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Improve Sluice Freestyle Feature

23 Comments

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Niall Mulligan
11 years ago

If ain't broke, don't fix it.

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Adrian O'Seanachain
11 years ago

The redevelopment of Sluice is most welcome and will benefit numerous paddle sports disciplines in Ireland.However this development should not come at a cost of displacing the longstanding existing usergroups. A freestyle feature of equal or better than what was in existence prior to the works is the only welcome outcome.

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Rory Reilly
11 years ago

Sluice is one of the most accessible, challenging and reliable features in the whole of Ireland. Without it, the greater dublin kayaking community will be left without the facilities to practice one of kayaking's fastest growing disciplines. The destruction of sluice represents a huge loss to our sport and action needs to be taken to at least provide an alternative, equivalent feature.

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Eoin O'Raghallaigh
11 years ago

I loved paddling at the Sluice. I'm now living in Vancouver and I really miss having a local play spot. Fix Sluice!!!

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Brendan Kane
11 years ago

The old Sluice as everyone knew it is gone forever. Rivers are dynamic entities by their very nature and once you change something it precipitates other unplanned changes and you will never get things back the way they were (ref. Trooperstown). There's no reason, however, why there cannot be a brand new Freestyle feature at Sluice. In fact, it's essential. But it's going to take careful thought and more work and the people charged with creating it need to be given time.

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Niall O Broin
11 years ago Featured

As the secretary of WWKC, a club with many slalom paddlers, I appreciate the wokr which has been done to improve Sluice as a feature for slalom. However, this should not come at a cost of ruining it as a freestyle feature, the very feature on which many of Ireland's leading freestyle paddlers learned their trade.

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Neil Gibson
11 years ago

The Sluice has been the training ground for east coast Freestyle kayakeres since the early 90's. Some of Irelands and the worlds best paddlers have developed there skills here. Its great that work was done to the feature as there weer some areas that neede attention but sadly the work has changed the site very negatively.Even for the Slalom folks it has become worse with less gradient which has directly affected the how the feature works most notably the amount of water recirculating inthe top eddies. I think that before any more work is carried out some very serios thinking needs to be done. My recomendations would be to contact some people/companies who are building slalom sites and white water sites in different counties. Scott Shipley comes to mind, he is the owner od S20 water courses and has built among other features the London olympic slalon site. I think someone like him would be invaluable in helping with our current problem.

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Bernard walsh
11 years ago

reinstate the only credible freestyle plaudits in the eastern half of ireland

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Muireann Lynch
11 years ago

It's unfortunate that the feature has been negatively affected by the work done, but very important that it be re-instated as a usable freestyle feature so that all paddlers can get use from the site.

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Anonymous
11 years ago

fix it up

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Calvin O'Brien
11 years ago

Seriously need to keep Sluice as a Freestyle Gem this is something that we just can't loose

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Colm Brady
11 years ago

Improve Sluice

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Derek Murphy
11 years ago

Why destroy a valuable feature not only to freestylers but to recreational paddlers too. Its not like were building whitewater courses all over the country

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Daniel O Broin
11 years ago

Any changes made must either benefit or have no effect on all river users and paddling disciplines.

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Nadine Dougas
11 years ago Featured

I'm not a freestyle paddler, but I know how important Sluice has been to the paddling scene for GP, freestyle and WW racing. It's the only reliable playspot in the Dublin area. I understand that it's an improvement for Slalom paddling, but it should not be changed to the detriment of other disciplines of kayaking. Keeping a retentive playspot would not be a disadvantage to slalom.

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peter durnin
11 years ago

A lot paddlers use the feature .....

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Conor Mackǝn
11 years ago

Please fix for freestyle old sluice or new and improved. either way works. emphasis on 'improved'

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Simon Nicholas Smith
11 years ago

enough hate already. Just want to see the old sluice bavk

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Emer O'Brien
11 years ago

Change is good for the better, but only if it is for the better

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Leonard Kelleher
11 years ago Featured

Sluice has been a training ground for Moe, Louis and I for over 10 years. It's a very special place to our family and it played a huge role in our training throughout the years we spent competing for Ireland. In summer 2007 I was able to train twice or even three times a day at sluice. These training sessions were key to my paddle fitness and skill set earned to help me win the World Championships later that year. It's a vital training ground for the people on the east coast. It would be a huge loss to kayaking in Ireland if the feature could not be returned to it's original state or improved.