Blog
Scott in Sport: Canoe Polo
Saturday 30th January, 5.45pm, Containers behind the Sports Centre.
Saturday evening after YUSU Fair 2 found me meeting the Canoe Polo Club at the containers behind the Sports Centre for my first experience of the club and my second experience of the sport. I got there at 5.45pm feeling a little bit nervous and was immediately made to feel really welcome and had my nerves put at ease. I was also pretty relieved to discover that I wasn't the only first timer to the club.
Then began the task of getting all the necessary equipment out and ready for the trip. Despite the chilly 1 degree 'heat', it was a hive of activity with life-jackets, helmets, spray decks, balls, paddles and canoes all appearing from the container. I tried to make myself useful, but the first thing I did was attempt to decapitate myself by nearly walking into a canoe! I managed to carry some paddles round to a car and got stuck in. We had 3 cars which were all full, involving having 5 canoes and paddles strapped onto the roof rakes. I discovered being vertically challenged (as I am) wasn't exactly helpful towards helping to put a canoe onto the roof of a car! Under half an hour after meeting we hopped into the cars, I was snuggled into the warmth of the backseat and we were off!
The Canoe Polo Club train at Abbey Leisure Centre in Selby, which is about a 25 minute drive from campus. Once we got there, we unloaded the cars, and put the equipment inside. A group of kids were having a pool party with a massive inflatable and slides, which looked like great fun and which the Canoe Polo Club is planning on replicating in a few weeks - talk about a social with a difference! We then went off to the changing rooms to get ready for the session. At this point I was getting quite excited, but also felt the nerves returning as it had been about 4 years since I'd even sat in a canoe, let alone attempted to play canoe polo (which I had tried once about 6 years ago). As I got into my swimsuit, shorts and tee-shirt I wondered how long it would take me to capsize my canoe!
When we got to the poolside, the first thing to do was getting your individual equipment sorted. First on was the spray deck, which is a bit like a rather un-sexy neoprene skirt that comes right up to the chest. Then I got my life-jacket and put on my helmet before getting into the canoe at the edge of the pool and attaching the spray deck. Now I was literally at the point of no return and was in the pool in my canoe!
Once in the pool, the first thing to do was practice capsizing to ensure you would cope if it happened during the game. The Club President, Maria, was lovely and stood with me in the shallow end and let me know what I was going to do. First thing was to practice capsizing the canoe and 'escaping' from it by unattaching the spray deck and swimming out. This was fine, apart from getting a bit of water up my nose! Then we needed to get the canoe out on the side of the pool to empty it of water, which just involved lifting up one end and then the other and rocking the boat a bit. This escape method is not a great idea in a game though because you have to get out of the water and thus leave your team a man-down for the amount of time it takes you to get back into your canoe.
So next thing to do was practice a different way of righting a capsize. This was called the T-rescue and involves another canoe 'ramming' into the side of your canoe, making a T shape (hence the name T-rescue!), which you then put your hands on to right yourself. I started practicing the movement against the wall (not completely capsizing myself, but getting my head in the water), trying to use my hips to help gain the momentum to right myself. After a few successful attempts against the wall, I tried it with another boat. You capsize yourself and then bang against the side of the boat to let people near you know you have capsized and would like to be rescued. Then you run your hands backwards and forwards along the side of the boat waiting for your rescuer's boat to make contact with your's. Once you get hold of it, you put both your hands on the front of their boat, use your hips and pull yourself up, bringing yourself back into the upright position. The first time I tried was a bit of a failure; my rescuer's boat was a bit behind me and I tried to right myself but ended up in the pool! Second time lucky though!
After I had proved myself on the capsizing exercises, I was given a ball and shown how to dribble. Canoe polo uses a waterpolo ball and is played between two teams of 5 and is often likened to a combination of waterpolo, basketball and kayaking. To dribble the ball, you pick it up, then throw it a bit in front of you, paddle forwards a bit, pick the ball up and go through the process again. I practiced this for a few minutes just to get used to the feel of the ball and the canoe. Then I joined a circle where we were paddling in a circle and passing the ball between us to the person behind us. After this we did a bit of shooting practice at a raised paddle (which is admittedly a bit different to actual canoe polo goals, which are 1m x 1.5m nets raised 2m above the water), but does allow people to hone their aiming skills.
This brought us to the half way point of the session, at which stage we went into a game. Before doing this I had to reverse my life-jacket from the blue side to the yellow side, which I seemed to find ridiculously complicated! Then the yellow team lined up at one side of the pool (at which point I had slight issues with the control of my canoe and struggled to face in the right direction!) and the black team lined up at the other end. The ball was dropped into the middle, people from both teams sprinted for the ball and the game was underway.
The game was really exciting, energetic and occasionally vicious! I managed to score the first goal, which I was really chuffed about, even though I got passed a great ball onto the side of my canoe that only I could access it! The game became really intense and heated, with occasional rammings, capsizes and rolls (where you right yourself post-capsize using your weight and particularly your hips). Everyone knew it was my first session though and were really nice to me, so I avoided any unintentional capsizes. With ten seconds to go, the match was drawn at 4-4, but with five seconds to go, the black team scored. The yellow team went straight back on the offensive, but unfortunately the final whistle went before a shot could be taken and the black team won 5-4.
I really loved the session and would definitely want to go again, although I am rather intrigued about the sign-up process, which is online and apparently rather competitive! The first time you go you don't need to sign up, but instead email the club on canoepolo@yusu.org to reserve your place. The club train every Saturday and when the weather gets a bit warmer, will be moving onto the River Ouse for training instead of going to Selby. It's a mere £15 for club membership and then a £5 session fee; bargain!
Once we were dressed, we reloaded the equipment both onto and into the cars and headed back to York. When we got back to campus, we put things back in the container and, by 9pm, everyone headed to the pub. I had such a good evening and felt really welcomed by the club - if you fancy trying it out, email canoepolo@yusu.org and go along!
Emily xo