PADDLER PROFILE

Name: Ginny Coyles

Age: 34

Years paddling: 22

Competition Success:

Club
National League (Women)
11 x winner (7x with Mutineers 1988-1997; 4x with Friends of Allonby Liverpool 1998-)
National League (Open)
winner in 1999 (with St Albans A)
National Championships (Women)
10 x winner (7x with Mutineers 1988-1998; 3x with Friends of Allonby Liverpool 2002-)
National Championships (Open)
2 x winner 1998, 2001 (with St Albans A)

European Club Championships (Women)
winner in 2006, 3rd place: 2005, 2007

International
European Championships
3 x Gold medallist (1997, 2001, 2005)
2 x Silver medallist (1995, 1999)
1 x Bronze medallist (2007)

World Championships
2 x Gold medallist (Australia - 1996, Japan - 2004)
3 x Silver medallist (England - 1994, Portugal - 1998, Brazil - 2000)

DBxclusive products used:

Flight polo kayak
Accelerator paddles
DBxclusive vest-deck
DBxclusive hot-tops
DBxclusive lycras/rash-vests

Favourite DB product and why:
Flight Kayak – I have used the Flight for many years now and have found it the perfect boat for me and certainly given me the edge to play effectively in very high-pressure games. It is extremely manoeuvrable, and requires little effort to dip the rear and front ends. The low front-deck design makes boat tackling very effective, allowing me to get under the opposition to drive or turn their boats out of dangerous positions when I’m defending, but also allows me to drive into the opposition zone and work a shooting position more easily. The front-end also helps to scoop the ball away from the opposition in a 50-50 situation. The ease of turning and excellent acceleration makes it the ideal boat for playing a chasing game to pressurise an opposition player with the ball and run to the next danger player without expending unnecessary energy in changing direction at speed. The seat is also very comfortable, allowing a full range of movement, particularly when leaning backwards to catch the ball, without putting pressure on your lower back, but still provides good support for forward paddling and turning.

All in all, an excellent boat for the dynamic polo player!

Describe your most memorable kayaking experience:
I have had many memorable experiences in canoeing, from the first time I played in a ‘real’ polo competition with my first team (The Mutineers) at the opening weekend of the slalom course at Holme Pierrepont, to the opportunity to play at the World Games and experience the atmosphere of the whole event. However, I think the most memorable has to be the 2004 World Championships in Japan where we won Gold. For me it was the culmination of 8 years of trying to repeat the success of GB’s first World Champs title in 1996, after many ups and downs, we had a team who all only had one thing in mind and luckily everything came together that week. Although some of our performances weren’t pretty, we made our way though some difficult early games against some very strong teams without defeat. We ended up in the final against the dominant force of Germany, and although we had beaten them in the first round, they were still the reigning Champions and an exceptional group of players. The final itself was probably the hardest game I have ever played, both physically with the heat and humidity, and certainly mentally, as the score bounced back and forward for 20 minutes. With the score at 5-4 to GB with 30 seconds left to go, I thought the Championship was ours, but the Germans scored sending the final to golden goal extra time – another 20 minutes worth! I thought that was it, our luck had run out once again. I could hardly grip my paddle because of the lactic in my arms… I even had to ask Mr Brown to sponge my boat out as I couldn’t even squeeze my sponge (not sure that service was included in the sponsorship deal?!)! The Gods must have been looking down on us that day though as we won the sprint and within the first minute, the ball was in the net. Being lucky enough to have been in the right place at the right time to score the goal was the icing on the cake for me, but it was a fantastic team effort and belief from everyone that got us there, both players and coaches alike… certainly worth the wait!

Advice for any new kayakers coming into the sport:

I think the most important thing for new people playing canoe polo is to get the basics right first… don’t try doing all the flash stuff too quickly. Games are usually won by doing the simple stuff very well – good passing, catching working the simple shots and tackling well to win the ball back etc. Get this right first before trying to score goals with your paddle or bouncing the ball off your boat or something!

For any girls/women… don’t be intimidated by getting involved in an open/men’s team. Work on your boat skills in particular, which will help you improve your positioning on the pitch and help you to be proactive in stopping players getting the better of you through pure power/speed. Playing with and against men will improve your speed of play, reactions and ball skills and give you that edge in the women’s game.

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