First Time?

A little about us…

Bromley Canoe Club have been paddling since the early 70’s. It is an extremely well established club, affiliated to the British Canoe Union, currently having around 100 active members. The main emphasis of the club is enjoyment and leisure but SAFETY AND RESPONSIBILITY are also very high on our philosophy, both on and off the water. Members own a mixture of open canoes and kayaks and you will always find someone who is interested in the same type of paddling as you.

We organise many trips for members both in the Summer and Winter seasons. Summer finds us enjoying local paddling on calmer water such as Cuckmere Haven (tidal), the Medway, the Wey Navigation and the Thames. We also have access to Chipstead Lakes near Sevenoaks, where we are able to give people the chance to experience open water for the first time in a safe and calm environment. We organise regular trips to Lee Valley and The Nene whitewater centres.

In the Winter season (normally between October and March) we take on some of the more challenging white water rivers the UK has to offer and organise trips to Dartmoor, Exmoor, Teesdale, North Yorkshire and Wales.

Where we meet…

We meet every Monday night from 8.00pm till 10pm at West Wickham Swimming pool (except Bank Holidays).

If it’s your first time, you will be asked to swim 50 metres and be shown how to exit a capsized kayak safely.   As the club has its own Instructors, once on poolside, all you have to do is ask for help or tuition.

The pool sessions are split and from 8-9pm we have the 15 and under age group (two half hour sessions depending on numbers – we can only have 16 boats in the pool at one time), with 16 years and over taking the last hour until 10pm.  Sessions cost £4 for members and £6 for non-members.

Our agreement with the pool is 16 boats maximum so this naturally means we can only accommodate 32 in our usual 2 half hour sessions.  This means we need to fill both half hour sessions and encourage the young people to take a boat when one is available.

In busier times we will give each of the young people a coloured band.  The first 16 in the queue will be expected to go in the first half hour session, followed by the next 16 of a different coloured band.  If we go above 32 we’ll split the session into three 20 minute ones.  Obviously if there are any spaces in the final session someone can have another go.

NOTE: If you’re under 18 we’ll need your parent/guardian’s permission for you to paddle with us.  Please complete the Pool consent form which you can find here.  West Wickham pool provides us with lifeguards and support and we work under their policies for the pool session.  Therefore we are NOT responsible for your child in the pool or changing area and cannot be held responsible for them.  You are welcome to stay and watch from the gallery during the session.

Membership…

We welcome new members (there is no need to join straight away) but you must join after 5 ‘taster’ sessions in order to comply with the British Canoeing club insurance scheme.

Adult annual membership is from £24 per annum and for juniors its £16 per annum.  You can read more about our membership charges here

Training and Coaching

British Canoeing star tests are also taught and examined by our own and other club Instructors. These can lead you to becoming an Instructor yourself in the future. Training is done both in the pool and on specially organized training days at various venues.

You can find out more about training from the main menu.