Club History
Formed in 1973, the Club has always been based in South-West Hertfordshire. Originally without a home, the Club ended up being known as the Nomad Kayak Club for good reason. For many years the Club ran pool sessions at the old Watford Central Baths – this ended when it shut for redevelopment. The pool did re-open, but its new form was not suitable for our needs. We currently use Chalfont St. Peter pool during the winter months for indoor training and coaching.
For many years now our main base has been in the beautiful grounds of the Rickmansworth Aquadrome. Until 2009 we occupied a brick building, originally the changing rooms for swimmers who used the lake. As part of a redevelopment this building was demolished and we moved to land opposite the ‘Café in the Park’, where we built a timber clubhouse and installed two shipping containers for boat storage. This ‘temporary’ situation lasted till 2018 when we moved to the other end of the aquadrome into a new purpose built multi-use water sports facility fronting directly onto Bury Lake and shared with Bury Lake Young Mariners (BLYM) and Rickmansworth Windsurfing Club. This spacious, modern and importantly permanent(!) facility allows the Nomad Kayak Club to offer the highest levels of canoeing and kayaking – both on and off the water – for which we’re grateful to BLYM and Three Rivers District Council for their substantial involvement and investment.
In 1994 members of the Club created a dedicated Canoe Polo training and Sheltered Water Coaching facility. Sited on Bury Lake adjacent to our new home it offers members the chance to train with one of our three canoe polo squads and learn to kayak in a safe environment. This is a rare facility among canoe clubs and we’re rightly proud of it.
The Club has a long association with Canoe Polo and has participated in the national league since its inception. Our squads have played in every division of the national league with many successes. Over the years our players have been seen competing across the UK and Europe.
Our members have paddled rivers in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Spain, Austria, USA, New Zealand, Chile and more. The Club organises many excellent trips away (usually one a month), which our members greatly. The Legacy and Olympic white water courses at Lea Valley are also only 25 minutes away and many members regularly take advantage of them.
Club Present and Future
Nomad Kayak Club has always thrived and with our new, permanent home with our best facilities ever we look forward to helping many more people enjoy canoeing and kayaking for sport and leisure.
There’s never been a better time to join Nomad Kayak Club!