Dee - Dee Access

jcj · Post by **jcj** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:03 pm

DEE DAYS 20/21 NOVEMBER 2004

Fair Access to Rivers.

We will be organising a weekend event in Llangollen to highlight the lack of river access.

The aim is to make the public aware of the current national access situation and the damage that it is doing to both the tourism economy and canoe sport as a whole. It is hoped that this issue is of such importance to canoeists that we get the largest number of participants in one place ever! We are looking to get full media coverage of the event and to make a major positive impact on the public perception of the problem.

The timetable is:

Saturday, Free Fun Rodeo Event, plus a cardboard boat stopper ride at
Mile End Mill. (Entries in by 12pm on the day.)
(We are also looking for somebody to organise a floodlit slalom on Sat eve 20th November. Let us know if you can help? Enter by 2pm on the day.)

Saturday, Evening Party, Mile End Mill.

Sunday 11am-1pm Official Protest March in Llangollen Town Starts outside the Eisteddfod (International Pavilion) 11am.

Bring your banners, have your say!

Access to the event/party and the Mile End Mill site is free all weekend.

Please be aware that there will be a large police and parking warden presence in town for this weekend. There is parking at Mile End Mill for the events there. Extra parking has also been organised at the Smurfit factory 200 meters from the Mill and at the Eisteddfod International Pavilion. Please park considerately as we are not the only users on this weekend. Please do not enter the factory yard at Smurfits.

Please remember we are trying to make a major positive impact on the access problem. Please mail this on to your local media and anybody you think may be interested, they do not need to be canoeists to help with our problem and support us. Above all have a great weekend!

For more information please contact: DeeDays@jjraftcanoe.com
Jim Jayes
JJ CANOEING & RAFTING LTD
Mile End Mill, Berwyn Road, Llangollen, Denbighshire LL20 8AD United Kingdom
Tel/Fax: 01978 860763 E-mail enquiries@jjraftcanoe.com
Website http://www.jjraftcanoe.com

Jethro · Post by **Jethro** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 9:42 am

Mrs H wrote:What you are suggesting is exactly what you were objecting to with the petition ?? So now you change your mind?? We did consider getting the agreememnt of landowners etc but the WCA and BCU were putting the pressure on us to cancell to support the recreational paddlers, and they have the right to over ride our decision and pull insurance etc if we had gone against the BCU sorry but recreational paddlers have now lost my support totoally owing to the "I'm alright" attitude - the town and slalom paddlers have lost. Nick Penfolds comment of "Shafted by paddlers" is now becoming truer daily.

I reckon it was a really difficult call to make.

Stop the competition and on the down side there was the potential for loosing the profile of paddle sports locally for good (locals would soon forget) on the positive side it unifies the whole paddling community and gives considerably more clout locally in the short term ( believe me this has had the desired effect).

Allow it to go ahead and there is the potential for dividing the paddling community at a crucial time.

Whatever decision was made it would have been vehemently criticised by one party or another. Rock and Hard place come to mind.

The best result would be to have an overarching access agreement that suits all paddlers - plastic river runners, playboaters, competative slalom and white water racing paddlers. I think everyone would agree with this.

Next least worse solution in the long term would be to have agreed competition access and a free for all no access bandit running for others (after all for some folk - as has been pointed out - it is now possible to run the river more often than ever before, though be it with the threat of occasional abuse). I am sure that no plastic boater actively doesn't want competitions to go ahead.

However I think the subtleties of this were too much at this point in time. Plastic boaters would have seen it as a betrayal especially if it was - and what happens if it is then used in the future as leverage to stop bandit runs? whatwould slalom paddlers reaction be if their competition was threatened because of an increase in bandit runs? Could the paddling community have remained unified at this time?

A bad outcome in the long term would be a continuation of the current situation - no slalom competitions and lots of bandit runs - again very divisive. However I do think that in the short term, if everyone keeps their heads, it allows the paddling community to remain united and give us the strongest bargaining position.

Jethro

Jethro · Post by **Jethro** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 9:45 am

p.s. Hope lots of you are planning to turn up for DeeDay. Preaparations are going well and I think that it really will be an opportunity to get something done, especially if we get a really good turnout.

Besides it should be a good laugh. I will be posting some more info soon on local events that are being organised.

Post by **SteveM** » Fri Nov 05, 2004 11:38 am

Well put Jethro. Lets hope the demo has some effect.

Is anyone able to organise the evening slalom? Doesn't need to be anything flash - a dozen gates, hand timing and plenty of beer when you finish should do the trick

I'm sure people will assist on the day (I will).

Steve

Jim Jayes · Post by **Jim Jayes** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 5:17 pm

Take a look at what some are doing
http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk to help on the "access soap box" posts.

Thanks guys great work, keep it happening. Can others please put out Dee Days info to any press outlet web site that they know of?. Just cut and paste its really easy. I will have another press release out later this week on this and other web sites. Please pass it onto anybody who may help us. In order for Dee Days to have a effect it needs to be really big in numbers attending and through the press being informed in as many ways as we can, I need help from all on this one, please get networking!!! If you care about future of slalom site access, as the NIKE man says "just do it".

Other sites debating this issue are :

http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk uk

http://www.thamsweirproject.co.uk

Take a look.

If anybody knows of others please let us know?

When you have put something to the press please let us know on this site. It does not matter if they get the info many times what matters is that they get it. They more times they get iot the better! They will really see that there is an issue here.

Jim Jayes.

Post by **SteveM** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 8:40 pm

I've just emailed *every* member of this BBS to let them know about the protest day. Hope no-one minds!

Jim Jayes · Post by **Jim Jayes** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 9:28 am

We are looking for access protest banner slogans?
Any ideas?
JJ