Frequently Asked Questions

For details on how to join CSCC, please see our membership page. Send your completed application form and membership fee to the membership secretary at the address given on the form. You will be required to take part in an induction session before your membership will be accepted and before you can get on the water.

We have members who take part in wet activities ranging from under 10's to over 70's.

We offer a range of membership options for individuals, students and family's. Please see the prices page.

On Thursday evenings there are generally people around to have a chat. We require all people expressing interest in joining the club to undergo an induction session to ensure basic information and club rules are known. We also occasionally run taster sessions to allow people to 'have a go' before committing to membership.

We occasionally run taster sessions (normally by pre-arrangement only) to allow people to 'have a go' before committing to membership.

Members can bring guests for up to three times before guests are expected to join.

We run BCU recognised course from 1 to 3 star, plus the BCU Paddlepower Passport and Discovery courses. There are also less official courses like capsize and rolling, katakanu fun, Canoe Polo and races. During the winter months we run capsize and rolling pool sessions at Stonar School.

Primarily courses on the river run between April and July on Tuesdays and Thursday evenings. During August and September more informal sessions on Tuesday and Thursday take place - ad hoc coaching, fun and games and trips on the Avon.
Dragon boating or katakanu sessions take place on a Saturday morning at 9.30 am.
We have been known to run special courses for individuals and groups (depending on time of year, coach availablity etc) - if you are interested please contact us giving details of what you require.

As part of membership you will be allowed to use the club equipment - kayaks, canoes, sailing boats, paddles and buoyancy aids, spraydecks and helmets. According to the weather conditions all you need to bring is clothes that you don't mind getting wet and a set of dry clothes for afterwards. We strongly recommend that footwear be worn when on the river - old trainers or wet shoes.
Once members have become familiar with the sport, we encourage the purchase of personal equipment.

We have coaches with skills ranging from BCU Level 1 to BCU Level 3. Also coaches are DBS (formerly CRB) checked, trained for Emergency First Aid and FSRT (Foundation safety and rescue techniques).

The cost of courses varies according to age of the participant and length of the course. Prices for each course are published with notice of course throughout the year.
All our coaches are volunteers with the money raised from running courses being use to keep the club running.

Membership covers use of all club equipment, so for basic paddling activities at the club nothing else is required. However according to time of year and weather conditions members must provide their own wet gear - wetsuit, dry kagool and suitable footwear.
Other optional extra costs are:

• Some courses also have a small charge for certificates upon completion of courses.
• Taking part in pool sessions.
• On trips, some rivers charge a small 'landing' fee.
• On trips away from the club, sharing the cost of petrol, tolls and parking will be agreed with the driver before the trip.
• Camping if sites other than CSCC are used.
• Special event food - e.g. Awards evenings and "Spuds and Sparklers" (food purchase is optional).
• Special events - e.g. "Dragon Boat Racing"

We have kayaks, sit-on-tops, canoes, katakanus and small sailing craft. Equipment is available on a first come first served basis, with priority being given to those taking part in club courses.
It is the responsibility of each member to tidy up after themselves - that is any equipment taken out should be put away before leaving the club.

Club equipment MUST only be used on the Avon at the club site, unless you are taking part in a club organised trip to another river/venue.

We communicate with club members primarily via email and Facebook. See the "Contact Us" page for details on getting your name on the lists.

During the year, as part of courses, for paddler progression or just for fun we go on trips to local rivers, rivers in South Wales and the South West. The difficulty of the trips varies from easy to hard and demonstration of appropriate level of skills will be required to take part. There are also occasional trips to the Cardiff White Water Center, to the Olympic White Water Center at Lee Valley and a yearly trip for experienced paddlers to the Alps in June/July.

We do have storage for personal boats, however there is usually a waiting list. Personal boats stored at the club MUST not be used by other members without prior consent of the owner. Please contact us to check out availablity and for more information.

Our club rules can can be found on our website.

Contact any of the club committee members personally or raise your issue via the club web site contact form.

We have a club development plan, also the club sends out occasional emails to publish information, events and reports.

The club encourages all voluntary help, whether that be for Coaching (Sailing and Paddlesports), site maintenance, fundraising, catering etc. There are regular "compound maintenance" days and these are advertised via email, facebook, posters, newsletter etc. If you have any suggestions for improvements which you are willing to lead on or skills that would benifit the club, please also contact a member of the committee.

Report the problem to any of the coaches or committee members. If you think it is a hazard which needs to be resolved immediately report it to any of the coaches or committee members on site and also inform the safety officer [Alan Pullen].

The club sailing schedule runs from April to September, weather permitting. At other times of the year no specific sailing activities are currently organised.

For people who have never sailed, we occasionally run organised Sail taster sessions. These usually run on specific Sundays, and are very popular. Ad-hoc sessions can also run with responsible adults on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, alongside the Kayaking. Sailing Taster sessions have proved popular and we hope to run more events during 2014.

We have four GRP Toppers, which are very popular, an International Enterprise (a two person dinghy well suited to the river), a Moth (single handed dinghy, well suited to the river), and WestEleven GRP dinghy which is good for absolute beginners. All can be used by responsible adult members of the club. Junior members wishing to sail any club or other boat, must be accompanied by parents or responsible adults, and MUST be supervised at all times. The boats MUST remain at the club. There is currently no charge to use the boats.

The sailing season runs from April to early September, and offers Wednesday evening Pursuit races, and Sunday races all of which are published on the club web site. A Rescue boat is required to be available at all times to ensure that proper safety cover is provided in the event of a dinghy capsize - the club has five RYA Level 2 licensed Powerboat Helms.

Yes