On Saturday the 19 th July 2008 Cadets from 2028 (Southam) Squadron, 8f (City of Coventry ) Squadron and 496 (Balsall Common) Squadron enjoyed a day at Edgbaston Reservoir in Birmingham . The day had been organised by C.I. Steve Rogers from 2028 Squadron to introduce the Cadets to Kayaking. C.I. Rogers, who has a real passion for the sport, was assisted throughout the day by Coaches from Birmingham Canoe Club, one of the UK 's top Clubs.

The weather on the day was mostly sunny with just the shower around lunch time but it didn't seem to dampen the Cadets spirits. The d ay was packed with structured tuition and fun games, resulting in all the cadets obtaining the new Kayak 1 Star Award.

The cadets were split into 3 groups, with one group who had never been in a kayak before. All groups had different Squadron members in them and a qualified coach and a further experienced club member to support the club coach. The day was tailored around what the Cadets wanted to do, and if they wanted to get wet, then they would! Most of the skills were covered in the morning session before returning to the reservoir after the short spell of rain for some games.

A version of Canoe Polo was played, the 6 Canoe club members versus all the cadets and the CI from 8F squadron who also joined the cadets on the water for the day. Birmingham Canoe Club won, even though they had a smaller goal to hit and were outnumbered by 3:1. Then using the same teams they played stick in the mud, with Birmingham Canoe Club catching all Cadets within 30 seconds in the first round. Both the Cadet team and the Birmingham Canoe Club team had a chance at being on the run and being the ones to chase.

Following the games the Cadets were split into their previous morning session groups in order to finish covering the entire 1 Star syllabus. Following on, a few more fun games were played before getting off the water and returning home totally exhausted at 4pm . The whole day was a great experience for everyone and hopefully it can be repeated in the future, with more Cadets and Squadrons becoming involved.

A Birmingham Canoe Club Coach said "the Cadets were a joy to coach and were a credit to themselves."

C.I. Rogers commented, “I have tried to get the Cadets involved in something different and challenging, hopefully today has certainly achieved that objective. My Squadron Commander has supported me from the moment I suggested the idea and with the support of the other Squadrons, the Cadets have not only had great fun but also gained a Kayak 1 Star Award as well.”