I’m sure most paddlers have heard of the river Nore which flows through Kilkenny City but I’d be fairly certain only a small few are aware of the little gem of a play spot that was created some years ago during the flood relief scheme.

To be clear this is no Curragower / Sluice / Clifden or Tuam but it is in my estimation one of the best places I’ve been to to introduce people to the the basics of freestyle kayaking.

The weir itself is a large downstream U shape which creates 3 different features which work at varying river levels. One of the great things is it works when the whole country has almost turned into a dessert right the way through to where its almost washed out.

A location like this is never going to excite the next world champion but it’s being visited by a few folks who can more than hold their own at completions and every one has had a great time here. The moves list that can be done here is not huge but for the beginner and improver you shall be kept busy, we have had spins every which way,Blasts, shuvits, low angle ends, variations of phelixs & pistol flip (type thing..watch your elbows be warned )

Sadly it isn’t not deep enough to loop but I suspect at higher levels some one lighter than my good self might be able to eak out a loop in the centre hole.

You can park and play at the spot or you can take it in as part of a river trip on the Nore itself, there is a nice deep pool above the weir to hone your flat water skills and pools below the weir to collect any possible swimmers.

Three Features, One Location, Clean Water

Good Times!

With the new motorway now open its just on and hour and 10mins form Dublin so all those who seem to live on the Boyne should take a closer look.

Here is a quick bit of video of it at current higher levels, I was just playing with a new camera and editing program so its a bit pants. Gives you a rough idea of what the place is like though.

That’s about it for now, there are a whole bunch of updates going up in the Coaching & Instruction part of the site in the next couple of days along with the 2010 course calendar, have a check back and see if there is anything your interested in.

Adrian

Hey,

As some of you know this idea was only really conceived in the Sluice car park last Sunday afternoon after a training day organised by Ger O’Reily and to be honest I am surprised how quickly this has snowballed. The premise for this event and the ones that are planned to follow it is pretty simple “To run a series of freestyle events with will allow people to learn new skills & develop their existing ones in a fun and safe environment”.

From having attended the day Ger organised it was clear to see that there was an appetite among folks for events just like this. As if to prove a point when I advertised that we would be running an event at the end of October in no less that 23hours all the thirty allotted spaces snapped up along with a rapidly growing “reserves list”.

Having run a couple of training things before there is a bit of behind the scenes things to sort out which are starting to slot into place nicely. What I would like to say that the real stars of these kind of days are the guys and girls who give up their time & experience to coach and make the whole thing possible.

To all those that have registered keep an eye on your inbox as the days itinerary and more details will be landing very soon. To people that did not manage to get in this time stay tuned for further events or if you would like to help out on the day making things run smoothly drop me a line.

If anyone wants to try get in some pre event practice more details of this wicked little spot can be found here on irishwhitewater.com .

I hope to add a few more photos and video in the run up to the 25th just to give people a better idea of what to expect & to get the excitement levels raised. Until then here are a couple of shots taken on a recent recce to the spot by myself and a couple of the lads.

That’s about it for now but here is a video that for me pretty much sums up the value of holding and attending days such as these. At the start of August I exchanged a few emails with Two Time World Freestyle Silver Medallist Billy Harris who gave me permission to use this clip and also said he couldn’t stress the importance of getting solid foundations to help progress your skills and always push your self.

Inspiring stuff I reckon, I hope ye are as excited as I am about this upcoming event and those that hopefully will follow it.

Adrian

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