Home > Introductory Course - River Aire
Introductory Course - River Aire
For all of our new members who have very limited or no previous kayaking experience, we recommend that you start out by undertaking our introductory course.
The course lasts for 3 weeks (1 session per week) and you can choose to attend this course at the swimming pool at Armley Leisure Centre on Wednesday evenings (run throughout the year), or during the lighter months of April to September, down on the River Aire in Kirkstall on Thursday evenings.
We run the course over 3 weeks (1 session per week). Ideally you will attend all 3 weeks, but we can squeeze what you need to know into 2 weeks, so when choosing a course to book onto, please make sure you can attend at least 2 of the 3 sessions in that course.
Over the sessions you will be taught the basics of kayaking, including forwards and backwards paddling, sweep strokes, moving sideways, edging, and brace strokes. There will also be some fun rescue scenarios.
This page is for booking on the River Aire based course at our clubhouse in Kirkstall.
If you wish to book on the pool based course, click here:
https://webcollect.org.uk/leedscanoeclub/event/pool-sessions-introductory-course
Each session takes place on a Thursday night on the River Aire at our clubhouse in Kirkstall. Aim to arrive before 6pm so you can get ready to be on the water for 6:15. Sessions finish times are not fixed but usually end around 8:30 at the latest. The clubhouse is in the grounds of the Leeds Rugby Centre which is on the mini roundabout at the entrance to the Morrisons supermarket. The introductory session on the river are free to attend.
You will need to bring with you clothes that you will not mind getting wet in. A few thin layers of man-made material is best (thermals, football tops, fleeces etc...) You also need to wear some footwear such as an old pair of trainers. If you already have a wetsuit or any other watersports clothing then please bring that. And dont forget to bring a complete change of clothes and a towel to get changed into afterwards!