Taylorian 2020

108 Sailing We have been lucky to have our own sailing expert on our team, Mr Jack Talboys, who, with the boys’ help, has managed to revamp the picos for the boys to use. We have been on a recce to UKSA on the Isle of Wight to look at potential trips and courses for the near future. Ms R A Caulfield Clubs, trips and events The Beginner Ski Club this year was held at the Gosling Park outdoor ski centre. Even though there was some apprehension about using a dry ski slope, we were lucky enough to have the whole place to ourselves and two qualified instructors from IMPULSE. The boys went from never putting on a pair of boots to skiing plough parallel turns from the top of the slope in just four weeks! The Ski Race Club was also held at Gosling Park. These students were already competent skiers and were pushed out of their comfort zones and challenged weekly. They were given skills and drills and learnt the best techniques to attack a racecourse and get the best out of timed runs. Wakeboard Club was held at Denham water-ski and wakeboard lake. Eight boys were given the opportunity to try all three sports (waterski, wakeboard, mono ski). Some of the boys mixed it up, while others focused their time on learning one skill. The boys did brilliantly: by the end of the six weeks all were standing on their crafts of choice and crossing the wake. Matt Lurie managed to do the whole length of the lake on a mono ski! Kayak Club is run byMr Williams. This year the club was focused on learning harder skills such as Eskimo rolls for use on the white water. By the end of the club, all boys were able to Eskimo roll as well as hand roll, which is an amazing achievement and proved a necessary skill for their sessions at Lee Valley on the white water. They boys improved so much in such a short space of time, and we are excited to plan future trips. Ms R A Caulfield and Mr J E Firestone