Benefits of Membership

  • Insurance
  • Voting Rights
  • Campaigning and Representation at National Level
  • Campaigning and Representation at International Level
  • Access to Training Scheme
  • Access to Skills Workshops
  • Access to Safety Workshops
  • Access to Volunteer Training
  • Discounts With Partners
  • Access to the European Paddle Pass System
  • Members Area Access
  • Competition Entry

Information / Advice

DSC02717-001The new Canoeing Ireland website, www.canoe.ie, is a fantastic resource to Irish Paddlers.  A one stop shop packed with really useful information from Discipline Homepages, Club Development Information, Award Scheme criteria, to a practical National Events and Training Calendars combined with some great information about paddling in Ireland from club and provider maps to river and sea kayaking  guides and information on water levels.  If any member has any further queries or requires help on a particular project they can avail of information, advice and support from the Canoeing Ireland office where a member of staff will always be willing help. Please call on 01-6251105.   Your membership helps to support these services and ensure the information is kept up to date.

Training

DSC02699-001Canoeing Ireland administers an Awards & Qualification Scheme to promote participation and qualify instructors and performance coaches as well as encourage safe practice in canoeing. The Canoeing Ireland award scheme is developed to the highest national and international standards, the scheme has cross European Recognition through the Euro Paddle Pass Programme and is quality assured by Coaching Ireland.  Training courses are run around the country and abroad to suit the needs of our members. Your membership fee helps fund the ongoing development, delivery and quality assurance of these important awards.

Competition

Hannah CraigCanoeing Ireland funds discipline committees to develop each of the different competitive canoeing disciplines. These committees organise events, promote participation, provide training and select teams for international competition.  Insurance cover is provided at all Canoeing Ireland events for members.

Insurance

All Canoeing Ireland Registered Members are covered by a comprehensive Third Party Liability Insurance Policy. There is also a Personal Accident Policy which can be upgraded to provide additional benefits and equipment cover. For more information click here.

  • Worldwide Insurance Cover (NB, US travel must be Declared)
  • Personal Cover Participation/Official Training
  • Officers Cover
  • Event Coordinator Cover
  • Voluntary Instructor Professional Indemnity
  • Voluntary Coaches Professional Indemnity
  • Public Liability
  • Fund Raising
  • Open DaysClub
  • Competitions

Corporate Insurance

  • Full time Staff
  • Part Time Staff
  • Casual Staff
  • Directors
  • Committee Members
  • Club Officers

National & International Representation

DSC02788-001Canoeing Ireland represents Irish canoeists in national, government and international organisations and committees such as Sport Ireland, the Olympic Council of Ireland, the National Trails Office, Waterways Ireland, the Marine Safety Working Group, Euro Paddle Pass, the International Canoe Federation and the European Canoeing Federation.

Facilities

Canoeing Ireland invests resources to support the development of facilities nationally for Canoeists including the National Blueway Trails Project and local and national training facilities for the competitive disciplines such as the Sluice, Lough Rinn and Trim.  Your membership helps to support this ongoing facility development work.

Equipment Discounts

ICU members can avail of a 10% discount on canoeing equipment (excluding boats) from the Great Outdoors Dublin.  In 2016 Canoeing Ireland will be launching a national members discount scheme to broaden and improve the discounts available to members.

Benefits of Club Membership:

  • Registered Club can borrow Canoeing Ireland equipment; Canoes, Sea Kayaks, slalom kayaks, k1’s, k2’s, Wild Water Racers, river runners, and play boats.
  • Registered Clubs have access to the Canoeing Ireland Training Centre.
  • Registered Clubs have access to the Canoeing Ireland mini bus.
  • Registered Clubs have access to the Canoeing Ireland trailers.

Please click here to see a map of all the clubs registered to Canoeing Ireland.

