Canoe Exercise!

I was given this assignment in school and we were asked to do it as a group. My group consisted of myself, Olanike Justina, Romana Shah and Ayobami Afolabi. Here's the assignment question;

You are a reporter for The Star and have received information from South Yorkshire Police about a canoe accident on the River Don yesterday.

Your news editor wants you to attend a press conference at South Yorkshire Police HQ to interview Sharon Dale. Later that day, you are given an opportunity for a face-to-face interview with Mike Rowles.

Afterwards you should write a 250-300 word story for immediate publication in the next edition of the paper.

As well as information gathered at the press conference and at the face-to-face interview, you may use some or all of the information contained in the statement from SY Police below.

Statement from South Yorkshire Police:

Police were called to the River Don, off Bridge Road, Sheffield, at 11.15am yesterday in response to reports of three people in distress.

Three canoeists were rescued by firefighters and police from the water behind the derelict Slater Engineering Works.

The three, who are all from Sheffield, have been named as Mike Rowles, aged 28, of 21, Angerford Way; Sharon Dale, aged 27, of 32, Rushdale Road; and Charles Windrush, aged 27, of 72, Norton Nook.

It appears Mr Rowles’ and Mr Windrush’s canoes capsized whilst trying to negotiate a weir Ms Dale had already crossed successfully.

Ms Dale abandoned her canoe and swam back to free Mr Rowles, who was trapped in his overturned canoe.

Mr Windrush managed to escape from his canoe and swam to the bank then alerted staff at the nearby Beauchief carpet factory who dialled 999.

Mr Rowles was treated in hospital for concussion and Ms Dale was treated for shock and hypothermia. She was allowed home yesterday and Mr Rowles was allowed home this morning. Mr Windrush did not require treatment.

Sergeant Janet Simpson of South Yorkshire Police said:

“The man was lucky to survive. If the girl hadn’t got to him he would definitely have drowned. I think she deserves a medal.”

 here's our story;

BOLD GESTURE SAVES CANOEIST ON THE RIVER DON

Yesterday, a peaceful canoe ride in the River Don turned for the worst when, 28 year old, Mike Rowles and, 27year old, Charles Windrush's canoes collided, consequently capsizing them. The quick thinking of a fellow canoeist, 27 year old, Ms Sharon Dale led to Mr Rowles' rescue.

While on the water, Sharon was ahead of both Mike and Charles who, according to her, stayed behind talking about football. When the men came towards the weir, Ms Dale noticed their canoes had capsized. She was amused at first, as this was something many canoeists encountered. Charles had managed to come up on the other side of the bank but Mike seemed to be under water for longer and showing no signs to come back up. Charles rushed to alert staff at the nearby Beauchief Carpet Factory, who called for help.

Knowing the severity of the situation, Sharon's first instinct was to jump in the water to save Mike. In a press conference with Sharon, when asked about her brave decision, she was humble in her response saying, "It's what anyone would have done". Sergeant Janet Simpson of South Yorkshire Police praised her bravery saying, “If the girl hadn’t got to him he would definitely have drowned. I think she deserves a medal.”

When help arrived, Mike and Sharon were both taken to the hospital. Mike was treated for concussion and Sharon was treated for shock and hypothermia. Charles, fortunately, didn’t need treatment.

For Mike, the ordeal seemed to be a blur but stated, "It's all a bit of a blur……I'm very grateful to her [Sharon]. She saved my life."

The three canonists are members of the Sheffield Canoe Club, frequent in visiting different rivers.

what do you think?