Stone Slalom Div 3/4: March 2026
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
March saw one of the first races for our division 3 paddlers and Ioan Sutherland headed up to the famous Stafford and Stone Canoe Club to compete. Stafford and Stone is the home of recent famous Olympians, Joe Clarke and Adam Burgess, among other notable paddlers. We asked Ioan to provide feedback on his experience at the club and how he found the weekend.
Blog Ras Ioan / Ioan's Stone Slalom Race Blog
Y Cwrs / The Course
🔸 Sut olwg oedd ar y cwrs pan welaist ti fe gyntaf?
🔹 What did the course look like when you first saw it?
🔸 Pan fi wedi gweld e am y tro cyntaf roedd e yn edrych yn anodd iawn ac yn frawychus ond pan odd i ar y dŵr gyda Ingela roedd e yn llawer mwy hawdd na roeddwn i wedi meddwl. Roeddwn i mor falch am hynny!
🔹When I first saw it it looked really difficult and a bit scary honestly but once I was on the water with Ingela it was way easier than I thought it was going to be. I was quite relieved about that!
🔸Oedd adran oedd yn edrych yn anodd iawn? Beth oedd yn ei wneud yn anodd?
🔹Was there a section that looked really tricky? What made it hard?
🔸 Y gatiau 4 i 8 oedd y rhan anoddaf o bell ffordd oherwydd roedd rhaid i fi wneud llawer o sweeps mewn llefydd gwahanol iawn ac roedd e yn mynd yn ddryslyd iawn i gofio ble i wneud nhw i gyd. Roeddwn i yn cadw amau fy hun sydd yn gwneud e yn waeth!
🔹 Gates 4 through to 8 were the hardest bit by far because I had to do loads of sweeps in loads of different places and it got really confusing trying to remember where to do them all. I kept second guessing myself which made it even worse!
🔸 Sut fyddet ti'n disgrifio'r dŵr i rywun oedd ddim yno?
🔹 How would you describe the water to someone who wasn't there?
🔸 Roedd y dŵr yn araf iawn sy'n swnio fel mae e yn hawdd ond mae e yn defnyddio llawer o gryfder meddyliol a chorfforol achos mae rhaid i ti weithio mor galed i fynd unrhyw le. Roedd fy mreichiau i yn brifo erbyn y diwedd ond roedd Ingela wedi helpu fi weithio trwyddo fe yn lle rhoi i fyny.
🔹 The water was really slow moving which sounds like it should be easy but actually it takes loads of mental and physical strength because you have to work so hard just to get anywhere. My arms were absolutely killing me by the end but Ingela helped me figure out how to push through it instead of giving up.
🔸 Oedd hi'n gwrs wedi'i gosod yn dda? Beth oedd yn ei wneud yn dda neu beidio?
🔹 Was it a well-set course? What made it good or not?
🔸 Roedd y cwrs yn dda dros ben. Roedd e yn heriol iawn ond hefyd yn ofnadwy o hwyl ar yr un pryd, a wnaeth Ingela wneud popeth yn haws trwy ddangos ffyrdd gwahanol o daclo pob adran. O’n i’n teimlo mod i wir wedi dysgu cymaint dros y penwythnos ’ma – bendigedig!
🔹Overall the course was really good. It was dead challenging but also really fun at the same time and Ingela made everything easier by showing me different ways of tackling each section. I felt like I actually learnt so much this weekend which was brilliant!
Y Trefnwyr / The Organisers
🔸 Oedd y digwyddiad yn teimlo wedi'i drefnu'n dda? Beth roddodd yr argraff honno i ti?
🔹 Did the event feel well run? What gave you that impression?
🔸 Roedd y digwyddiad yn teimlo'n drefnus iawn ac roedd yr holl staff yn garedig ac yn ddefnyddiol i bawb. Gallech ddweud eu bod yn poeni am ei wneud yn ddiwrnod da ac nid dim ond mynd trwy'r cynigion.
🔹 The event felt really well organised and all the staff were kind and helpful to everyone. You could tell they actually cared about making it a good day and not just going through the motions.
🔸 Oedd rhywbeth wnaethon nhw'n wirioneddol dda?
🔹 Was there anything they did really well?
🔸 Fe wnaethon nhw ddatrys yr holl amseroedd yn dda iawn sydd bob amser yn beth dirdynnol mewn rasys oherwydd weithiau gall fynd yn flêr a dryslyd iawn ac mae pobl yn dechrau cwyno, fe wnes i gynnwys pan ymddangosodd 6 eiliad o gosbau ar hap, ond fe wnaethon nhw ei ddidoli â gwên.
🔹 They sorted all the times out really well which is always a stressful thing at races because sometimes it can get really messy and confusing and people start moaning, me included when a random 6 seconds of penalties appeared, but they sorted it with a smile.
Fy Hil / My Race
🔸Sut oeddet ti'n teimlo cyn dy rediad?
🔹 How were you feeling before your run?
🔸 Cyn y ras roeddwn i'n teimlo'n nerfus ac yn gyffrous iawn ond hefyd yn eithaf pryderus ar yr un pryd. Mae fel gloÿnnod byw yn eich stumog.
🔹 Before the race I was feeling really nervous and excited but also quite worried at the same time. Its like butterflies in your stomach.
🔸 Disgrifia dy rediad — beth ddigwyddodd o'r dechrau i'r diwedd?
