Topic: King of Clubs 2013 Dos and Don'ts

[ChristianG]

We should Un-sticky this topic...

[ChristianG]

It was indeed a lot of fun.

Now we know where the present that was left in front of Bastien's tent last year came from. Suffice to say that during my years at the university of Guelph (known for its agricultural research) the saying was 'I'd rather step in it at Guelph than sleep with it at Western.'

As for which kind of boat to use, it boils down to what people are comfortable in. For instance, many people, me included, have never been on the Ottawa in anything other than a playboat. Frankly I would feel strange otherwise...

In the Norman's/Coliseum boater cross race, some in playboats had a fast and successful run, while some in creekboats swam. There's an element of luck of course, and another one of avoiding being hit by other boaters. During the McKoy's relay, I don't think, for instance, that my run would have been faster in a creek boat, since the limiting factor was collisions with rafts near Babyface...

So whatever works!

--C.

[freeboater]

Had a great time at King of Clubs, it's competitive as you want to make it, and a great time to meet paddlers from other clubs who might offer to show you down a new river.

Lessons Learned:

1. Bring your big boat: boatercross in the playboat was not enjoyable.

2. More people participate; we did a great job on the Relay Race's 9 legs with 6 paddlers (our best event), but it would be nice to not have to do every event.

3. Get our paperwork in order and a plan in advance. Events start at 9ish, so there's no time of day of to get organized. Paddler's should plan to camp the year before. We were often rushed between events because we didn't have a plan that everyone knew.

4. We need to go back to the drawing board on our cardboard boat, but thing was tough enough that you could probably paddle it next year.

4. Jon can throw a boat far, he should start training for next year with the Villain.

It was great to get out with the club paddlers that were there and a special thanks to Luc, who did a great job last minute to get things organized as well as he did. I'd encourage everyone to come next year, if not to participate, to get out and paddle with the club.

As a suggestion, maybe some events like this could be organized into CdB events, and people could see if they enjoy them and want to participate next year.

[Larry W]

Oops. My post has been modified

As Christian says, I am getting old or I am old ... the mind starts to go as well.

Larry

Larry, do you mean 2014 throughout your post? My understanding is that it would be early August long weekend in 2014 and then alternate afterwards between the Labour Day long weekend of September.

Or did I misunderstand from what I heard down there?

[lafreniere.luc]

Larry, do you mean 2014 throughout your post? My understanding is that it would be early August long weekend in 2014 and then alternate afterwards between the Labour Day long weekend of September.

Or did I misunderstand from what I heard down there?

[Larry W]

The KoC has history dating back to approximately 2009 when it first started between KWP and GKC.

Kudos to Luc for taking the lead for this year's event and also to the CdB participants. Unfortunately, Luc you might be lead for next year as well until the torch is passed on or someone else volunteers.
 
The 2014 KoC is slated for the August long weekend.
 
To future CdB KoC Organizers:
This event actually requires one lead but also 2 or 3 co-leaders ... so the responsibilities can be divided up and not resting on one person.
 
Although this goes against the grain of most CdB outings, start planning, advertising and recruiting earlier. In looking at GKC forum, Mr. Maggs had 27 people signed up and committed by the middle of August. KWP on their forum started their recruitment early in August. Also reading KWP's forum, placing 2nd means they don't have to cook for next year.

Use some of the scheduled CdB events such as New Comers or the July's Ottawa River weekend for recruitment of participants. You might have a captive audience since those events attract over 20 paddlers. Introduce a few competitive on-river games to generate interest. With that a critical mass is needed at the beginning so others join in.

Approach the CdB Executive early in the campaign for support whether it be monetary or moral.

Ball chase: 2 skirts are needed. Your normal one and looser fitting cheap nylon over top with a slit.

Larry

[lafreniere.luc]

I've received the final scoring courtesy of Wayne Donison. See the attached files.

[Gwenne]

I had fun and loved paddling the Main.   

I rescued the  chap, one of two swimmers, that was panicking in big water.  Someone in distress will always take precedence over a  KoC event.   At times, there were so many people with various skill levels on the water and that can present some safety issues.  i.e.  a boat being on top of your boat when you are trying to roll up in Coliseum which happened to one of our guys. 

Some of the events were a little like watching the Run of the Bulls in Spain.      I enjoyed watching and cheering.

Creek boats were used by almost everyone.  If there is a team next year, I would recommend that everyone use them. 

It was a great way to meet some fellow club members.

[jonyak]

I had a ton of fun, and was totally exhausted by then end of the day.

One of the things we need if we are going to go back next year is more people.

Come on guys, this was a fun competitive event. I am about the least competitive person you could ever meet and I had a great time and paddled the river in ways I have never paddled it before. Its got me out of my comfort zone, but in a safe, fun way.

One thing we needed more people for was the mccoys relay, which was awesome.

Also we need to stick together as a group better. We couldn't place in the intermediate boatercross because everyone had gone downstream. They were doing rescue's of swimmers (from other clubs) so I understand, but I think next time, especially if we have so few participants, we could let the other 160 or so people do the rescues.

All in all though we had a very solid go with the people that showed up.

