1978
1978 YEARBOOK
Albert Kerr was recorded as the 1977 World Champion! An amazing result :-) Nikki Wain (K1M) and Martin Hedges (C1) were our national champions. But just look how far young Richard Fox had come since last season. 3rd. The national teams had swapped around a bit with Vikings Lovelock (5th) and Campbell (8th) paddling with Mike Thomas and me (12th) paddling with Richard Rust (18th) and Roger Manwaring (6th). The two teams finished 3rd and 6th respectively which was about right.
There is mention of the Master Class again in this Yearbook but only 8 racers are named. I think there were more but maybe the requirement to prove BCU membership meant that not all were listed! The Master Class were the top 20 paddlers in K1M. This era predates bib numbers and we still had our individual numbers on 9" diameter white circles and our team numbers on 9" white squares on both fore and stern. This meant that we were able to denote our Master Class status by wearing bright yellow bibs featuring a black "M" on front and back. I always considered that wearing this bib was as good as it was bad. On the one hand judges would give you the benefit of the doubt if it seemed a slight touch was made as, being a Master, surely it was clean! On the other hand, upon seeing the bib, judges would watch you twice as closely and detect even the slightest possibility of a penalty!
Roger Manwaring had made significant improvements since the previous season and Paul McConkey was a respectable 17th and getting better all the time. By this time I had got the upper hand of a really brilliant young, small lad named Mike Mitchell from Gloucester. As I was climbing the divisions I recall seeing this great lad cleaning up at all open and judges events everywhere I went. I bet that, wherever he is, he still has that big smile on his face!
At 23rd we can see James "Jimmy" Jayes appearing on the scene. I did not actually notice him until the following year when his name was above mine in the rankings. And that is where he stayed right up to racing at the '85 Worlds and '86 Euros.
The Premier Division was essentially the top end of Div 1 and we raced only at Div 1 events. There was no such race as a Premier race as there is today.
I am sorry for not really being able to comment so much on the Ladies class but as Viking did not feature and racers in that class I do not recall it so well. I do recall Liz Sharman being the one to watch though!
Peter Keane was still chasing down Martin Hedges and another Viking paddler, who I do not actually recall now, was M Kimberley also in division A C1.
It was about this time that I was training at Duck Mill Weir when I mentioned to Chris Lovelock that I had a challenge on with my gym coach (Brian Franklin at Bedfords Bunyan Centre) to see who would be the first to do a one arm pull-up (chin). Chris, well known for his long arms and powerful stroke, looked a bit puzzled and asked me "Do you need to train for that then?" to which I said yes, because I could not yet do it. He walked over to a nearby tree with a low branch, jumped up and grabbed it, hung from one arm, pulled himself up in one swift, smooth movement to chin the bough and dropped back to the ground with a big smile on his face. I do not recall ever managing one.
Read MoreAlbert Kerr was recorded as the 1977 World Champion! An amazing result :-) Nikki Wain (K1M) and Martin Hedges (C1) were our national champions. But just look how far young Richard Fox had come since last season. 3rd. The national teams had swapped around a bit with Vikings Lovelock (5th) and Campbell (8th) paddling with Mike Thomas and me (12th) paddling with Richard Rust (18th) and Roger Manwaring (6th). The two teams finished 3rd and 6th respectively which was about right.
There is mention of the Master Class again in this Yearbook but only 8 racers are named. I think there were more but maybe the requirement to prove BCU membership meant that not all were listed! The Master Class were the top 20 paddlers in K1M. This era predates bib numbers and we still had our individual numbers on 9" diameter white circles and our team numbers on 9" white squares on both fore and stern. This meant that we were able to denote our Master Class status by wearing bright yellow bibs featuring a black "M" on front and back. I always considered that wearing this bib was as good as it was bad. On the one hand judges would give you the benefit of the doubt if it seemed a slight touch was made as, being a Master, surely it was clean! On the other hand, upon seeing the bib, judges would watch you twice as closely and detect even the slightest possibility of a penalty!
Roger Manwaring had made significant improvements since the previous season and Paul McConkey was a respectable 17th and getting better all the time. By this time I had got the upper hand of a really brilliant young, small lad named Mike Mitchell from Gloucester. As I was climbing the divisions I recall seeing this great lad cleaning up at all open and judges events everywhere I went. I bet that, wherever he is, he still has that big smile on his face!
At 23rd we can see James "Jimmy" Jayes appearing on the scene. I did not actually notice him until the following year when his name was above mine in the rankings. And that is where he stayed right up to racing at the '85 Worlds and '86 Euros.
The Premier Division was essentially the top end of Div 1 and we raced only at Div 1 events. There was no such race as a Premier race as there is today.
I am sorry for not really being able to comment so much on the Ladies class but as Viking did not feature and racers in that class I do not recall it so well. I do recall Liz Sharman being the one to watch though!
Peter Keane was still chasing down Martin Hedges and another Viking paddler, who I do not actually recall now, was M Kimberley also in division A C1.
It was about this time that I was training at Duck Mill Weir when I mentioned to Chris Lovelock that I had a challenge on with my gym coach (Brian Franklin at Bedfords Bunyan Centre) to see who would be the first to do a one arm pull-up (chin). Chris, well known for his long arms and powerful stroke, looked a bit puzzled and asked me "Do you need to train for that then?" to which I said yes, because I could not yet do it. He walked over to a nearby tree with a low branch, jumped up and grabbed it, hung from one arm, pulled himself up in one swift, smooth movement to chin the bough and dropped back to the ground with a big smile on his face. I do not recall ever managing one.
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