Foyle Paddlers Canoe Club
Foyle Paddlers Canoe Club Report for October 2021 to December 2022
This club year 2022 started well with our 40[th] Anniversary event, a paddle down the Foyle, with some 37 paddlers turning out and more spectators. It was nice that so many of the founder members turned up and thanks to Joe Rotherham for doing the presentations.
As the new calendar year started the impact of COVID was still being felt, and a number of members from the previous year choose not to renew their membership this year. Club meetings were mostly held over zoom, which proved convenient for some, but problematic for others with poor broadband.
8 members attended the Core Coaching course which was held at the boathouse.
Wednesday night paddles were held regularly on the Swilly and Foyle over the spring and summer months. Sunday Paddles were also held regularly with paddles organised on the Swilly, Foyle and Owenkillew rivers as well as coastal paddles and trips to a number of nearby islands such a Inishmurray and Owey. The use of the WhatsApp group has been very useful in communicating details or organised trips and club activities.
The boathouse at Prehen was broken into on the 7[th] July and a number of boats and other miscellaneous items of equipment were stolen. None of the items taken were recovered, and unfortunately the perpetrators were not caught.
The biggest event for the club during this year was the Foyle Maritime Festival in July. The club gave more than 200 people the opportunity to paddle on the Foyle through taster sessions and a twilight paddle.
The boathouse has been tidied up and the surrounding area cleaned on 2 occasions.
Pool sessions restarted at the end of October with the clocks going back, and has presented this first opportunity this year to introduce new members at both junior and senior level.
As the year draws to a close, the new pontoon has become available for use. This potential for a lease agreement with the council to formalise the club’s position in Prehen presents both opportunities to develop, and financial commitments. It will be interesting to see how this issue progresses over the next year.