English Symposium 2008
Another Symposium gone by - Matt Oseman
That's it. Another symposium gone by. Back home, unpacked, dried out (almost). Time now to mull over my accomplishments (or not) for the weekend.
This was my third symposium in a row, and probably for me the best so far. The organisers did great job providing excellent facilities, events and entertainment, and the weather did an excellent job, providing plenty of water, and a pretty decent weekend to paddle in. What the symposium offers for me is the chance to go somewhere away form my usual haunts, paddle with some new people, meet some new coaches and learn a few new skills, or get a fresh look at some old ones. Oh yes, there's also the chance to look a lots of other peoples boats, talk about boats, shop for boats and related gear, and generally spend the weekend surrounded by them. I love just wandering through the site and seeing boats crammed into every available space.
As usual I failed to get to half the events I wanted to, missing out on Ray Goodwin's talk about the Bloodvein trip (so popular I couldn't even get near the door). I missed the poling race. In fact the big problem with these weekends is that there's always so many interesting things going on, that I always come away with as much a sense of what I missed as what I did do. Still I guess that's why I keep coming back. I always go with lots of thoughts of what I'll do, but each year the call of the river is too strong and I end up on some kind of whitewater training both days, and the chance to paddle somewhere new.
This year it was "Edge, Angle, Speed - The black art de-mystified" with coach Sean McGrath. This was an excellent day's paddling with a small group of people, focusing on key moving water skills in an environment where they really mattered on the top section at the top of the Leven. Apart one rather inellegant swim, I came away with some big plusses from this day, that I'm keen to build on. Sean was a great coach who made the day really enjoyable, whilst at the same time a positive learning experience. Day 2 was Intermediate WW on the Lune with Jen Dickinson and Colin Jeffries another good day of building skills and experience on the water. A low sun followed us downriver, making it difficult to read, until it faded away as we reached the take-out in the early twilight.
So, after the Lune came the 300 mile drive home to Kent, mulling over the weekend, the places I paddled, the people I met, the skills I learned, the (small amount of) gear I bought (I was very restrained for a change), and whether I can face the 600 mile journey up to Scotland next year. Right now I'm feeling kind of tired, but give me a few weeks and I reckon I'll be up for it.
See you there.
Matt
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