AOAC Newsletter
 

Wow! What a difference a bit of freedom and some glorious weather makes. How great is it to get out and meet more than one friend at a time?! Different activities, different combinations of people, different conversations...I'm loving it all. And, nothing to do with AOAC, but getting to cook for friends is one of the greatest pleasures, so I'm making up for lost time. It won't be long before we can meet in bigger groups and indoors, woohoo!.....hang on to that wonderful thought :)

Message from the Chair
Great to see so many events on the calendar  - thank you to all those involved in getting activities started again. I hope you are enjoying getting out there again after a long winter of restrictions.

Maximum group size is currently 10 but we are hoping to increase that in mid-May depending on government announcements. Other good news is that Wales is open for activities from Monday April 26^th and Scotland is opening up too, though still no lift sharing outside households/bubbles so please try and minimise travel as much as possible. Keep an eye on your emails for updates.

Many thanks to Sarah and last year’s committee for their hard work in navigating the Club safely through uncertain times. I am lucky to be working with the same committee who are experts now in dealing with shifting sands. Welcome to Colin who is helping Cathy with communications and also to Justin who is the Club’s welfare officer. Justin will be providing advice and expertise in this area.

I have been a Club member since 2007 but never been on the committee so have lots to learn. Hoping to meet lots of you over the coming months. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me or any of the committee if you have any ideas/comments/suggestions about Club-related matters.

Katie - [email protected]

I'm sure we'd all like to thank Sarah for her time as Chair, she has done an amazing job, and, after the first committee meeting, I think you can all be assured that Katie will continue in the same vein. Thanks Katie for stepping up to the role, we look forward to you steering us in the right direction.

Well awaited and starting Monday 10 May 2021....

Monday Evening Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions/Coached Weir Sessions

Monday evening kayaking sessions working on perfecting Explore skills, ending in fun and games on 23^rd August. Suitable for anyone who has completed Discover kayak (or equivalent) and has done or is going to do an Explore course. Canoeing is also available by prior arrangement.

And practicing moving water skills at the weir with club members with a coach on hand. You need to have the BCU Explore (old 2 star) or equivalent in kayak and you should have attended the AOAC Moving Water Safety and Skills Training.

This is closely followed by the Paddlesport Taster Day - 17 May 2021 which has proven so popular that this particular event is already full, so there is another...

Paddlesport Taster Day - 3 July 2021
If you have always wanted to ‘have a go’ or find out more about Paddlesports, we are holding a taster day where you can come along and have a go in any craft available - canoes and various types of kayaks, whitewater and touring.  This will all be under the guidance of our qualified coaches, leaders and assistants.  All kit will be provided and fitted by coaches.  No previous experience required as tuition will be included.

Come along and discover a new hobby or just have a fun day out on the river.

Cost for the day is only £10.00 (incl all coaching and equipment).

https://aoac.co.uk/content/aoac-paddlesport-taster-day-0

Please email Irene if you require further information.

And this leads on to.....

Help required to move kayaks to Saltford
We don't know the actual date yet but this will be sometime in the week commencing 1st May; if anyone is available to help move the kayaks, this would be very much appreciated. Keep your eye out on Facebook and the forum for further details.

What else is on the calendar?
Look at how many walks, climbing sessions, kayaking events and cycle rides have already been added to the calendar! Thanks to everyone who has contributed, we're all very grateful and your efforts are very much appreciated. 

Due to the current restriction on numbers some walks are being posted on different occasions to enable more of you to book on. Booking dates are also staggered so that everyone has the chance to book. Make a note in your diary to ensure you get your place.

