LADIES were encouraged to get involved in watersports at a taster day on Saturday.

The Jubilee River in Taplow hosted a paddleboard session to introduce the sport to girls and encourage them to get involved.

Funded by Glidesoul, a women’s wetsuit company, and paddleboarding company Jobe, the event began at WakePlus at Taplow Lake.

The group of 23 girls were given tutorials with the help of European Champion wakesurfer Jennifer Edwards, with lessons on how to paddle, turn and avoid each other in the water.

Christie Rourke, a pilates instructor and sports therapist, led the warm ups to the session and helped to organise the day.

She said: “Jen has a sponsorship with Glidesoul and she has been doing really well at European tournaments, and they run days all over Europe and wanted to do another one over here.

“It went brilliantly. It was a bit cloudy thankfully which meant it wasn’t too hot. It was a really nice day and relaxing as well.

“The aim was to get more girls involved in watersports and to introduce Glidesoul as a brand to women. It was also a great way to make them aware of Taplow Lake and what they can do here, including paddleboarding, wakeboarding and wakesurfing.”

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Glidesoul owner Alena Pishchulina took a break from her usual sport of wakesurfing to take part, joining the girls as they travelled down the river for a lunch stop at The Pineapple Pub in Dorney.

She said she was was struck by the sight of the girls paddleboarding down the Jubilee River dressed in the brightly coloured wetsuits.

The group of girls then travelled back down the river towards Taplow Lake, stopping halfway for a pilates session and a stretch, before visiting the Lakehouse Cafe at the lake for some refreshments.

Ant Edwards and Callum Lindsay from the Addicted Wake shop at WakePlus, were given the arduous task of pumping up the 23 paddleboards for the girls to use which were had been provided by Jobe.

For more information about watersports at Taplow Lake, contact WakePlus on 01628 782113 or visit www.wakeplus.co.uk.