Testimonials:

The Benefits of Canoeing Ireland’s Equipment Loan Scheme

Laois Kayak & Canoe Club

Starting Out

Based in Durrow, Laois Kayak & Canoe Club (LKCC) was established in 2011 to be a family-focused club that caters for all levels of kayaking. From the start, a strong focus of LKCC, as defined in its five year development plan, was to get people involved in kayaking who were not presently active in sport. We see the club as giving an alternative to those who do not engage in the more traditional sports. As such, our club officers have attracted many new female and younger members who had opted out of all sports. This has broadened the family appeal in the club and we now cater for ages 8 to 80 in many kayak disciplines.

Club Development

To help meet this objective, LKCC started to run beginner evenings during the summer months. Anybody who wanted to try out kayaking was welcome to come along. One evening a week soon grew to three as the numbers of new paddlers coming to our sessions quickly increased.  Though club members kindly loaned their personal boats and gear to facilitate the demand, the limited amount of club-owned equipment soon started to become a constraining factor.

Equipment Support

It was at this point LKCC contacted Canoeing Ireland for assistance. Within a short time, LKCC was able to collect a fleet of kayaks, paddles, helmets, buoyancy aids and spray decks. Having this resource available to the club meant that we were better able to structure our summer training schedule and could guarantee people who came along that they would be able to get on the water.  LKCC has used Canoeing Ireland’s equipment loan scheme in 2014 and 2015. It has also availed of boats from the canoe polo and canoe marathon committees.

Canoeing Ireland’s Impact

LKCC makes a conscious effort that all paddler training and progression follows Canoeing Ireland’s development programmes and therefore each newcomer to the club is encouraged to attain a minimum of a level 2 kayak skills award. This summer, LKCC’s instructors ran two level 2 courses during May and August respectively. In total, 30 paddlers were certified to this standard. Without Canoeing Ireland’s help, the club would have not been able to deal with these numbers.

The knock-on effect of receiving support from Canoeing Ireland has had a positive effect in other ways too. The income generated from running courses has allowed LKCC to start purchasing more of its own gear.  Eventually, we hope that the club will become self-sustaining. Some of this year’s newest members have already bought their own boats and are building up their gear. They are getting involved in the wider paddling community through exploring some of the different disciplines including entering canoe marathon races and canoe polo competitions.  For a smaller club such as Laois Kayak & Canoe Club, Canoeing Ireland’s equipment scheme combined with committed club members is proving to be an effective way to realise the club’s development and locally grow the sport. Further details about kayaking in Laois can be found at www.laoiskayak.com

Pic 1: Laois Kayak & Canoe Club – First Beginner Group (May 2015)

LKCC - review

 

Pic 2: Laois Kayak & Canoe Club – Second Beginner Group (August 2015)

LKCC - review2

Brian Ogilvie, Public Relations Officer, Laois Kayak & Canoe Club

Lir Canoe Club

Canoeing Ireland offer a great service to clubs whereby they will lend a fleet of boats for a period of up to three months. This is designed to encourage clubs to try out other disciplines, without requiring them to make an initial investment. The service makes a big difference to small clubs who would not otherwise have the resources to try out the different paddling disciplines. This summer, Lir Canoe Club made use of Canoeing Ireland’s fleet of sea kayaks, and it was a huge success. We borrowed six sea kayaks and paddles, which was plenty for a small club like us. James O’Reilly, an instructor with Canoeing Ireland, ran a rolling and rescue session for sea kayaking which several of us attended, and it proved incredibly beneficial. The rescues are remarkably different for sea kayaking, so having this knowledge and having done some practice meant we were more confident on the water, but thankfully we didn’t have to call on our new skills! Thanks to the Canoeing Ireland loan, we paddled in the Dublin Bay area every week, joining with other sea kayakers in the area. We also did a multi-day trip in Clew Bay with Ali Donald, and we did a multi-day trip from Waterford exploring the Gold Coast. The experience was hugely beneficial to the members and to the club as a whole, and several of us now hope to invest in sea kayaks to keep exploring our coastlines. Many thanks to Canoeing Ireland for this great opportunity, and many thanks to the staff in the CI office who facilitated the logistics of the loan.

Lena Doherty, Lir Canoe Club.