Course Tutors
Here is a break down of all our course tutors at LOPC. If you want to know more about who’s going to be running your course please read our blurbs.
David Robinson
Senior Instructor
As course manager David has been in charge of the provision and development of LOPC’s courses for a few years now. If you have any questions about attending any courses or developing your outdoor skills he is more than happy to help, just email on si@lopc.co.uk.
David has been kayaking for over 15 years with a wide breadth of experience paddling in places such as Norway, Italy, France and Austria being the career highlights. David is also a keen canoeist and has enjoyed many aspects of the sport including paddling on open lochs in Scotland, white water rivers, racing events and camping expeditions. When not paddling David can be found rock climbing, mountain biking and climbing mountains. Qualifications include: Bsc Outdoor Recreation Management, BCU L3 Kayak Coach, BCU L2 Canoe Coach, MLTE Single Pitch Award, MLTE Mountain Leader (Trained) plus many more.
Chris Murnin
Deputy Manager
Chris has spent a large part of his life out in the hills of north Wales or the sea cliffs of Dorset and has used this experience to become a well established rock climbing instructor and qualified mountain leader, holding both the MLTE Single Pitch Award and MLTE Mountain Leader Award. Dedicated to the mountain environment there isn’t much Chris doesn’t know about climbing and rope work.
Chris is also very much part of the paddling world enjoying the excitement of white water kayaking. Currently a BCU Level 2 Kayak coach Chris is currently in the process of training to hold the UKCC L2 Coaching Award. A strong believer in ‘learning through doing’ and likes to spend as little time in a class room as possible. Chris currently coaches 1* and 2* paddle sport awards and level 1 and 2 NICAS
courses.
Steve Vincent
Lead Instructor
A keen rock climber/mountaineer, Steve has climbed crags all over the UK
such as Wales, Peak district Scotland, Lake district and Cornwall.
Highlights include classics such as Flying Buttress Direct at Stanage and
Outside Edge Route at Craig Yr Ogof (136 meters)
Steve is very experienced and his outdoor career spans over 10 years.
Frequently asked for by various customers Steve is very much a fun
instructor to be around who always has a smile on his face. Qualifications
include: MLTE Single Pitch Award, BCU Level 2 Kayak Coach and BCU 3 star
Canoe Award, Basic expedition leader award plus many more
Bhavesh Ramji
Lead Instructor
Bhavesh started his outdoor career working for outdoor centres in Surrey and then in Cumbria where he developed a deep interest in Rock Climbing and Canoeing. Climbing for 8+ Years Bhavesh has a wealth of knowledge and experience in this area. A talented climber himself he leads at a 6a+ and has climbed all over England as far north as Northumberland and south as Swanage on the south coast. Bhavesh is known throughout the centre for his grit and determination and ‘can do’ attitude when it comes to climbing, happy to take plenty of falls if it means completing that route he’s struggling on. He holds the MLTE Single Pitch Award and is trained in MLTE Mountain Leader. Currently coaches both level 1 & 2 of NICAS
Bhavesh also holds the BCU 3 Star Award in both Canoe and Kayak and is a qualified BCU Level 2 Canoe Coach. He is also currently working towards holding the UKCC L2 Coaching Award.
Jon-Luc Furlong
Instructor
Jon-Luc is a tutor for British Canoe Union One and Two Star Awards in paddlesport and also tutors Paddlepower Start and Discover courses aimed at children. He is also a tutor for the National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme for levels One and Two.
Jon-Luc has a variety of experience in teaching and coaching, from primary school education and guitar tuition, to a variety of outdoor pursuits including rock climbing, canoeing and kayaking. In 2011 he became LOPC’s first instructor to become a BCU UKCC Level Two Coach in Paddlesport. He is also the Coaching Co-ordinator for Quorn Activity Club.
