1977
1977 YEARBOOK
Viking got a little fragmented in the Team Championship with Bob Campbell (now ranked 5th) paddling with a couple of northern types! This left Chris Lovelock and myself to hook up with Richard Fox but we did not really manage to get the results that our individual rankings suggested we should get :-( Chris was always significantly faster than both of us at that time and ranked a brilliant 3rd. There was not much between me and the new kid on the block being ranked 11th and 15th respectively.
This proved to be my best career ranking and really confirmed me as a paddler who "almost" had what it took to "make the grade". To compound/confirm this further, at the National Canoe Exhibition at Crystal Palace, where there was an annual pool slalom for the national top 20, I also finished 11th! I actually finished 11th two years running!
It would be interesting to receive comments from other paddlers of this era to add to this historical record rather than depend solely from my perspective. One thing I will flag up is the significant number of racers on these pages who tragically lost their lives way too soon. The sport attracts adlenalin fuelled characters and it seems that many of us sought bigger rushes off the water too. The most popular being on the road. Great lads all :-)
I recall racing against Paul McConkey during the late 70's and I am a little puzzled why I did not see his name in the previous Yearbook as, for reasons unknown, he is shown as demoted to Div 2 in this Yearbook. However, he features again in the next one in the newly formed "Premier Division" so possibly he was studying or similar. As with todays racers, there are always a handful of competitors who are very evenly matched and Paul and I were two of these. My most memorable recollection of racing against him was at Stone in a lower division race (either we were making our way up or it was an "Open" event or similar. Paul, the local lad, was leading on the first runs and I had not had a good run. I was the last person down the course and the only possible threat to his lead if I got it right. He ran the whole way down course watching and hoping that I would make a mistake but, for once, I handled the pressure and beat him. Beating him was most enjoyable but beating him on his own ground was very enjoyable!
Heading up the C2 "Div A" were Viking duo Dave Brown (Bedford) and Dave Curle (Luton) who raced for GBR in the 1976 Euros. I think that C2 is the class of slalom racing that has changed, been transformed and excelled the most since the 70's. The boat design and particularly the cockpit locations have really helped bring this class right up to an equivilent standing to all the single seat racers. But, having said this, it was certainly tougher back then for C2's. Whilst most of a kayak was required to pass between the poles (that were literally dragging in the water) the entire length of the C2 with a paddler at each end had to get through. This called for quite demanding boat control and, whilst I would not dare to suggest that todays racers are any less skillful, it was a different set of skills that were required to acheive this. The C2's were typically much slower than the single seat racers as a result but the modern C2's perform much more similarly to their single seat co-racers these days.
C1 was lead by Martin Hedges from Windsor and chased down as usual by fellow Viking Peter Keane in 2nd place. It seems that this yearbook may well contain Vikings best spread of high ranking racers of all time.
K1M 3rd/5th/11th
K1M Team 7th
C2 1st
C1 2nd
Unfortunately, there were no well placed Viking ladies but, otherwise pretty good for a flatwater club! NB. My club was listed as "Independent" due to a difference of views regarding the Clubs voting system (I was Youth Leader representing a large majority of the Club but, as a youth, I was not allowed to vote! I was not impressed and resigned). However, looking back, that was a small glitch in my longstanding relationship with the Club that I am prepared to overlook for the benefit of Club bragging rights! :-)
Read MoreViking got a little fragmented in the Team Championship with Bob Campbell (now ranked 5th) paddling with a couple of northern types! This left Chris Lovelock and myself to hook up with Richard Fox but we did not really manage to get the results that our individual rankings suggested we should get :-( Chris was always significantly faster than both of us at that time and ranked a brilliant 3rd. There was not much between me and the new kid on the block being ranked 11th and 15th respectively.
This proved to be my best career ranking and really confirmed me as a paddler who "almost" had what it took to "make the grade". To compound/confirm this further, at the National Canoe Exhibition at Crystal Palace, where there was an annual pool slalom for the national top 20, I also finished 11th! I actually finished 11th two years running!
It would be interesting to receive comments from other paddlers of this era to add to this historical record rather than depend solely from my perspective. One thing I will flag up is the significant number of racers on these pages who tragically lost their lives way too soon. The sport attracts adlenalin fuelled characters and it seems that many of us sought bigger rushes off the water too. The most popular being on the road. Great lads all :-)
I recall racing against Paul McConkey during the late 70's and I am a little puzzled why I did not see his name in the previous Yearbook as, for reasons unknown, he is shown as demoted to Div 2 in this Yearbook. However, he features again in the next one in the newly formed "Premier Division" so possibly he was studying or similar. As with todays racers, there are always a handful of competitors who are very evenly matched and Paul and I were two of these. My most memorable recollection of racing against him was at Stone in a lower division race (either we were making our way up or it was an "Open" event or similar. Paul, the local lad, was leading on the first runs and I had not had a good run. I was the last person down the course and the only possible threat to his lead if I got it right. He ran the whole way down course watching and hoping that I would make a mistake but, for once, I handled the pressure and beat him. Beating him was most enjoyable but beating him on his own ground was very enjoyable!
Heading up the C2 "Div A" were Viking duo Dave Brown (Bedford) and Dave Curle (Luton) who raced for GBR in the 1976 Euros. I think that C2 is the class of slalom racing that has changed, been transformed and excelled the most since the 70's. The boat design and particularly the cockpit locations have really helped bring this class right up to an equivilent standing to all the single seat racers. But, having said this, it was certainly tougher back then for C2's. Whilst most of a kayak was required to pass between the poles (that were literally dragging in the water) the entire length of the C2 with a paddler at each end had to get through. This called for quite demanding boat control and, whilst I would not dare to suggest that todays racers are any less skillful, it was a different set of skills that were required to acheive this. The C2's were typically much slower than the single seat racers as a result but the modern C2's perform much more similarly to their single seat co-racers these days.
C1 was lead by Martin Hedges from Windsor and chased down as usual by fellow Viking Peter Keane in 2nd place. It seems that this yearbook may well contain Vikings best spread of high ranking racers of all time.
K1M 3rd/5th/11th
K1M Team 7th
C2 1st
C1 2nd
Unfortunately, there were no well placed Viking ladies but, otherwise pretty good for a flatwater club! NB. My club was listed as "Independent" due to a difference of views regarding the Clubs voting system (I was Youth Leader representing a large majority of the Club but, as a youth, I was not allowed to vote! I was not impressed and resigned). However, looking back, that was a small glitch in my longstanding relationship with the Club that I am prepared to overlook for the benefit of Club bragging rights! :-)
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