Words: Nukshi Velebny,
Dale Smith &
Darrel Hill

Photos: Nukshi Velebny

Bios

Dale Smith – with an interest in freestyle, river running, white water and waterfalls, he has paddled all over Europe, including the French Alps, Switzerland, Italy, Scotland, Wales, Germany and Austria.

Dale Smith

Darrel Hill – is a slalom coach and was once the 20th-best in the country in Premier C2. He got into the sport at the later age of 35 and got the buzz. Along with coaching, he remains active in recreational coastal trips, and white water. The activity has taken Darrel to many different countries, but he has remained committed to Pleasley Canoe Club.

Darrel Hill

Club focus… Pleasely Canoe Club

Young Dale first started kayaking aged 13. In those early days, the club trained in old fibreglass kayaks. Gary Dodds was his mentor, and from young age, Dale talked with Gary about starting a club. Dale worked as a coal miner, but with the closure of the coal industry in the early 1990s, he found himself looking for a new direction.

Years later Gary, a college learning support manager, called on Dale regarding funds to retrain ex-miners, and he offered Dale the opportunity, through college funding, to become a coach. They met at Kings Mill Reservoir for kayaking sessions, and Dale started his journey on the coaching ladder. The rest is history!

Dale had been kayaking with Gary since their youth and used to meet at King’s Mills reservoir for coaching sessions. Progressing from Kings Mills, coaching occurred in Newark and Matlock, where Dale became an activity coach with Bolsover County Council based in Pleasley Vale.

Fond memories

One evening Dale opened up the centre for a youth group led by Darrel Hill. Previously their paths had crossed, up and down the river in opposite directions. After the session, Dale and Darrel spoke about Pleasley and the fond memories of where they grew up. They wanted to do something significant for the local area, so the club’s inception occurred that night.

In early 2000, local young people had taster sessions, and Darrel was invited along. In 2003-2004, a group of young adults enquired about joining and training with the club, but the local authority declined for reasons relating to child protection guidelines at that time, stating young adults could and younger children sessions could not be mixed.

A meeting was held with the centre manager to run sessions for young adults later in the evening. It was agreed upon, and a separate time allocation was provided for children and young adults. During those days, training sessions were run on a mix of old kayaks like Pyranha Rotobats, with the main interest focusing on learning to kayak. Over time the afternoon sessions ended up with as many as 70 people attending!

Another group showed an interest in learning to kayak; they were the parents, some of whom eventually helped put the club together. Whilst still in Pleasley, some parents helped with the constitution of the club, risk assessments etc., pulling all the documentation together to make Pleasley Canoe Club a viable club.

Securing the kit and equipment needed took a lot of work and creative income-generation ideas. Fundraising events like polo slalom, award-winning road shows in pool shows etc., were held. Some of these events are now run every year to attract up-and-coming paddlers. Jane Walker and Ruth Bacon organised much of the fundraising, all the ladies playing pivotal roles in the club.

Bradley Wilson

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.

Relocation

Due to a massive flood, which damaged the dam wall in Pleasley Vale, the council had to keep the water levels low, which were too low for kayaking but just enough to keep the fish and wildlife alive. Pleasley Canoe Club had to go mobile and used Tapton Lock, never returning to Pleasley Vale.

The club now has a new permanent base in Tapton, delivering water sports training, birthday parties and team-building events whilst holding seven festivals on the canal, with road shows at local venues with help from the fire department, who fill the pools.
Events are also put together for Scouts groups, football teams, children from Belarus and the Dwarf Sports Association (DSA). All these groups work with some of the hardest-working and best volunteers in the world. English actor Warwick Davis came to support DSA day at an event held at Rother Valley – a fun-filled day with water sports ranging from zorbing to rafting kayaks and land-based games with DSA families.

The future plans are to add archery, climbing and water-based activity working with British Canoeing and to hire and run sessions on the site, supported by the local authority. The club is also working towards being an inclusive club with a disability ramp and changing room with a hoist.

Now the club has young children starting their journey in paddling, whose parents, at one time or another, were themselves, young members. From its humble beginnings, the hard work of various members, the time and commitment generously given, and dedication has made Pleasley Canoe Club so attractive, genuine and special.

To run a club so actively and successfully, whilst facing so many challenges, requires many facets like determination and passion from the hard-working coaches and all the volunteers. The positive impacts, friendships and memories, thrills experienced, disciplines and goals achieved, new places discovered, and passing on of skills and knowledge so unselfishly have made this club so friendly and unique.