Katy Groom
Bookings Coordinator and Instructor
Katy started kayaking in 1996 aged 14. She then carried on paddling at Bicton College while she studied for her National Diploma in Outdoor Recreation. She became a BCU Level 2 Kayak Coach in 2003, before going on to gain her BCU 4 Star Kayak award in 2003 in the French alps. Katy then went on to discover her love for canoeing in 2003 paddling on the Ardeche in the south of France, working here for 5 months each year from 2003 to 2005. Katy completed her BCU Level 3 Canoe Training in Wales in December ’04 before passing her assessment in April ’05.
Katy has paddled rivers in the Ardeche region of France, French Alps, Wales, The Peak district, Devon and Cornwall and also paddled on Lochs in Scotland. With a wide breadth of knowledge in coaching paddlesport Katy has been assisting with running the UKCC level 1 courses since 2009 and in 2011 completed FSRT provider. She hopes to become a UKCC Level 1 Tutor in 2012. She was also invited on to one of the first UKCC BCU Level 3 Core Training Courses, and she is currently working towards completing this qualification.
Ed Sibson
Centre Manager
6 years spent developing people in the outdoors using a wide range of activities lead, in 2009, to Ed becoming a course tutor for the Outdoor Education Advisor’s Panel’s Outdoor Learning Cards. Since 2008 Ed has worked very closely in partnership with youth organisations and schools across the spectrum helping develop teachers’ and youth workers’ knowledge, experience and confidence in delivering outdoor learning opportunities for young people using the activities of Orienteering, Problem Solving, Team Building, Journeying and Bouldering.
Inspired by Jim Cain, Ed is constantly seeking new ways of challenging people and enabling them to develop skills of decision making, problem solving, leadership, team working and communication in outdoor settings.
Keith Hampton
Technical Advisor
Keith has been involved with Leicester Outdoor Pursuit centre for over 30 years and has been paddling for over 40 years. He was a key figure in the establishment of the centre as it is today and has a strong connection and commitment to the centre and its ethos for bringing adventure opportunities to the people of Leicester.
He is a BCU level 5 coach and is involved in the training, mentoring and assessment of coaches across paddlesport and now works for the BCU and Canoe England in the development of the UKCC awards for coaching. He is the lead IV /QA officer for coach education courses and is national coordinator for White water safety & Rescue for Canoe England.
He has wealth of experience as a white water paddler and coach, paddling and guiding many of the major rivers of Europe, central and north America, Africa, Asia and the Himalayas.
His experience and knowledge in competition both as paddler and coach covers Slalom, Sprint and Marathon, WWR and Freestyle with his athletes having success at national, international and Olympic level.
More recently Keith has undertaken new and more personal adventures, from paddling in Svalbard in the Arctic circle in 2010, solo sea kayaking around Mull in 2011 and is paddling the Grand Canyon in summer 2012.
He has made contributions to paddlesport publications and looks to continue working in the development of the sport, coaching and coach education and the continued success of Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre.
Howard Jeffs
Technical Advisor
Howard Jeffs has been sea kayaking for nearly 40 years, and in 1983 became the youngest BCU Level 5 Sea Coach of the time. The following year he achieved the same with position with the Mountaineering Instructors Certificate. Although very fortunate to have worked and paddled in most of Europe, Arctic Norway, Svalbard and Greenland, North America, Sri Lanka, Maldives and the Galapagos Islands, his love for the diverse west coast of Britain still remains ever strong.
His particular passion is the west coast of Scotland and her mountains in the winter. As well as an author, involved in sea kayak design and manufacturing, he is also an enthusiastic yachtsman.
Visit him at howardjeffs.com or contact him at h.n.jeffs@btinternet.com
Dave Troop
Freelance Coach
Dave has been kayaking at various stages since the age of 12 and for the last 11 years his main focus has been around white water kayaking. Dave has kayaked all over the UK and in many various locations around the World. These locations include Uganda, Zambia, United States, France, Austria and Switzerland.
Dave is a BCU Level 3 coach and a Level 1 Competition coach. Dave is also a Foundation and Safety Rescue Training provider.