[Andrewdotcom]

My experience was overwhelmingly positive. Certainly one of the more green paddlers in the club but I was lined up with events that were within my comfort zone. That said, I competed in the ball chase and the intermediate boater cross. My thoughts:

Ball chase - put creekers above the rapid and sprint, get as many as you can before entering the Lorne. Start any playboaters at Mony Dick (two paddlers start above, two at Moby Dick). The skirt idea was a good one but if you don't have a skirt you're willing to make a slice in a loose top and PFD combo worked well for some competitors. I personally can now vouch that you can go arse-backwards over Waikiki into/onto a creek boat (sorry Alex Maggs) while holding a ball in your teeth like a rottweiller and stay upright. A seriously fun event that I think I/we could do much better in with that experience/knowledge to build off of. Then yes, make sure what you have is well secured and head into any spot they're gathering.

The intermediate boater cross my mistake was not staying upright - rolling took time off - but really try to get through Dog's Leg clean and if possible nudging competitors into the hole  then just paddle as hard as you can down catching as much current as you can to help you out between DL and Farmer Black's.

But yes, all in all very fun and a chance to paddle and relax with paddlers from all over the Province. Totally within comfort zone. Most of the events favour creek boats although for the advanced boater cross two playboaters were required (Martin was amongst the first (if not the first) playboaters to finish the course, gotta give him props on that one). I'd start playboaters near points of entry if the paddler is comfortable with running the course with creekers in pursuit and possibly going around or through them.

Thanks to Luc for organizing and all the other participants, great day!

[lafreniere.luc]

We have officially participated in the King of Clubs 2013. All around I believe that everyone had a great time. I happy to report that we came in 6th place. Yes, that is dead last. I don't think any of us expected to beat all the other clubs considering it was our first time. There are lots of tricks to learn in order to improve our results on these competitions. Regardless, the most important accomplishment was to have fun and I think we got that one down. I've heard many comment on how happy they were to see CdB there. Others... well, let's just say there are pessimists in the world.

Most clubs had large tents setup with flags. We did not. There are definite rivalries... but it's all in good fun and we all hang out together. The winners of the previous year are responsible to organize food... which is a lot of work. As a club, we should put a team together early and offer organizers help to split the tasks. The Whitewater Ontario fee must be paid by the club in order for the event to be free for members. It was $5 for the excellent pulled pork dinner. So the event is essentially free. Whitewater Ontario waivers MUST be signed AT ORR BEFORE HEADING TO THE PUT IN! For 2014, team members should definitely be there by early Saturday evening to help build the boat. It took about 3 hours to make the cardboard boat.

I ask that each participant comment on this thread about their basic experiences so that potentially next year, people have an idea and choose to participate. Of note, next year's competition will be set for the early August long weekend which means it shouldn't conflict with Beaverfest. I hope this means more people can head to KofC 2014.

Here's what I've learnt:

- Number of paddlers really does matter. It means that we don't get tired too quickly. The clubs that did well seriously had unique paddlers for each event. GKC and KWP (the biggest two clubs there) had over 30 people each in all. Some clubs even had try outs!!!

- Relay race really does require 9 people, one person for each segment. Otherwise, we will lose time since one person has to do multiple legs and gets really tired fast. A variety of skills are required from a simple "runner" to run up the portage trail to the very critical "Hero Surf".

- Cardboard boat race... the boat needs to be wide and long otherwise it's way too unstable. Duct taping the entire outside of the box worked reasonably well at keep the water away but only if you have enough tape. It's also important to enclose the top as much as possible to reduce the amount of water that comes in from the top. Racing stripes ALWAYS help.

- Ball chase requires paddlers that are very gutsy to head into the holes and such where many balls gather up. I believe the best approach to carrying these balls (considering the rules) is to get and old skirt, make a slit in front of you and this way you can pop each ball into your boat without removing your skirt.

- Advanced boater cross was an experience to say the least. Since we were I believe 35 paddlers, the line spanned the entire river above Norman's. The most advantageous spot is towards the centre since you have the shortest distance to get to the rapid. The outside positions are the worse (I was at the very edge of the river so I know) since you have the longest distance and I was so close to the shoreline, I couldn't pivot the boat around to start the race since we start looking upstream. The actual paddling is quite exciting and paddlers must be strong paddlers with a solid roll. Although dirty play is not allowed, you will bump up against other people. Holes are impossible to avoid since you are pushed into them. It's a bit chaotic but regardless, you're only as fast as your last paddler out of your team of 5. You are better off to take your time to finish the race instead of swimming.

- Intermediate boater cross is similar, but not as crazy from what I saw but the race is longer (above Dog's Leg to the beach below Black's). So pacing yourself is probably important. This is really an intermediate event... not beginner.

- Barrel pull requires the paddler's with the most powerful strokes possible including one woman. Rhythm does matter.

- Boat toss.... if you are tall and strong and coordinated, you'll do pretty well. If you're Allison from Ottawa River Runners, apparently you'll do amazing (WTF... I believe she through it 39ft... which is pretty impressive for the woman's category). The best approach is to swing it from the stern around you until you are dizzy as fast and as powerful as you can. Let go at the right moment while keeping the boat HORIZONTAL! Since boat sliding counts, it's important to not swing the boat up and down as you rotate. This ensures the boat lands as flat as possible and slides for longer distances.

- Rope toss, strength is not super critical... the length is very reasonable but you do need excellent precision.