Huge congratulations to Matt McGrath who came third in the Men’s GP Class in the last marathon race of this season on the Grand Canal, Robertstown, Co. Kildare. Matt is our master trailer maker and has recently made a trailer for the club to transport its boats and we are extremely grateful to both himself and Paul Byrne for this and also to club members in their assistance in this massive asset to the club.

Conall Whelan took part in Junior Polo training on the 18th October in Kilcock which was very beneficial for the club.
Whitewater training continues for the winter with the kind assistance of Kilkenny Aqua & Canoe Club and Sunday 26th October saw the club kayaking with KACC in Direen in Co. Carlow. It was a great opportunity for paddlers to develop their whitewater skills and the club will continue to do this over the winter season. We would also like to thank KACC for the invite to their recent meeting and for the informative evening by Adrian in Kilkenny.

Calvin O’Brien LKCC whom recently participated in the European Junior Freestyle Kayaking Championships in Slovakia met recently with members of Laois Kayak & Canoe Club and Laois County Council representatives, Ian McCormack (SEO, LCC), Gerry Murphy (Chief Executive, LCC) Anna-Marie Delaney (Director of Service, LCC), Calvin is a nephew of the late Lulu Carroll, Laois All Ireland Winning Footballer & All Star, so sporting prowess is in the blood. The club was able to purchase a competition freestyle kayak for the European Championships through fundraising and with the kind assistance of Laois County Council who provided sponsorship. The club is very grateful to former Chief Executive Peter Carey for his help in this.

Bag Packing at Dunnes in Portlaoise The club has a bag packing date at Dunnes Stores Portlaoise on Saturday 1st November from 10am until 6pm. If you are in the area, please do come in and support us, we are more than happy to pack your bags and support the club be it 10c or a €1 any donations is more than gratefully accepted and your support is equally so.

Weekends only: Due to the shorter evenings, paddling will now be on at the weekends only. Please keep an eye out on Facebook and on our website at http://www.laoiskayak.com for details. We also are welcoming new members, there are plenty of instructors – so do come along and try it out!