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.
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.
Sign up is now open for the third JDS winter series event for 2025/26. This will be taking place at the National Watersports Centre in Nottingham on Saturday 31st January.
As a joint-pathway initiative between the MRC, SRC and PaddeUK Talent, the Junior Development Squad hosts four winter training days and a summer camp every year for developing juniors across the country to take part in, learn more and develop friendships across clubs. For more information about JDS, visit our website post here.
The day in Nottingham will be in K4s, with one session having a skills and drills focus, while the other session will centre on race day planning and execution through a mixture of class room and water based learning.Imogen Collins and Sam Glover will be leading the coaching on the day.
We’re also looking to deliver a parent workshop in the morning of the day too with the title to be confirmed.
The cost to attend remains £10 per person.
To see standards for entry and to sign up, please click HERE. Sign up closes on Friday 23rd January at 17:00.
The National School Canoe Championships returned to Hawley Lake in Farnborough in 2025 for its fourth consecutive year as a joint-organised partnership between the Paddle UK Marathon Racing Committee and the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race Organisation. The event was created with the main objective to encourage grassroots paddling at a school level, and the development of school teams in paddlesport.
Six schools took part this year, with paddlers representing Norwich School, Cokethorpe School, Lord Wandsworth College, Kimbolton School, Heathside School, and Bryanston School. To take part, all schools have to show an active commitment to supporting paddlesport with their students, whether that be leading the coaching through their own staffing body or using a clubs expert coaching to run a school canoe/kayak club as part of their co-curriculum/sport offering.
The morning programme featured sprint races over 500 metres and 200 metres in both Experienced and Novice categories. In the Experienced 500m final, Jasmine Sargeant and Dominic Walker of Norwich School claimed victory in 01:58:20. The Novice 500m final was won by Henry Wills-Cole and Charlie Williams of Lord Wandsworth College in 02:18:20, an impressive result given they only began paddling in September. The 200m knockout races added further excitement. In the Experienced final, Sargeant and Walker once again came out on top, securing the overall sprint trophy for the second year running. Imogen Field and Madison McKernan of Heathside School finished second, while Tom Barrett and Theo Brown of Kimbolton School took third. The Novice final was chaotic, with only three boats crossing the line upright, but Hugo Dawe and Hayden Nundy of Norwich School managed to win in their first ever race. Consistency across both sprint distances, however, saw Eddie Bird and Abi MacDonald of Lord Wandsworth College secure the overall Novice sprint trophy, ahead of teammates Daniel Dain and Xander Ramage in second and Dawe and Nundy in third.
After lunch, crews turned to the marathon races. The Experienced category covered six laps with five portages, while Novices raced four laps with three portages. Sargeant and Walker once again showed their strength, breaking away after the final portage to secure the marathon win. Field and McKernan of Heathside School took second place and the women’s trophy, with Sam Price and Ariana Mackie, also of Heathside, finishing third.
Speaking after the overall marathon and sprint win, Jasmine said, “It was a great day of racing, and exciting to see all the other schools taking part. It was fun to do – the multiple types of races in one day made it really special particularly as it was very well organised.”
In the Novice category, Wills-Cole and Williams of Lord Wandsworth College opened an early lead and held it to win by more than a minute. Luca Duncan and Freddie Kornerup, also from Lord Wandsworth, finished second, while Bird and MacDonald secured third place and the Novice mixed trophy. Daisy Mathieson and Lottie Graves of Cokethorpe School claimed the Novice women’s title.
Lord Wandsworth College’s depth was evident, with 12 of the 17 Novice crews coming from the school. Their dominance earned them the Novice team trophy, for another year, and the Novice women’s team trophy.
After reflecting on Lord Wandsworth College performance at the event, Adam Reid (Head of Canoeing at the school) said, “For LWC’s novice paddlers the Schools Nationals was a fantastic experience. Not only was it a great opportunity to mix with teams from other schools, and to start to build relationships, it also exposed them to competitive flat-water paddling across a range of distances, and enabled them to see some top-flight paddlers in action. To come away with the novice trophy was a tremendous boost to their confidence, and has inspired them to continue to work hard on their technique and stamina.”
Heathside School reclaimed the Experienced team trophy after returning to the competition following a year’s absence.
Full results can be found below and here.
The National Schools Canoe Championships will return to Hawley Lake in 2026 on Sunday 15th November. Schools wishing to enter should review the entry criteria here.
If you are currently working within a school and interested in how to get more paddlesport programmes up and running, contact Holly Mobbs, the MRC Junior Development Lead, for guidance.
