Expert from the off

[An organiser]

Hi everyone

I recently organised with the help of 100% of the current slalom club members plus 50 % or so of other active club members a slalom at our local weir. The event was a first for the club in many years and proved successful in that it ran with only slight delays. We all felt great pride when the last paddler cleared the course and we heard allot of positive comments from participants as they collected their trophies.

However it isn't the slalom i want to rant about but more of the envelope of support we received.

I am sure every organiser will agree that there's allot of planning that needs to take place before an event. In my case permission from the local council, renting a building with showers,renting a field, organising gates, tutti, bibs, security, a camp site, prizes the list goes on. On top of this there's the miles travelled and fuel costs to fetch equipment speak to locals and book what ever needs booking.

Then there's the training nights bringing core members together to practice with Tutti and the scoring program and finally a lot of people took a day off work to ensure the course was put up the day before the event.

Roughly speaking i thought about the event for about 8 weeks prior, i was looking at the event, what could go wrong, formulated a plan, changed it, delegated, made procedures just in case the worst was to happen wrote a Method statement and risk assessments sent it to the council for approval, arranged first aiders and all this before we received a single entry. My delegates also had their own worries, purchases to make and decisions to take. No one member wanted the event to fail on their watch and the end result was after the event we were all exhausted as the mental effort for all of us had been enormous.

What i didn't count on was the amount of money i had to pay out to the slalom committee. The event covered the cost of all preliminary requirements but then went way into the red once the slalom committees fees where allocated to a tune of almost £200.00. How can a club, with no basic equipment buy equipment for the next slalom? Simply put we cannot unless we dig into our pockets again.

I feel quite bitter that in providing a service for the good of the sport of canoe slalom i am then charged for providing that service. Ok so you can argue that if the slalom committee had not provided the league for the race, there would be no race and i agree. That's a valid point. But i feel the amount i should pay should should reflect the profit of the event, not a fixed price per head depending on the paddlers division. In this way the club would always guarantee to break even before paying money from our own purse. My handbook states "Putting paddlers first & valuing volunteers" if forgets to finish "at the financial expense of the promoting clubs ".

My second gripe is one that's consistent with somebody like me learning a new role. We are bound to have questions. From an experienced individuals perspective the question may seem dumb. But hey guess what we are not experienced, we are learning on the job and having a friendly chat on the email to straighten said stupid question should not lead me to never want to write to an individual again because you get the answer," its in the organisers disc, nobody else has this issue, you seem to be the only one with a problem." When i expected an answer something like, sorry i dont understand your question send me some more details and i see how i can help".

That said, that response does not reflect all responses from canoe slalom admin. There are guys, some on this forum which in their responses to me have been informative, creative, helpful and most importantly aimed so i can understand what is required without me feeling like a idiot. Those guys i thank, its stressful enough worrying about all the other issue and having you on my side when the world appears against you is definitely a bonus.

Finally regarding the procedures for event we had a confrontation regarding photography. And this is a question rather than a general comment, who is policing the anti photo policy? I sure as hell am not. I have no right to tell a member of the public not to take photographs. The event is held in a public place with numerous access points to the river side. We have general public out for a Sunday walk, runners, cyclists and a host of other sports taking place, Cricket in the next field, Rugby just over the river, a martial arts club, a gym and dare i say it a main road with on street car parking, a restaurant overlooking the course all well within 100 metres with clear visibility to take photographs. This policy cannot be policed, its stupidity to think it can. Am i to ask every person with a camera not to take a photo and sign the disclaimer first? Come on get a grip here! During the day this accounts for hundreds if not thousands of people! Child safety is one thing but lets make the procedure enforceable not something of wishful thinking.

Away from our event I have also noted and this is my subjective view, that the standard of paddling skills is dropping. I have seen div 1 guys swimming on Holme Pierre Point, guys getting to div 2 and never paddling anything more than a trickle. I know i have been out of the sport for 20+ years but my memory then was Div 1 paddlers were solid, fast and reliable and definitely not swimmers and getting to div 2 in just a few races was the playground of the elite and not the average paddler. Please tell me i am wrong here but i fear the worst if promotions are given early to boost the numbers in the middle ranks.

Sorry its such a long first post but i had a few things to rant about.

[PeterC]

Thanks for your thoughts and many many thanks for making the effort to keep slalom active, it is truly appreciated.

I understand your concerns about levies but unfortunately there are significant costs in keeping the sport up and running. Some time ago the levies were set at 45% of entry fees. We have recently altered this to allow organisers to charge increased entry fees to cover costs that would otherwise make the race non viable, the levy does not increase it remains as the same proportion of the recommended entry fee. Your suggestion would be a very significant change to the structure of the sport and would need a proposal to the ACM to change.

I am sorry you have felt unsupported as you clearly have. Please do get in touch with me or any of the members of the slalom committee to discuss further, our contact details are all in the year book.

Photography is indeed a challenge but you are not a one man police force. Some races are run in a closed environment where the policy can be followed. Most as you note are in a public place and all you can do is be alert to problems. Organisers do use a variety of notices that recognise this. That said we do unfortunately have child protection issues and incidents that occur at races and need dealing with although I am not aware of any photography related ones recently. In any case your responsibility is limited to recording the events and report to the relevant authority to deal with.

I do hope that this has not out you off, organising events does get a little easier with experience although it is always a lot of effort and challenge.

[An organiser]

Hello PeterC

Thanks for your message, another member has contacted me and i will discuss directly.


regards