EURO PADDLE PASS CONFERENCE

EPP RGB

14th -17th October 2016

DUBLIN IRELAND

[idz_button color=”blue” size=”medium” link=”http://www.canoedb.com/events/?id=43″ target=”_blank” class=”” type=”square”]Get Involved – As an instructor or coach at the skills assessment workshops[/idz_button]

[idz_button color=”blue” size=”medium” link=”http://www.canoedb.com/events/?id=44″ target=”_blank” class=”” type=”square”]Get Involved – As a participant in the skills assessment[/idz_button]

IMG_7666-001

Event Outline

Canoeing Ireland are delighted to host the 2016 EPP Conference in Dublin.  We believe that Dublin is the perfect venue for the 2016 EPP Conference.  The River Liffey, which flows through Dublin City Centre, offers 20 km of flat and Grade II-III white water which is regulated by an upstream dam, perfect for running reliable Level 3 River Kayak and Open Canoe assessments.  Leixlip Lake, situated on the Liffey just 10426235_804955262926448_6392829815640566576_n15km from Dublin City Centre, offers a 2km long lake and hosts one of Irelands oldest and most successful Canoe Clubs, ideal for Flatwater assessments.  Both ends of Dublin Bay have beautiful islands, wildlife, sea cliffs, caves, overfalls, tide races and complex tidal systems to test sea skills at both Level 3 and potentially at Level 4 standard.

The workshop will be based out of a small family run hotel, the Lucan Spa Hotel, in a small Dublin suburb, located on the southern bank of the river Liffey, about 10km from Dublin City Centre.

On Saturday 15th October 2016 we propose to run Level 3 assessments in four disciplines, River Kayak, Sea Kayak, Open Canoe and Flatwater.  Canoeing Ireland must recruit assessors and participants to co-ordinate the Level 3 river kayak, sea kayak and open canoe assessments.

[idz_button color=”blue” size=”medium” link=”http://www.canoedb.com/events/?id=43″ target=”_blank” class=”” type=”square”]Get Involved – As an instructor or coach at the skills assessment workshops[/idz_button]

[idz_button color=”blue” size=”medium” link=”http://www.canoedb.com/events/?id=44″ target=”_blank” class=”” type=”square”]Get Involved – As a participant in the skills assessment[/idz_button]

Currently we have no assessors for Level 3 Flatwater in Ireland.  We have a group of Kayaking Eventscommitted coaches who are eager to see a flatwater award developed in Ireland and so we are inviting other European nations, who run the Level 3 Flatwater award at home, to deliver the award in Ireland to be observed by our coaches and discipline committees.

We may also run a Level 4 Sea Skills Assessment on Saturday, if suitable conditions are present.  We have spring tides on the weekend in question and there are over falls and tidal races at the proposed sites, so any bit of wind or swell should provide us with suitable conditions for Level 4 Sea Skills.

In accordance with previous benchmarking events the Sunday will offer a debriefing opportunity for the participating assessors in the morning followed by a focused workshop to document proposed edits to each of the Level 3 EPP Awards in the assessed disciplines DCIM105GOPROfor consideration by the core group.

As discussed at the EPP Core Group Meeting in February we also propose to run the new Canoeing Ireland SUP assimilation which we can make available to any qualified instructor who has personal experience in paddling SUP, with a good level of personal SUP skills.  The proposed assimilation would be run in English on Saturday and Sunday at our Training Centre on the Liffey.

Provisional event programme

DayTimeActivityLocation
Friday Oct 14th12:00-17:00Welcoming participantsLucan Spa Hotel
17:00-18:30Assessor & Observer BriefingLucan Spa Hotel
19:00-21:00DinnerLucan Spa Hotel
Saturday Oct 15thLevel 3 Assessments
9:00-17:00Open Canoe – 4km river trip with 1 weir, 6 Grade II rapids, 1 lake at finishCelbridge to Salmon Leap
9:00-17:00Sea Kayak – 10-15km Sea Trip coinciding with Spring Tides incl. circumnavigation of small island, tidal currents, sea cliffs, caves, over falls & tide raceHowth – Potential to also complete a Level 4 Sea Skills Assessment if conditions are suitable.
9:00-17:00River Kayak – 7km river trip with 1 Gr II/III white water course at start & 3 weirs.Sluice to Training Centre
9:00-17:00Flatwater – 2km long lakeSalmon Leap
9:00-17:00SUP Assimilation – Flat but flowing waterTraining Centre to WWKC
Sunday Oct 16th9:00-17:00SUP Assimilation – Flat but flowing waterTraining Centre to WWKC
9:00-12:30Assessor DebriefLucan Spa
12:30-14:00LunchLucan Spa
14:00-18:00Review of EPP Level 3 Syllabi

