Pool Sessions

Stroud Valley Canoe Club run pool sessions generally every fortnight at 7pm at Stratford Park Leisure Centre Indoor Pool during the Autumn/Winter and Spring, and in the outdoor pool during the summer.

The spring 2013 pool programme in the indoor pool is as follows:

  • Saturday 25 May

The dates for the outdoor pool sessions for Summer 2013 are:

  • June 6th
  • June 20th
  • July 4th
  • July 18th
  • Aug 1st
  • Aug 15th
  • Aug 29th

All are Thursday evenings  - arrive 7pm (or a little earlier at the store if using club kit) for 7:15 - 8:45 'on the water'.  The main outdoor pool entrance from the carpark may be open - if not, or when bringing kit in from the store, use the 'side gate' to the left of the doors into the store.  PLEASE NOTE that the store will be locked at around 7:20 - 7:25 - if you arrive after this and the session is busy, you may have to wait for a coach to be free to go to the store with you to collect kit.

Equipment Store and Access to Pool

The equipment store can be reached as follows:

  • Walk to the left of the outdoor pool and down the service road between the pool and the parkland/children's play area.
  • The store is the tall square building painted white (with a white chimney stack on the end) at the bottom corner of the outdoor pool - blue-painted wooden double doors 'round the corner' as you walk down the road.
  • We access the indoor pool through the door to the left of the large double doors into the plant room, or the outdoor pool through the gate to the left of the store. 

If you bring your own boat(s):

  • Either carry them down from the carpark 
  • Or drive down the service road, unload and then move your car either back up to the main carpark or on down to the 'staff' parking spaces further down the service road at the back of the main Leisure Centre building.  The roadway and the area outside the store must be left clear for emergency vehicles.
  • If the barrier at the top of the service road is down, ask a coach/committee member for details of how to get in)
  • Alternatively, when we are in the outdoor pool, the main gate from the carpark MAY be open.

 On another note - remember that YOU are responsible for checking that YOUR boat (whether your own or a boat from the club store) is clean and free of mud, leaves & twigs, snails, etc BEFORE putting it into the water.  The new centre management company is even keener than before to keep the pool water clean and free of debris - and our continuing use of the pool depends on it!!

Finally, remember that there are regular open water coaching sessions on the Sharpness or Stroudwater Canals on certain Saturday mornings through the winter - talk to Jeff Tyndall if you are interested - either kayak or open canoe.  We hope  that some of you who have learned some basics in the pool will take advantage of progressing on to some 'real' paddling where there is room to do more than 6 strokes in any direction!  We would also suggest that, while it isn't a firm 'rule', if you do a morning session, you might like to consider skipping a pool session on the same evening rather than adding to the overcrowding (though borrowed club kit would still need to be returned to the store!).

Coaching1

The club has a variety of equipment at the pool and all are welcome at all abilities.

Sessions are staffed by club members who are also BCU qualified coaches or trainee coaches.

For further information please contact Dave Thomas on 01453 860047 or Jeff Tyndall on 07973 633007.

Pool sessions cost £7 for SVCC members and £9 for non-members.

Pool Rules

A buoyancy aid must be worn at all times when in the pool.

The club can only operate a maximum of two "taster" sessions at the pool for individual non-members since more than this would require the club to have an AALA licence issued by the AALS. After this those wishing to continue must join SVCC. Please refer to the membership page for more information and to the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority club reference.