🔹 Describe your run — what happened from start to finish?
🔸 Dechreuodd e yn dda iawn ac pan gyrhaeddais i'r gwaelod roeddwn i yn meddwl fy mod i wedi mynd yn lân yr holl ffordd i lawr. Ond wedyn ffeindiais i mas fy mod i wedi cyffwrdd un gât ar y diwedd sydd yn mor siomedig achos roedd e mor agos i fod yn berffaith!
🔹 It started really well and when I got to the bottom I was actually pretty sure I had gone clean the whole way down. But then I found out I had touched one gate right at the end which was so gutting because it was so close to being perfect!
🔸 Beth aeth yn wirioneddol dda i ti?
🔹 What went really well for you?
🔸 Ar wahân i'r un cyffyrddiad hwnnw rwy'n meddwl fi wedi wneud yn weddol dda ac roeddwn mewn gwirionedd yn eithaf bodlon ar sut aeth yr holl beth. Mae un gât yn annifyr ond nid yw'n ddiwedd y byd.
🔹 Apart from that one touch I think I did reasonably well and I was actually quite pleased with how the whole thing went. One gate is annoying but its not the end of the world.
🔸 Sut oeddet ti'n teimlo ar ôl dy rediad? Beth oedd dy ganlyniad?
🔹 How did you feel after your run? What was your result?
🔸 Roeddwn i'n teimlo'n dda iawn ar ei ôl ac roeddwn i'n gallu dweud ei fod wedi bod yn rediad cyflym. Roedd fy amseroedd yn dda ac roeddwn i'n gallu gweld fy mod i wedi gwella o'r blaen, a oedd yn fy ngwneud i'n hapus iawn. Gwnaeth yr holl hyfforddiant yn werth chweil!
🔹 I felt really good after it and I could tell it had been a fast run. My times were good and I could actually see that I had improved from before which made me really happy. Made all the training worth it!
Yr Ardal / The Area
🔸 Ble oedd y lleoliad a sut oedd hi i gyrraedd yno?
🔹 Where was the venue and what was it like to get there?
🔸 Teithiasom y noson gynt a gwersylla yn y maes parcio a oedd yn eithaf hwyl hyd yn oed os oedd yn Cawsom sioc pan gyrhaeddon ni serch hynny oherwydd bod gan y giât rwystr uchder. Roedd yn rhaid i mi ddringo dros y ffens i helpu i arwain y car oddi tano a oedd yn dipyn o antur ar hap cyn i ni hyd yn oed ddadbacio!
🔹 We travelled the night before and camped in the car park which was quite fun even if it We had a shock when we arrived though because the gate had a height barrier. I had to climb over the fence to help guide the car under it which was a bit of a random adventure before we had even unpacked!
🔸 Sut oedd y lleoliad ei hun?
🔹 What was the venue itself like?
🔸 Roedd e yn ardal neis iawn ac yn amgaeedig ac yn teimlo yn glyd mewn ffordd ryfedd.
🔹 It was a really nice enclosed space and felt quite cosy. It had a brilliant atmosphere.
🔸 Fyddet ti'n argymell y lleoliad hwn i badlwyr eraill? Pam?
🔹 Would you recommend this venue to other paddlers? Why?
🔸 100% gwerth y daith. Roedd y dŵr yn wych. Byddai'n bendant yn dod eto heb hyd yn oed orfod meddwl ddwywaith amdano!
🔹 100% worth the trip. The water was brilliant. Would definitely come again without even having to think twice about it!
Cyfanswm / Overall
🔸 Beth oedd y foment orau o'r diwrnod cyfan?
🔹 What was the best moment of the whole day?
🔸 Yr uchafbwynt mwyaf i mi oedd ennill J14 yn bendant a oedd yn syndod mawr a dweud y gwir. Doeddwn i wir ddim yn disgwyl hynny o gwbl!
🔹 The biggest highlight for me was definitely winning J14 which honestly was a massive surprise. I really did not expect that at all!
🔸 Beth fwynheaist ti fwyaf yn gyffredinol?
🔹 What did you enjoy most overall?
🔸 Roedd ennill J14 y ddau ddiwrnod yn hollol anhygoel Ond nid oedd yn ymwneud â'r rasio yn unig ychwaith oherwydd ei bod hefyd yn braf treulio amser gyda ffrindiau a dal i fyny gyda phawb ar ôl y gaeaf cyfan. Roeddwn i wedi methu gweld pobl a rasio.
🔹 Winning J14 both days was absolutely amazing But it wasn't just about the racing either because it was also nice to spend time with friends and catch up with everyone after the whole winter. I had missed seeing people and racing.
🔸 Fyddet ti'n mynd i'r digwyddiad hwn eto? Dywed wrthym pam!
🔹 Would you go to this event again? Tell us why!
🔸 Ie byddwn i 100% yn mynd yn ôl. Mae'n gwrs gwych sy'n heriol ond yn dal yn gyraeddadwy os rhowch y gwaith i mewn a phawb yno yn gyfeillgar hefyd. Pobl wych o gwmpas a dechrau gwych i'r tymor!
🔹 Yeah I would 100% go back. The Stone Slalom is a brilliant course that is challenging but still achievable if you put the work in and everyone there was friendly too. Brilliant people all round and a great start to the season!
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