Tell me, how did you meet your lovely bunch of AOAC friends? You joined the club and went on club activities, meeting new people and eventually making good friendship groups. If you are arranging walks/bike rides/climbs etc with these people please consider putting these up as a club event so that other people get the opportunity to meet new people and make new friendship groups. It's what the club is all about :)

In the next newsletter our Activities Officer, Pete, will let you all know just how easy it is to propose an event. In the meantime, go ahead if you know how or, at least, think of some events to add to the calendar....there can never be too many :)

Track & Trace
For Track & Trace purposes your full name and contact details are required. Please ensure that the details you have entered in 'My Account' on the AOAC website are correct; nicknames and abbreviations are no longer suitable. It would be useful too to have them in the format of capital letter at the start of each name then lower case; if yours is showing as different to this please edit. This will help in the administration of the club, thank you.

So how are we doing on the last Challenge?

April Challenge . . . A trip to the Himalayas!

One week and 39,967 m of elevation left to reach the summit of Everest – can we do it? 

What a fantastic effort from those taking part in the Everest Elevation Challenge. A massive thank you to everyone posting their elevation efforts, there are some impressive results coming in across various activities –including some actual climbing amongst the results! 

We have one week to go - the challenge finishes on Friday so keep up the walking, cycling, mountain biking, climbing, whatever you can do to add some meters or feet on to the results and post them on the Facebook page challenge area before Friday.   

At the time of writing, we have achieved an accumulative elevation gain of 76,020 meters above sea level, conquering Shisha Pangma in China; Gasherbrum II in Pakistan; Broad Peak in Pakistan; Gasherbrum I in Pakistan, Annapurna in Nepal, Nanga Parbat in Pakistan, Manaslu in Nepal, Dhaulagiri in Nepal and Cho Oyu in China.  We are well on the way to reaching the summit of Makalu in Nepal with only 5,406 meters to go to its summit.  That leaves only four to conquer, including the big one, Everest. Keep posting and watching the progress next week! 

Sue 

Extending membership
Yet again membership subs have been rolled over for another month but, (and this is very good news!)....as there are now many, many activities on the calendar (with more being added all the time), at the last Committee meeting it was decided that membership will be unfrozen as of 1st May 2021. Everyone received the same extension....if you want to know when yours is due for renewal go to 'My Account' on the AOAC website where you will see your Membership Expiry Date.

You can of course continue to make:....
Voluntary membership fee contributions 
Many of our members have made a voluntary contribution to the club in the absence of membership fees. While activities have been limited unfortunately our running costs have continued, for example insurance and website maintenance costs.  It is a fantastic club that lots of us have benefited from over the years and are keen to support. We would be grateful for any contributions that members feel they can and would like to make towards the running costs of the club in the absence of membership fees.
 
You can donate as much or as little as you like (and every little helps). The Treasurer will only see the date and amount in the PayPal order list so it is fully anonymous.  

To contribute please follow these steps.... 
Click on the link: https://aoac.co.uk/donations
Log in if you aren't already logged in 
Click straight on add to cart (ignore the drop down box). 
Select your cart
Select the quantity (1 = £1). Select go to checkout
Then continue with the steps for payment

There is also a menu item at the top of the members' menu which is now live - 'Donate to AOAC' 

Walking Coordinator
Fantastic news.....Andy is now walking coordinator. If you have any walking ideas that you'd like to discuss, or you would like to be assessed as a walk leader please contact him at [email protected]

Club Merchandise
Coming soon....you will shortly be able to purchase AOAC branded hoodies and t-shirts through the website. Look out for more information. (Thanks to Maria for sorting this out x).

SUP Boarding
Regrettably we have had to postpone the purchase of SUP boards this year due to the lack of availability (darn Covid!)  but we have not cancelled the idea altogether; we will be looking to purchase early next year to get a full season in; something to look forward to :) (Thanks to Irene for all her efforts in trying to source SUP boards).

If you have any interesting news/funny stories/free videos/tales of your favourite trips/tips that may help club members, in fact, anything that might be of interest/entertaining, to brighten up the next newsletter, please let me know at [email protected] . Thank you.

See you sometime soon.

Cathy x

Events:

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