a substantial number of canoeists linking the OCF to a few days on other trips in the region, perhaps including the Orb, the Sorgue, the Gard, the Allier and/or the Ardèche. Sign up at www.opencanoefestival.com for updates! In 2014, our OCF presence was eclipsed by the way we took on the year's English Open Canoe Symposium. We were invited to make this an OCA event: run by members, for members. We helped with finding leading British and international coaches, and were pleased to have that list headed by European “quietwater” Doyen Jörg Wagner (already mentioned in this discussion) and by past Chairman Tibor Herbent – an unsung hero of British canoeing, from touring right through to racing. We'll make special mention of Tibor here as he embodies the best of the OCA tradition. He was a founder member of the International Long River Canoe Club, and has experience on most of the larger rivers of Europe. He was instrumental in the transformation of the old “Canadian Canoe Association” into what we know today as the OCA. In the 1980s, Tibor established canoeing as a discipline within the Royal Leamington Spa Canoe Club, both as a competitor and through to coaching (to European and World Championship level). He has more recently become a national focus for the coaching of girls and women, with leading GB competitors Sam Rippington and Lisa Suttle among his protégés. Thanks to those who have taken up the mantle from Tibor, we had a quite diverse programme of additional coaching, guiding and tripping in 2014. Moreover, even at this early stage, we've got members offering a solid outline programme for 2015. Please note, this is a living programme of opportunities, not something set in stone. If 12

you're a member (or prospective member) and can see a way to enhance the programme – get involved! An e-mail to events@opencanoe.info will get you started, and if you'll do your bit to help out we'll get that calendar growing. Song-of-the-Paddle, Social Media, Etc. Mention has already been made of WCHA and HCKA links, but this year we've also built on a strong relationship with the Song-of-the-Paddle community. We advised on, and were represented at, the SoTP “Big Meet” (Bala, end of August), and we were at the smaller meet which took place in the Norfolk Broads (October). We're routinely looked to for guidance and advice, and we're appreciated for what we bring to the British Open Canoeing scene, and through Songof-the-Paddle we each have an opportunity to contribute to a an exceptional online community, with 40,000 unique visitors per month. Some have asked about an online home for the OCA community. We prefer the notion of many “homes”. We'll make a home wherever our past, present and prospective members engage with one another. For some, that “home” may be Song-of-the-Paddle: great – that's engaging with the broadest Open Canoe community imaginable! For others, the “community” will always be more “face-to-face”... and might be a local paddling network, such as the Suffolk Open Canoe Group or the Wobbly Water Group. We've got one vibrant online presence through our primary Facebook Group (with ~1,000 Members), and other Members are using Google Groups to create e-mail lists for members who prefer to work that way. If you've got another way of working that YOU prefer then let us know: we're happy to accommodate variety! Before long, we hope to tie all the groups back to our forthcoming (all new) website – currently under development with a view to having a renewal system and eventbooking system “live” by the Spring. We fully expect to be able to interact in just about every conceivable manner once this is up and running.

The 2015 Rally Following last year's Canoefest rally in Devon, we had an article featured in The Paddler – an electronic magazine that's distributed free of charge to 15,000 readers and which is looking to us for regular canoe-related content. We arranged for a friend of the Open Canoe Association to write up the Open Canoe Festival in the same publication and look forward to building on this relationship for the benefit of all canoeists in the years to come. We're also able to confirm an impressive venue for next year's Rally. Dolben Hall, near Rhyl, promises us easy access to a broad range of canoeing opportunities, from Lynn Brenig to the Conwy Estuary, and from the Tryweryn to the Menai Straits. The centre is the pride and joy of Dave Orange: a vastly experienced adventurer who looks set to host us in fine style. We're already listed to provide a Spring Bank Holiday “Coaching Matters” event for those who wish to update – so clear your diary and start thinking what you fancy tackling from that base. Note: we're envisaging many taking up a “36 hour Challenge” from 6.00 am on the Saturday morning of the Rally. In essence, the idea is that from the base at Dolben Hall, Members (past, present and prospective) scatter to undertake the best microadventure they can dream up before returning for the evening festivities on the Sunday. Your support and help If you've got as far as reading this, then no matter what you make of it all, we'd be keen to hear from you. We're not set on any one path: we're working with all those who want to make a contribution to see where we can take the OCA. If you're engaged at this point, please get in touch and discuss how / in what ways you might want to take the OCA in these or other directions. A single e-mail would be a start: greg.spencer@opencanoe.info – we guarantee to reply, and if you include a phone number, we'll get back to you that way.