Ross Montandon
Freelance Coach
Ross Montandon at 22 years old has paddled all over the world. From the lofty heights of the Himalayas to the depths of the Grand Canyon. Ross has a passion for adventure and paddling. Ross is an aspirant Level 5 Coach and loves passing on his love for the sport to others.
Not only that, Ross is a midlands man, who shared his early paddling experiences right here at the Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre. His first experiences have taken him from the urban River Soar, to win a British Championship title, compete for the Great British freestyle team. In between being in the UK Ross has been to Uganda, Italy, Morocco, New Zealand, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, Nepal, along with many river miles in Europe and the UK.
Martin Barry
Freelance Coach
Martin has enjoyed recreation and teaching in the outdoors in a variety of locations, and has climbed, paddled and travelled extensively in Britain and the Alps, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and New Zealand. Martin enjoys rock and ice climbing, sea kayaking, summer and winter mountaineering and fell running. Lifetime highlights include two extended trekking and kayaking trips to Nepal and paddling world-class rivers such as the Marsyandi. Achievements also include completing a number of long mountain runs solo, and has traversed Scotland coast to coast three times; as a self supported mountaineer in May 1989, on skis in February 1992, and solo by open canoe in May 1997.
Now lecturing in the Outdoor Studies Department at the University of Cumbria, Martin has previously worked for the British Armed forces where he was employed to organise and deliver training and assessment courses in kayaking, open canoeing, summer and winter mountaineering, rock climbing, caving, and skiing. Although based in North Yorkshire, these courses included locations such as Scotland, Wales, Canada, the European Alps and Spain, but with a particular emphasis on delivering a winter programme of ski touring and winter skills in Norway, from December to April each year. With this kind of wealth of experience Martin has multitude of qualifications including: Mountain Instructor Certificate, Course Director for ML /SPA Courses, BASI Ski Instructor (Alpine & Nordic), BCU Level 5 Coach Open Canoe and Inland Kayak (A5), BCU L4 Sea Kayak, BCU L3 Surf, plus many more.
Stephen Brown
Freelance Instructor
Stephen is an experienced outdoor educator who has worked in a wide variety of different settings, from urban outdoor work to remote environments in Ireland. He is a canoeist and kayaker, combined with mountain and climbing skills.
He is a DofE Assessor trainer. He works currently as the Outdoor Education Adviser for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Chris Forbes
Freelance Instructor
Chris is a British Fencing Associate Level 3 Fencing Coach, and Sports Coach UK Level 3 Coach Tutor. He is the East Midlands Regional Cadets Squad Head Coach, as well as the Head Coach for his Nottingham based Fencing Club “A&C”.
With 20+ years of competitive fencing experience, Chris most recently won a Bronze Medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the Men’s Team Foil event, before hanging up his fencing boots to concentrate on his coaching.
Since then he has started to help train some of the best young fencers in the country, with a few of his students now gaining selection to the British Fencing Academy and representing GB abroad. He has also continuously delivered coach development and Fencing Activity Leader Award courses to help bring on the next generation of Fencing Coaches.
Andrew Nimmo
Freelance Instructor
Andrew has been shooting for longer than he cares to mention and has been coaching young people for the last 10 years. He is an NSRA County Coach which makes him just as responsible for training adult instructors as it does coaching shooters. Andrew is in charge of training and development with the GB Junior Rifle Squad and is one of the senior coaches looking after the development of some of the UK’s top junior shooters. At a club level Andrew works with junior shooters from as young as 8 based in a Buxton Scout Group. This group has developed many shooters who have shot for the National Scout Shooting Team and 4 shooters who have represented Great Britain as juniors, winning quite a few international medals.
Pauline Olivant
Orienteering Coach
Pauline Olivant is a National Tutor for British Orienteering and is a qualfied Level 4 coach. As co-author of the material she has a really good in depth knowledge of Teaching Orienteering. She has delivered several very successful courses at the LOPC in the last few years.
Weather in Leicester
Today
Tomorrow