Rhys Kittsen
Coaching Rep

How long have you been dragon boating?

​14 years (too long)

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How long have you been a member of Bradford Barracudas?

​10 years - I was part of setting up the club supporting with covering the safety boar. 

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How did you get into dragon boating?

Teachers at the high school I attended were invited to nationals in 2011, they came back with the buzz of the sport and invited a group of students to give it a go with a team in Liverpool. We went onto secure funding, allowing the school to purchase 2 dragon boats, in 2013 we entered into our first national where we ranked 2nd in the under 18s category. I haven't looked back since. 

 

​What is your favourite seat in the boat?

Helm or bench 4 on the Left

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What is your personal paddling highlight?

Achieving Level 3 coach qualification which will support with developing members into coaches.

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What are your ambitions for the club this year?

Make the 10 year anniversary a year to remember.

Continue to grow the main adult team and compete in more events

Set up and develop at youth team as we are lacking this age range at the moment.

Introduce members to the coaching pathway and hopefully lead them to becoming qualified coaches.

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What do you love about paddling?

How inclusive the sport is, how we all pull together as a community to help one another out.

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What one piece of advice would you give to new paddlers?

Don't over think the finer details, focus on the fundamentals. 

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What BDA qualification do you have or working towards?

I am currently a BDA Level 3 coach hoping to start others on there coaching journeys.