Defeat...

I guess this is something that everyone who plays competitive sports experiences at some point, but I feel this one particularly strongly as it could have been avoided.

I've been thinking for the last year that dropping to Div 2 may have been a good idea as our team is slowly getting weaker as our most experienced players leave university. The part that irks me is the word 'relegation', and that despite our goal difference (one of the better ones throughout the whole tournament) we were being chucked out of the best games we'd played because over half our A-team couldn't make the date.

Either way, what's happened has happened - so now we wait to compete in Div 2 after summer, and try and reclaim some honour.

My one comfort is that in the games which mattered most (the hardest ones) I was playing on form - so that makes up for some of my grief.

A Bad Easter

In the last few days, the kayaking community has lost a number of paddlers.

It is in these sad times that we remember that this sport, however much we may look away from the consequences, is an extreme sport, and worthy of all the caution given to ski-ing or climbing etc. It is only now that people truely see why someone can't be pressured into getting onto a river - could you live with that on your conscience?

Everyone will be thinking of how the families will be feeling, but I can't imagine what the paddlers who were with these people are going through right now: I hope I never will.

Strathclyde Film Festival 2010

On March 19th, Strathclyde and Glasgow University Canoe Clubs set aside their partisan opposition and came together for the film night.

Six amateur film makers (and in some cases amateur kayakers too) entered their films with the hope of winning fabulous prizes.

Mark Mulrain, newly elected President of Strathclyde Uni Canoe Club kicked off the night with a few pleasant (if occationally mocking) words, before we witnessed the spectacular "Chaos Across Europe", an Alps-09 video made by Ben and Sean.

There we several other video's in the middle, including a surprisingly good picture show by Becs, and a minute of idiotic carnage entered by Chris Morrison (this was played numerous times and had the assembled crown in histerics!

Then it was time for mine to be played - unfortunately timed, as my video tried to make the Europe Trip seem epic, while Ben and Sean's version made fun of it.

Tim Hamlet's video of kayaking in Vietnam was the last to show, and it was undoubtedly the best.

Tim's victory was well earned, and Sean and Ben's video came a respectable second. I suspect mine may have done better had my music been more in line with everyone's taste.

However, it was an excellent night, and Gordon's photo where he's hanging off Crack of Dawn on the Etive made a return, so all was well!