On Saturday the 29th the first 200 Metre Masterclass was held at Richmond Canoe Club, Richmond, Surrey.

The class was run by Gavin Turrell (the current British 200 Metre Champion along with Steve Tingay in the K2) and the objective of the day was to give the group a general flavour of what 200 metre racing is all about.

20 athletes of varying abilities attended. Some just wanted to improve their starts in marathons, whilst others fancied a go at the 200's next season.

A classroom introduction started the 3 hour experience. Padders were introduced and a high level overview of 200 metre training and racing was given. The group then proceeded onto the water for a 1 hour session.

Gavin Turrell, performed demonstration starts and burns and the group completed 8 such efforts, getting a good feel for what it is like to do a flat out sprint ! The water session finished with a Mass Start 200 metre race.

The group then came off the water and returned to the gym where the highlights from the 200 metre racing at Gainsville were viewed. It was certainly inspiring to see such greats as Vince Fehvervari, Ronald Rauhe and Rachel Train in action ! Finally there was a questions and answers session, a good opportunity for the group to reflect on the course content and their experience.

It was a successful day by all accounts and despite the evil weather conditions the group survived the session well.

Further masterclasses are planned at Richmond Canoe club in the future with such stars as Ivan Lawler and Tricia Davey partaking!