djberriman wrote:Would be good if once in a while ALL paddlers cleared the course when official practice is on and also refrained from paddling back to redo bits (particularly the last few gates). Regularly paddlers have to be asked more than once to clear the course by one or more people.
The rules are pretty clear so perhaps everyone could just stick to them. One official practice, wear your bib, keep clear of the course, don't paddle back when you have finished and ensure you stay near finish for safety until the NEXT 2 paddlers have finished (regardless of how many people may be floating around somewhere).
Getting back to the original point of this discussion - which subsequently seems to have split into two, not entirely unrelated issues - it's pretty clear what "free" and "organised/official" practice are.
In free practice you can do whatever parts of the course you want, umpteen times (assuming you are fit enough, unlike me); if you like that particular move or find it's the bit you need to practise most in order to help you improve, that's fine. It's quite possibly the same for many other paddlers on the day, so you have to put up with that. Hopefully everyone involved is able to exercise caution and responsibility to ensure enjoyment and safety - there may be some errors along the way due to paddlers on a learning curve but that's how it works. There may be club coaches taking several paddlers down at once, and repeating moves, but despite the problems this too can generate I would never knock any such approaches because that's how paddlers learn - and it's free practice.
As for scrapping official practice I'd be dead against it - it is the only time you can run the course at full tilt other than on your official runs. Free practice is sadly usually a total bun fight and every time I've tried to run the whole course at full speed during open practice this year I can gurantee some brave (foolish) paddler will either be sat in an up gate or pull out of it right in front of me. ...
Entirely agree - official/organised practice should be exactly that, so it isn't free practice as above. There has to be a difference. While in lower divisions multiple practice runs can be had, given time available, they should still be full runs ie from the top to the bottom of the course. What was a concern, as witnessed at a recent multiple division event, were the number of paddlers who either were unaware of the difference, or chose to ignore it, or were pressured to do so, as juniors, by parents who were equally unaware of the difference, or chose to ignore it. Despite several requests to clear the course, paddlers continued to repeat moves towards the bottom of the rapid during official practice, thus interrupting legitimate practice runs and technically endangering themselves/others. While sanctions around this issue usually amount to little more than a grim look and a bit of shouting/pointing, paddlers have to learn the rules and behaviour, including the safety reasons behind the conventions of practice both free and organised. Some these are informal; some are less so; but they are about making the sport safe and enjoyable. It might be that being a bit tougher around official practice observation would support this.
Secondly - safety at the foot of the course is part of the rules, which are there for all to see. Indeed, I've seen a lot more reminders posted around slalom controls of late, suggesting this is at very least a continuing problem - one that people are having to have their attention drawn to regularly. By entering an event, paddlers agree to abide by the rules - or their parents/carers do so on their behalf. While by its very nature, slalom pits one against others, I'd hope that wouldn't extend to watching one's competitors swim by. At the recent event referred to above, safety boats were out at the crux move, and at the end of the course. That didn't stop those of us waiting at the finish in rescuing/assisting in rescues, without weighing up compensation claims before we made a move.
While there might be arguments regarding inconsistency, I'd again suggest that a somewhat tougher approach to enforcement of what is part of the safety rules would help. Though my offence was genuinely "inadvertent", rather than "blatant" and far more years ago than I'd actually care to remember, I've neither forgotten it nor repeated it.
