Press Release. DEE DAYS 20/21st November 2004. .
Access to the countryside is now a reality but why does it not include rivers?
Despite the problems of children and adults spending too much time on TV and Computer Games and the growing obesity problem, one fantastic sport is being denied to them due to an antiquated situation in this country. Most of our rivers, a prime leisure venue, are closed to all forms of boating and canoeing, mainly due to the fishing lobby. In fact 98% of the rivers in England and Wales have no public access for canoeists whatsoever.
Canoeing is a sport which is both an excellent form of exercise and is extremely ecologically friendly, producing absolutely no harmful emissions. It encourages the youth of today to get outside and into the countryside like no other sport can.
Over 2,000,000 people try canoeing each year but most fail to carry on due to the lack of venues to paddle. We should be encouraging these people, not putting obstacles in their way. It is time for the government to take action if it is serious about promoting healthy living and making the countryside available for all.
We took a silver medal in the men’s kayak and a bronze in the ladies‘, at this years Olympic Games, but our athletes have to train abroad most of the time due to the lack of access in this country. This frustration is not only there for the competitive canoeist but also for the recreational paddler.
Jim Jayes of JJ Canoeing and Rafting, Llangollen, is organising a protest weekend to raise public awareness of the problems facing the sport. They have invited every canoeist and their supporters to attend and are expecting between two and five thousand canoeists to be there. As well as canoeing events throughout the weekend on their stretch of the RIVER DEE they will also have a mass march starting at the International Pavilion Llangollen, 11am on Sunday 21st November.
The aim is to make the public aware of the current access situation and the damage it is doing to the tourist economy and the sport of canoeing. We hope that this will in turn encourage the government to look again at the whole issue, and improve the situation to bring us into line with Scotland and the rest of Europe where most rivers are open to the public, in the way that the Countryside Bill has opened up the countryside to Ramblers.
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