REC 16 Hour first aid course 25th and 26th Jan 2014, Bury Lancashire

REC 16 hour first aid course running at the Burrs Activity Centre in Bury Lancashire on the 25th and 26th January 2014.

This course is suitable for anyone who plays or works in the outdoor environment and will be practical, fun and scenario based with lots of time spent practicing.

This course satisfies the first aid requirements for outdoor leader and coach qualifications and is recognised by BCU, MLTB, RYA etc.

Course costs £120 Discounts available when 2 or more people book on together. 

Accommodation is available on site (please enquire when making your booking)

email chris@chrisbraincoaching.com for more details or to book onto the course

Thanks

Chris Brain

Swimming upstream

For the last 12 months I have been working hard and doing plenty of swimming in my mission to become a whitewater safety and rescue provider.  The journey towards this has been incredible and through it I have met, shadowed and been in touch with some incredible coaches and participants during the courses.

I can honestly say that as I have served my time as the apprentice I have done my fair share of swimming, having ropes thrown at me and without a doubt have spent some days feeling pretty cold and wet!  However it is most certainly worth it as I have learnt so much and have loved every minute.

So over the last two days I have been assessed and received my final sign off for course delivery.  It was a pretty cold one, but the guys on the course gave it there absolute best and went away with some refreshed techniques, some new skills and plenty of experience swimming and learning how to stay safe.

There is no way that I would be in the position I am today having just completed this process without the help of some great people, many of whom didnt know me and said "yes" to helping me, simply because they are great people.  In no particular order Leo Hoare, Jules Burnard, Ken Hughes, Fraser Marr, Billy Lo, Darren Joy, Lee Pooley all helped show me the way and move me towards my final assessment.

I still feel a bit like the new kid on the block as I know I still have a long way to go.  All I can say is bring it on!

 

Combined FSRT and 2 star weekend

What an amazing weekend we just had!  Another freak weekend for warm weather, who would have thought you would get sunbunt cheeks at the end of September in the UK??

I love delivering the BCU's foundation Safety and rescue course, as it is great to work with paddlers to gain a solid base when it comes to rescue skills in paddling.  An FSRT is always a jam packed course, but combining it with a 2 star assessment over 2 days makes for a fantastic course.  With plenty of opportunities for real situations and lots of time spent in and out of boats it really is a hands on practical weekend. 

I would highly recommend doing an FSRT course over 2 days and combining it with either a 2 star assessment or 2 star training.  If you would like more information about this or would like to discuss the possibility of doing this either with your club or group please contact me on chris@chrisbraincoaching.com

Check out a few snaps from the weekend

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Pyranha Fest 2013

With the weather man promising a freak heat wave in North Wales, it seemed like the weekend of the 22nd of september was then perfect time for the annual Pyranha Fest! Kayakers from across the country descended onto north Wales, with a promise of boating, competitions, coaching and of course partying!

Plenty of demo boats available, along with the new Mark 3 Burn!

Plenty of demo boats available, along with the new Mark 3 Burn!

Over the weekend I delivered 2 freestyle based sessions, focusing on introducing playboating moves in a dynamic river environment.  Freestyle can be a superb way to develop your river paddling, and simply being able to surf a wave confidently or turn around in a hole can make a massive difference to your confidence on the river.  With some pretty epics surfs and swims had throughout the sessions, it was safe to say that everyone left with a smile on their face and also something to work on.  

Keeping us motivated while we paddle at the cafe wave with some rocking tunes!

Keeping us motivated while we paddle at the cafe wave with some rocking tunes!

One of the hottest arrivals at the event over the weekend was the chance to demo one of the new mark 3 Burns.  With all of the demo burns being out over the weekend and with me coaching over the Saturday and Sunday it was a real mission to actually manage to get out in the water on one!  Once I finally managed to get into one and get on the water, to say I was excited was an understatement.  

For me one of the biggest things in how a boat paddles is the sitting position and how that feels.  In the new burn this feels just right, with a great height and width for your knees and the seat height feeling good too.  In the prototype demo there was also a foam insert which went under the seat to raise your legs and offer a better fit.  This really worked well for me and meant I had much better connectivity with the boat, (Im assured this seating adjustment will make its way into production.  Once out and onto the water it was instantly recognisable that a huge amount of thought and time had gone into the latest version of Pyranha's iconic boat.   I love the redesigned bow rocker which feels like it just floats over the top of the waves nicely and any waves that do drop on top of it resurface nicely due to the peaked deck profile.  The boat seems to really stomp into eddys and lands well from boofs, being manageable and controllable throughout.

The boat is also narrower than previously, which means that edge to edge transitions feel much more dynamic and the boat seems even more nimble than before because of this.  The front edges help the boat to carve nice and smoothly and the reduced stern edges make sure that it doesnt trip over on the way into eddys.  Initial results are promising seem promising!

The increase in volume on the medium sized version for me is welcome too.  I am certainly on the (ahem) larger side of medium and felt like in the last burn the medium was a bit too small, but the large a bit too big.  The medium now feels like the right size volume for a river boat and had no problem with me and my kit inside.  On a fully loaded or high volume trip, I would be really keen to see how the new large size handles though.  With the reduction in width it could easily compare to the Pyranha Everest.  Safe to say the new burn is sure to be a huge hit and I cant wait to get hold of mine when they finally come out.

Boater charge through on the boater cross

Boater charge through on the boater cross

Throughout the weekend there were several competitions including the retro freestyle, extreme slalom and also the fiercely competed boatercross.  Competitiors had to sprint down from below the ski jump, down to a must catch eddy at the cafe wave to touch a spray deck (held down expertly by Rick Atkinson) and then fly down to the finish at the NRA bridge.  With fun and smiles on everyones face and some real carnage in the half way eddy, it was a great competition!

Carnage in the must make eddy!

Carnage in the must make eddy!

So overall a fantastic weekend, with some great boating, coaching, competitions, lectures and of course partying at the campsite in Bala.  Bring on the new burn, bring on some more great paddling and bring on Pyranha fest 2014!

Upcoming paddlesport and first aid courses

I have the following courses coming up before the end of the year

 BCU WWSR - 7th and 8th October 2013 - Llangollen - £150 - 3 places left

 BCU 3 star WW kayak assessment - 14th October 2013 - river Leven - £50 - 1 place left

BCU 3 star WW kayak assessment - 15th October 2013 - river Leven - £50 - 4 places left  

BCU 4 Star WW Kayak training - 25th and 26th November 2013 - North Wales - £150  - 4 places left

REC 16 Hour First aid course - 7th and 8th December 2013 - Burrs Activity Centre, Bury - £120 

If you would like to book onto one of the courses you can visit http://www.chrisbraincoaching.com/booking/ 

or if you would like to email me please contact me on chris@chrisbraincoaching.com

Pyranha Fest 2013 is coming!

On the 21st and 22nd of September the Pyranha fest will be coming to Bala.  The event promises to be amazing with tons of demo boats, competitions, coaching and of course some partying!  I will be there running some coaching courses during the weekend and will be on the water boating as much as possible.

WIll you be there??

Check it out at www.pyranhafest.com