Bradley Wilson started to train in the club at the age of eight, eventually excelling in C1, one of the most challenging disciplines to master in paddling. He excelled in the Premier Division, winning countless races and eventually becoming a member of Team GB.
Bradley was dedicated to his training and needed to raise funding for his bib, and he also needed financial support for his new equipment. Dale rang the local radio and arranged to take young Bradley with all his medals and paddles to talk about his discipline and achievements for sponsorship. Before the show was even over, Tesco rang to sponsor Bradley.
The club coaches and dedicated volunteers have continued to train many people over the years with many positive outcomes, enriching physical and sports discipline for all, with positive outcomes in their careers. Hundreds of novices started their journey of paddlesport with the club, often with parents joining too and becoming paddlers themselves, with some even becoming coaches.
New coaching sessions start in April each year and run through to autumn. The club have added gentle river trips like the Newark Weirs for progressing novices. Over the winter, pool sessions are held to keep training year-round. Dale and Darrel, over the last 25 years, have taught in every swimming pool in Derbyshire. Some commitment!
In early March, the club organised a river trip on the River Tees with various paddlers of different grades. The senior coaching members helped guide and support the juniors down the river. When approaching the Upper Tees, to safely paddle down the dog leg, coaches would get the group out and walk with their paddles and throw bags whilst discussing the rapids and setting up procedures to keep them safe.
For more experienced members, the club organises trips to the River Dart in Dartmoor, River Goyt in Greater Manchester, Fort William in Scotland, North Wales, the French Alps, Austria and Germany.
As the club develops and progresses, Dale and Darrel remain committed to training new coaches to become river leaders who will be the club’s foundation and future. Darrel and Dale have sustained personal injuries through years of hard work and paddling. However, they have never given up and remain in love with the sport, continuously passing skills and knowledge to aspiring coaches and the many enthusiastic young paddlers of the club.
