B.A.D.S. 2006 KICKS OFF!!

Photo left to right - Ben, Will, JK, Joe and Richard

On the 13th May 2006, 5 men travelled from the UK to the Southern French Alpes to enroll on the first Boating accelerated development scheme.

The scheme is a 7 week long intensive training course that takes existing kayaking Instructors and develops them rapidly to become Professional White Water river guides in both Rafting and Kayaking. The Scheme is masterminded and run by Bob Timms, an established level 5 Kayak Coach, though originally from Britain, Bob now lives in Briancon.

By Lunchtime on Sunday the 14th May, every one had arrived and the team had settled into their apartments in the beautiful Alpine village of Vallouise. The candidates for B.A.D.S. 2006 are:

Richard Carpenter - is from South Wales, but he flew in from Athens where he was competing in the World Amateur Kickboxing Championships. Richard took two gold's in the Finals - that's 4 years on the trot!!!! Is he going to Kick ass on the river too!!! Rich paddles a Diesel.

Will King - has worked guiding and teaching open canoeing in France for the last 4 summers and is committed to transferring his skills to Rafting and Kayaking. Will paddles a Diesel and a ZG too!

Ben Longhurst - hails from Leicster and has been involved with the Canoe Club there for some time. Bens wants to move sideways from Charity work into full time Adventure Guiding. The scheme is his springboard in. Ben paddles a Pyrahna Burn!

Jon Kivell - or JK runs a a country parc in South Wales and is heavily involved in the local Canoeing Club. Full time Outdoor professional for a number of years, JK is using the scheme to take himself to the next level. He paddles a Lil Joe!

Joe Ryan - is Chief Instructor at an Outdoor Centre in Ireland, Joe has also worked in the outdoors for a number of years and is a an established instructor. Like JK he is using the scheme to go to the next level and open up all the possibilities of raft Guiding. Joe Paddles a Diesel!

So the team is gathered, the Sun is shining and the rivers are HUGE!!!! - the winter season has seen high snow falls, last week the weather has been hot, hot and then it just rained solid for two days, so most rivers are off the normal scale - Welcome to the Alpes, Welcome to BADS. Tomorrow we kick off with a Raft Guide Training course.