Month: February 2026

Paddle UK Safety Officer Workshop – 23rd & 25th February 2026

   20 February 2026    Organisation, Safety, Volunteers

Paddle UK are hosting a Safety Officer Workshop for event organisers. There is no cost for this workshop.

The workshop is now open for bookings following this link Safety Officer Induction Workshop – 23rd & 25th Feb @ 19:30

In order to attend you must have completed the Risk Assessment eLearning. The link to this is Risk Management and Risk Assessment eLearning | Buy Now Discipline volunteers can use the discount code: disciplinerisk to receive the eLearning for free.  

The Risk Management and Risk assessment elearning course is normally £30 but using the discount code provided by the MRC above, it’s FREE to those taking it in advance and then booking onto the Safety Officer workshop. 

As part of the standards of deployment requirements, all event organisers must complete these courses before lead organising events. The above opportunities are to support volunteers in completing these required qualifications.

Marathon 2026 Selection Policy – Published for Consultation

   14 February 2026    Athletes, International, Para, Selection

The Marathon 2026 Selection Policy is now published for consultation. Members of the marathon community have until the end of Sunday 22nd February to feedback any comments to the marathon selection committee for review. Please send any comments directly to the selection committee chair via email: [email protected].

The full published draft policy can be found on our selection webpage here.

Junior Development Squad Winter Series Event 4 Sign up Now Live!

   14 February 2026    Athlete Development, Coaching, Racing

Sign up is now open for the fourth JDS winter series event for 2025/26. This will be taking place at the Norwich Canoe Club on Saturday 21st March and will be led by Matt Robinson & Scott Hynds, alongside the wider Junior Development Squad coaching team.

In addition to the event on the Saturday, Norwich Canoe Club will be running a sprint regatta on Sunday 22 March for juniors, in conjunction with hosting the BUCS regatta. Therefore, the JDS is partnering with Norwich CC to offer a full weekend of activity for juniors engaged in the JDS programme.

Saturday will focus on racing skills that can be applied at Sunday’s regatta and Sunday’s regatta will consist of  K1 500, K1 5000 and a K1 200 mixed relay. Both Saturday and Sunday will be in K1s.

The cost to attend the full weekend is £22.00, but there is also a ticket option for those who just want to attend Saturday’s JDS session.

Travel, accommodation and food are to be organised individually, unfortunately we cannot offer any of these as part of the weekend.

For standards to attend and to sign up, please click HERE. Sign up closes on Friday 13th March at 17:00.

Junior Development Squad (JDS) is a joint initiative between the Marathon Racing Committee, Sprint Racing Committee and Paddle England Talent. Having been running as a collaborative exercise since 2021, the JDS has supported hundreds of juniors from a wide spread of clubs to develop their racing skills, create long-term friendships and increase exposure to crew boats. For more information on JDS, please visit our website page here with further links onto the main JDS site.

Notice re Use of Powered Craft: Legal Accountability and Launch Operations 

   14 February 2026    Coaching, Organisation, Safety, Volunteers

The marathon community, clubs, coaches and event organisers who utilise power craft as part of their operations and events should refer to the recently published case study around legal accountability and launch operations here: https://paddleuk.org.uk/legal-accountability-and-launch-operations/.

Paddle UK have updated the document on Powercraft and Qualifications in Paddlesafer to include powerboat guidance for events in response.

Trevor Wetherall

   11 February 2026    Athletes, Coaching, Volunteers

The Marathon Racing Committee is deeply sadden to hear the passing of Trevor Wetherall. A steadfast and influential figure in our sport for many years, Trevor was a true backbone of the canoe racing community. He will be fondly remembered by countless paddlers for his unwavering commitment to Richmond Canoe Club and for the encouragement and support he offered to the next generation of athletes.

Through his involvement in junior development training days, camps, and his work as a National Coach, Trevor shaped the journeys of many. His connection to marathon racing began long before his coaching career, having proudly represented Great Britain on the international stage as an athlete.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.

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