The Avon Descent is over for another year and it was amazing. A few weeks ago we thought we might be walking however it turned out being a really good water level, but still tricky and testing enough for paddlers to make mistakes and capsize.
It was my first time in a team event and for those paddlers who feel they don’t have the skills to do the Avon Descent, just join a 4 person team. As long as you have two white water paddlers in your team, it means you can give it a go without fear, although a few hours training on easy white water is necessary.
I didn’t want to injure myself before going to the World Canoe Masters Championships so I volunteered for the easy legs and only paddled 32 kms, 17kms on day one and 15kms on day two, less than I usually paddle.
Friday night at Northam was alive and buzzing, the Toodyay festival was bustling with loads
of people on Saturday, Guildford’s Lilac Hill was full of joy as kids were enjoying rides and other activities and the finish line festival at Bayswater on Sunday was pulsating with hundreds of people with the huge grassed area full of cars. They were not all there to watch Avon Descenters, but that didn’t matter the festivals created a great excuse for the kids, locals and others to get together and have a good time and a good feed.
Competitors were down from other years. From 2002 to 2012 I think were the biggest years. I remember when we (CDU) trained 100 novices a year to go in the Avon Descent. Those were the days. Some weekends we had 66 novices in six different groups with 3 instructors in each group paddle down the valley. It was stressful at times for the instructors and for me being responsible for their safety, but it was so
uplifting to see paddlers improve, enjoy the training and complete the Avon. Unfortunately those times have gone and will never return as there are less people wanting to challenge themselves, less people joining clubs, and virtually no training courses or encouragement to get more people to paddle.
This year there were only 98 paddlers on the water which included one member of
each team. (Some teams had 4 paddlers and some had two paddlers.)
In 2016 there were 250 paddlers on the water which included one member of each team.
In 2011 there were 387 paddlers on the water which included one member of each team.
It will be such a shame if the Avon Descent no longer exists. It has been part of West Australia, it’s been part of thousands of people wanting a challenge that no doubt boosted their confidence and pride. Other people looked up to you when you said, I completed the Avon Descent.
We will never get back the glory days, but we can all do our bit and encourage people and current paddlers to give it a go next year so we don’t lose this iconic race.
If you want to see some action there are several youtube videos on facebook- Rather Be Paddling.
If you want to peruse my Avon River Guidebook it’s on-line. Just go here:-
Avon River Guide – Canoeing, Kayaking & Other Adventures
(wordpress.com)
In the videos that I watched showed that many paddlers were lacking a good support stroke so over they went and had a swim. The support stroke is one of the most important strokes to perfect in white water. It needs to be instinctive so lots of practice is needed.
