WHEN Adam Rzepinski first talked about setting up a kayak club for youngsters in one of the city's most deprived areas no-one thought it would work.

It started with one member and in just over a year has attracted more than 16 regulars, many taking to the water up to four times a year and going on to win medals in national competitions.

Now the junior section of Glasgow Kayak Club club has grown at such a rate it is a scramble to find enough space and equipment for the enthusiastic new recruits.

Adam, a former champion canoeist and Polish flat water racer, said he wanted to set up the youth group to pass on his knowledge and skills to the next generation.

He is a trained PE teacher and has been living in Scotland since 2004 and works as a gym manager at the University of Glasgow.

"We didn't really advertise our sessions, parents with kids just appeared," he says.

"We weren't really expecting many, to be honest. There wasn't a budget for a project, it was a case of we got a few boats and paddles from the Scottish Canoeing Association and got more from the club and that's how we started - without any real plans.

"I would call it an explosion, we had loads of kids turning up. Some try and never come back but a lot of them stay."

Training on the Forth and Clyde Canal outside the Scottish Canals office in Applecross Street in Possilpark, the youngsters, aged from six to 13, are put through their paces by Adam and a team of volunteers.

The challenge to bring children who have never kayaked before up to competition level has been enormous.

As well as working in the water, Adam takes them through general fitness and says he found many were about two to three years behind in their physical development.

"I made a programme for them for last winter expecting a certain level of skills but they couldn't do a single thing. They were walking disasters," he says.

"They couldn't do forward rolls, a basic gymnastic move.

"These kids get free access to swimming but most of them were very weak swimmers, they'd float in the water but you couldn't call it swimming. There was a lot of work to be done."

Now most of the children are competing and many have won medals at Scottish level. Working hard on technique and discipline, they are learning skills that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

"Now they have been to a lot of regattas and competitions they have learned that to achieve something you've got to work hard to make progress," adds Adam.

"It's about friendship as well. We have a good team and to be honest from day one my main objective was that everyone would be equal.

"We have kids from very different backgrounds but everyone is the same."

At the moment the club stores its equipment in a container and trains in the winter wherever they can find space.

Adam's next goal is to set up a proper facility in Glasgow with a small gym and changing area.

"The kids are progressing and growing and need different equipment and to take on more kids we need to have more boats," explains Adam.

"In other clubs, if somebody is looking to progress the parents have to buy their own equipment.

"A half decent boat costs about £2000 and you'd need to spend about £300 for a paddle, it is not cheap.

"We have to provide this equipment otherwise it won't work, so we keep the cost of participation very low.

"Initially we didn't want to charge but we ask for £1 a session donation."

Alasdair Smart, waterway manager at Scottish Canals, says the water is the ideal location to exercise.

"The calm waters of the Forth and Clyde Canal are the perfect place for the people of Glasgow to take some simple, easy steps to get active, and there are a number of canoe and kayak clubs in the city that cater for paddlers of all ages and abilities.

"For the more adventurous, the roiling rapids of Scotland's first urban watersports centre at Pinkston Basin are also just minutes from the city centre.

"The Active 2014 campaign shows just how many ways there are to keep fit and healthy in our great city and how even the smallest change in activity and lifestyle can make a huge difference."

n Visit www.scottishcanals.co.uk/things-to-do/paddling for information on everything from where to hire canoes and kayaks to listings for local clubs and safety tips.

n Check out www.glasgow kayakclub.com and go to the sprint marathon page to find out more about Adam's club.

angela.mcmanus@eveningtimes.co.uk