Recommended Changes

19:00-21:00DinnerLucan Spa or Other
Monday Oct 17th8:00-12:00Core Group MeetingLucan Spa
12:00-1:00LunchLucan Spa
1:00Departures

[idz_button color=”blue” size=”medium” link=”http://www.canoedb.com/events/?id=43″ target=”_blank” class=”” type=”square”]Get Involved – As an instructor or coach at the skills assessment workshops[/idz_button]

[idz_button color=”blue” size=”medium” link=”http://www.canoedb.com/events/?id=44″ target=”_blank” class=”” type=”square”]Get Involved – As a participant in the skills assessment[/idz_button]

Accomodation

exterior-of-hotelFor both international and local participants we propose accommodation at the Lucan Spa Hotel, located on a main arterial road, the N4, heading west out of Dublin.  The Lucan Spa Hotel is located on the banks of the Liffey on the outskirts of Lucan Village.

www.lucanspahotel.ie

We have negotiated discount accommodation and board rates of the weekend.

Other accomodation options

Other accommodation options may be available locally.  The area we are operating from is between two villages, Lucan and Leixlip.  AirBnB is very popular in Ireland and may provide a cheaper alternative for traveling groups.  Unfortunately there are no hostels in the area.

There are no official campsites nearby, and weather in Ireland in October is changeable at best, however if people would like to camp we can make camping grounds available at our Training Centre on the banks of the Liffey approximately 9km from the Hotel.  Our training centre has showers, toilets and a kitchen sink and kettle, note that there are no cooking facilities.

Logistics

EPP 2

 

The hotel is located:

  • 400m – 2 min drive – from the Sluice Slalom Course – River Kayak Level 3 Start Location
  • 3km – form Salmon Leap Canoe Club – Flatwater Level 3 Location
  • 4km from Templemills – Open Canoe Level 3 Start Location
  • 9km from Canoeing Ireland Training Centre – SUP Assimilation Location
  • 32km from Howth – Sea Kayak Level 3 Location

Canoeing Ireland can organise equipment loans and transport for the various workshops once numbers are confirmed.

Extending your stay

For anyone coming from abroad and looking to extend their stay we would recommend traveling west from the Lucan Spa Hotel on the N4 to either Galway or Sligo on the West Coast of Ireland.  If you travel to Sligo be sure to stop off at our Blueway Trails in Longford, Carrick on Shannon and Leitrim.

13Traveling North along the Wild Atlantic Way from Galway or Sligo offers some incredible
experiences of wild scenery, culture and tradition.  If you intend to stay for a full week we have a super Kayaking Festival, Cranafest, held up in Buncrana in Donegal the following weekend on the 22nd & 23rd October.  You could get here by following the coast North from Sligo past the tallest sea cliffs in Europe, the Slieveleague, the many Donegal Islands and Peninsulas to arrive in Buncrana.   Cranafest is a really dynamic multidisciplinary kayaking festival with events in Sea Kayaking, Canoe Slalom, Wild Water Racing, Freestyle, Boatercross, White Water Rafting and Extreme Kayak Racing as well as a large range of workshops and coaching clinics.  www.cranafest.ie for more information.

From Cranafest you could continue exploring the northern coast for a few days taking in the Giants Causeway, Carrickarede and Belfast before returning to Dublin.

Contact details & booking

Event Coordinator – Benny Cullen – benny@canoe.ie

Logistics & Bookings – Vicki Guy – info@canoe.ie

We look forward to seeing you all there.  Please fill out the event registration forms as soon as possible as we need to confirm the booking with the hotel ASAP.