Please Join Us
Who Can Join?
At Pool Of Life we have an open invitation to all breast cancer survivors. However you must be 3 months past your treatment before you can get into the boat. You need no previous experience and it doesn't matter about your level of fitness, shape, size or age. Our youngest member is 32 and our eldest 69.
Supporters
Family and friends are most welcome to paddle with Pool Of Life, but they will be required to pay a subscription fee of £2.00 weekly. All fees for breast cancer members are paid for you.
What are the Benefits?
The benefits of paddling a dragon boat are numerous. Not only are there physical benefits but social and emotional too. We train, race and meet socially and through meeting other breast cancer survivors, a special camaraderie forms.
A health and safety briefing will be given before your first time on the water. A Sunday morning would be an appropriate time for your first training session. Then you can decided which days are convenient for you to train. The majority of the 'Pool of Life' paddle on a Sunday morning.
When you join Pool of Life it is your decision whether to race or just enjoy the early Sunday morning or summer evening paddle. If you do decide to join the team in race events then you will get to travel the UK and travel Internationally. Financing the race events is mainly met by the team.
Facilities
The watersports centre has a cafe where you can make yourself a hot drink and also changing facilities where you can shower and change into dry clothes. Also lockers are available for your valuables.
Training Principles
It is necessary to recover both physically and mentally from the treatment phase of breast cancer. We recommend a minimum of three months of recovery after completion of therapy before beginning this program. It is compulsory for all new paddlers to wear a lifejacket for a full season. All paddlers must wear a lifejacket through the winter when the temperature of the water drops.
A typical training session consists of warm up exercises on dry land.
- A 5 minute jog to increase your cardiovascular system.
- Then to increase flexibility, a series of stretching exercises are recommended for at least 10 minutes.
Once we are warmed up we load the boat from the front with 2 paddlers per seat, usually 18 paddlers and a helm while training and a drummer only when racing.
What do I Need?
It is probably a good idea to wear old clothes and to have a complete change, It is a water sport and you will get wet! We will provide you with a cagoul , buoyancy aid and paddle. It is advisable not to wear denim as it holds the water when wet, which will make you feel cold. Jewellery is not to be worn when paddling. Old trainers or wet shoes can be worn. A good grip on the sole of the footwear is advisable so you do not slip getting in and out of the boat. Bring a small bottle of water with you for on the boat.
Probably the most important requirement is a sense of adventure and a smile, when you are wet !!!
Map and Directions to the Water Sports Centre
