Category: Announcement!

MEMBERSHIP LIST

Our membership drive for 2022 is about to wrap up with only a few stragglers left to send in their registrations and fees. That said, the first version of the membership list is posted. If you see any errors or ommisions, please let me know at info@oldsaltsclub.com. You will find the list here.

cLUB ORIENTATION & DRYLAND TRAINING

Next week starts the beginning of our training after which we will not be accepting any new members. We are happy to report that our training sessions are almost full and many of our returning members are taking advantage of the refresher programs to update their skills.

The Orientation/Dryland session on April 12th is very important for all our new (2021 & 2022) members and maybe some of our returning members who haven’t canoed in the last few years. This is a great opportunity to get orientated to the club and learn how we do things now in light of some of the changes we made because of covid and decided to keep. i.e registering for trips, fees updates, etc. Lots of good information on safety, equipment required, as well as strokes and maneuvers. It should be a very informative afternoon! For particulars see here.

Trip Leaders & Tower Workshop

Many of you have volunteered to lead trips this season for which the club thanks you. Without trip leaders, we don’t have trips!

To have consistency across the board, we have decided to have a workshop for anyone who signed up to be a trip leader or those of you who are considering it, but want to see what’s about before committing. That’s great…please come out!

If you’ve been with the club a while, we ask that you consider volunteering. Come and see what’s involved.  You will find out that you don’t have to do it alone and can buddy up with someone. There are lots of resources on the blog to help! We don’t want to cancel a trip because there is no one to lead it. Meet at the shed on April 14th at 1:30 pm.

The workwhop for those of you who volunteered to tow is also on April 14th at 1:30 (at the shed). This workshop will show members what’s involved and what you have to do.  If you have any questions, please contact Anne Woolner at annewoolner@hotmail.com

Pond Training

The following are the dates for our pond training:

Tuesday, April 19th
Thursday, April 21st
Tuesday, April 26th
Thursday, April 28th

All are welcome! This is a great chance to get on flat water to get used to the canoes, practice strokes/maneuvers, and be mentored by some of our more experienced members before the rest of the training lessons begin.

Contact Lynn Warmington  at lynnwarmington1@gmail.com or 519-400-0388 to sign up or if you have any questions or concerns. The cost is $2 to help with the cost of towing the canoes.

When: Tuesday March 29th at 1:30 p.m.

Meet in Elmira (where we met the first time), in the parking lot for the Guelph to Goderich Trail (aka Kissing Bridge Trail). This parking lot is just beside the building for the Woolwich Observer(20B Arthur St. N, Elmira, N3B 1Z9).  Coming from the KW or St Jacobs end of town, on Arthur St.(Hwy 21), the Observer is just past the downtown, not far past Church St. It’s a left turn into the driveway.

This time we’ll go the other way on the trail. This side is wide and flat like the other.  It’s an out and back.  If you’re fast you can go further. There will likely be a slower group as well.  We’ll  walk for an hour or so and head back.

Optional coffee stop after.  Bring a mask and money just in case.

Please let Brenda Welch know  if you plan to attend so we can wait for you.  Last minute unexpected arrivals are always welcome too.

Come on out and enjoy Spring.  Hope to see you there.

Brenda
519-884-22168 or brendajwelch#hotmail.com

{This post is best read on the Blog for better view}

A newsletter was sent out to our membership at the beginning of March with regards to our 2022 membership registration meeting at Rim park. If you didn’t get it, you can find it here {link}

The meeting will be held in the Century Room at Rim Park in Waterloo.  There is plenty of parking, so park close to the “A” entrance of the Manulife Sportsplex which is where you will enter.  Go up the stairs  and our room is to the right.  Masks will be required. The doors will open at 1:00 pm. An agenda will be sent out several days before the meeting.

Tables will be set up where you can either drop off your completed membership forms and fees or you can register on that day.  Hard copies of the registration forms will be available for anyone without a printer. You can also sign up for training, volunteer to be a trip leader and if able, get on the tower list.

Have questions? One of our board members should be able to answer them. Interested in Bondi?…we may resurrect this wonderful retreat if there is enough interest. Mark Zelinka will be available to answer those questions. The OSSCC Handbook and Rules will also be available to view and purchase.

Cheques and cash (exact amounts) will only be accepted. We will not be handling change, so please bring exact amounts! We do not have the capacity for bank e-transfers.

Membership: $40
OSSCC Handbook and Rules: $10
Basic Canoe Training: $65 (2 days)
Intermediate Canoe Training: $70 (2 days)
Refresher Canoe Training: $40 (1 day)

The membership registration form can be found on the club website here {link}. If you know anyone who would like to join, direct them to the club website found here {link} or have them email info@oldsaltsclub.com

With OSSCC opening with a full season, we are pleased to announce that we will also proceed with our regular training program (minus the pool). The training schedule is now posted, including the dates, costs, descriptions and training locations. New members from last year will be able to get the required the basic training that was not offered last year (including the Orientation/Dryland training), to feel more comfortable on the Thurdsay trips as well as on the more slower rivers. If you want to get the skills and confidence required to participate in some of our more challenging Tuesday trips, take the intermediate training. Our more experienced paddlers will also be able to brush up on some rusty skills and learn new things.  You can never have too much training particularly since most of us haven’t had any training in the last two years! We strongly recommend that everyone consider refreshing their skills:)
Details on canoe training can be found here {link} Contact Lynn Warmington  at lynnwarmington1@gmail.com or 519-400-0388 if you have any questions or concerns.

The canoe schedule is being finalized. You will find it here {link} when it is. The committee has planned some great trips…..some new, some we haven’t done in a while and many of our favourites!

For our club to work, we need volunteers to run it, particularly  Trip Leaders and Towers for both our Easy Breezy Trips on Thursdays and for the more challenging trips on Tuesdays. Without them, we don’t have any trips. So when you fill out your registration form, don’t forget to check the boxes under the volunteer part of the form.

To make it less daunting, everyone who volunteers to tow or lead a trip will be able to attend an informal training workshop so they will know exactly what’s involved and will know what to do. This will ensure there is a consistency in how things are done and give the opportunity to get any questions or concerns answered, particulary any changes in procedure due to covid. The date(s) will be announced at the registration meeting.

We are also looking for someone to co-ordinate and organize trip leaders for the Thursday Easy Breezy trips. Please contact Anne Woolner at 519-741-6582 or annewoolner@hotmail.com for more information.

Finally, we are all looking forward to seeing the friendly faces of members both old and new and having a wonderful 2022 canoe season. See you next Tuesday! Mark your calendars: March 22nd

Due to the poor condition of the trails, the cross country skiing / snow shoeing scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled. If conditions improve, another date will be set.

Alicia & Agnes