Carew Youth Club enjoyed a very special evening last Friday. The 21 members who have participated in three canoeing and kayaking sessions were awarded their introduction to canoeing and kayaking certificates.
The course was provided by Fforest Outdoor, based in Cilgerran, with two sessions on Carew Mill and a session on the beautiful Teifi river (complete with mini-rapids!).
Parents were invited to the evening, along with the rest of the club members.
The evening was opened with a photo show, followed by a talk by Beth, Georgia and Ollie. All three of them did an excellent job, giving a well-written and amusing account of the three very diverse sessions and the differences between canoeing and kayaking.
Ollie was our official photographer, so saw it all from a different angle - as he said in his speech: "I believe I had the best time, as I could laugh all I wanted, but was a safe distance away from being splashed."
The new superintendent, Rev. Alan Jenkins, and his wife, deacon Janet Jenkins, undertook the presentation.
It was wonderful to have them join us at club for the first time and be able to share in this wonderful achievement.
The Reverend's epilogue was very aptly about teamwork and what can be achieved by working together.
He told the club about his experiences with canoeing and how he, too, ended up getting wet on both occasions. Mind, I think the difference being the Reverend had not set out to get wet - I think most of our members would have been bitterly disappointed if they had not ended up in the pond at some stage. I think that was the highlight and main aim for some of them!
I think young Tom holds the record for the most number of capsizes! Holly was definitely the front-runner in lost footwear (and found thankfully). Rumour was that her mum super-glued her trainers on for the last session.
It was such a rewarding programme for all those who took part, and gave them an experience they may not have otherwise been able to have.
We are so grateful to all those who helped us to achieve this, in particular Kay and Richard Scourfield (Bartletts Engineering) for their very kind donation.
The instructors at Fforest Outdoor were also brilliant, extremely professional at all times and you knew the children were in safe hands.
We look forward to working with them again next year.
The evening ended with light refreshments - the table was groaning with delicious cakes and biscuits, kindly provided by parents and leaders. So quite frankly, no-one is going near any canoes for a while, not after demolishing that lot!
Jo Hicks