The PaddleUK Marathon Racing Committee invited Brett Scillitoe to discuss AquaPaddle to highlight an emerging, community-led initiative that combines accessible 5 km timed paddles with safety education and charitable outreach; this interview explores how AquaPaddle supports youth development, broadens club membership, benchmarks performance across craft, and funds BlueSpace therapeutic sessions that extend paddling opportunities to vulnerable and underprivileged local groups.
I’m Brett Scillitoe, and I have been in and around the water since I was 9, whether it was sailing, canoeing, rowing or stand-up paddleboarding. I also have a tendency to start clubs: Dittons Velo (Cycling) in 2012, Dittons Paddle Boarding in 2017, from which AquaPaddle grew.
AquaPaddle is a free, community-run, 5 km timed social paddle. It’s not a race; you can paddle it as fast or slow as you like. We also run therapeutic and educational sessions under the BlueSpace banner.
AquaPaddle developed out of a tragedy on The Thames when a teenager went missing while the paddleboarding club were about to go out on a Social Paddle. I wanted to help reduce preventable drownings by offering gentle on-water teaching and awareness through BlueSpace sessions. To fund that work and harness community energy, I introduced a Parkrun-style 5 km timed paddle. A number of our members had started racing, and I wanted to tap into that enthusiasm and community spirit.
I think the biggest difference is that you are lining up with unknown paddlers. Within a club, there is a “pecking order”, and very quickly, you pretty much know your place in that order. Yes, from time to time, you might have a good day and rise up the rankings or some paddlers from another club come and join your time trial. But most of the time, you will be following the same boats and paddlers as you did last time.
With AquaPaddle, that is not the case. Anyone can show up, and chances are you won’t know them. Then you add to the mix other paddle craft, and that is where the fun and magic happens. It becomes a mini paddling festival. Hardened SUP racers chasing K1s and sometimes overtaking them. People in inflatable kayaks, being inspired to buy something solid. The chat around craft and equipment before and after the event is now an established part of AquaPaddle. Then you add in the fact that the times are published online immediately after the event, which means you can see the times of other events on the day or recently, to compare paddlers you might know. It all adds to the enrichment of the whole time trial experience than a closed club time trial.
There are many reasons why a Marathon club would want to run their own event.
It is about regular training, particularly for the youth side of the clubs. It adds a different dimension to a training outing. The fact that the club paddlers could go out and do a warm-up and then take part in the AquaPaddle is all part of the fun, as happens at Nottingham Kayak Club. It gives a focus to the warm-up/training as the paddlers know they will be pushing for that personal best. AquaPaddle allows juniors to take part as long as it is part of an organised Club paddle and the coach is on the water with them, as they would normally be.
It is a great way to attract new members. We have all seen the inflatable kayaks out on the water, and to the casual paddler, speedy K1s flying by can seem quite daunting, and when Kayakers are in the “Zone”, they can seem fairly unapproachable. AquaPaddle takes all that away as ordinary people come to their clubs and chat before and after. I’ve seen this work first-hand with Hampton Canoe Club, gaining members as they let the AquaPaddlers have a go after the event.
AquaPaddle is becoming a benchmark for 5 km times. Especially from some of our faster locations, such as Lincoln, Hampton or Kilsyth, where the record has recently been broken with a time of 22 minutes 45 seconds, by a young 17-year-old paddler called Rory.
John Handyside from Nottingham Kayak Club says: “NKC has embraced Aquapaddle in quite a big way. Initially attracting mainly SUP’s, there is now a healthy mix of canoe, kayak, SUP’s and outriggers. The events are friendly, relaxed and fun. There has also been an increased interest in joining the club, and our rules now include membership from other craft users.”
John’s final point is very good for Marathon Clubs in general. Don’t limit yourself to one type of craft. We have just witnessed the “DW” have a successful SUP trial with Paddy McCormack and AquaPaddle’s own Patron, Emily King, taking part in the stage race. The juniors with whom they were paddling and themselves got a lot of pleasure pushing each other along and hopefully improving their finish times. It is also worth noting that Nottingham Kayak Club is currently AquaPaddles second busiest location with one event attracting up to 43 paddlers! That’s a lot of teas, coffees and bacon butties sold for the benefit of the club!!
BlueSpace is the heart of AquaPaddle. They are the Charity sessions we run for underprivileged or those in need. We are working with Young Carers, Neurodiverse, Refugee, and Veteran communities, to name a few. They have been slow to get off the ground due to the nervousness of other charities and groups we work with to trust us with their vulnerable people out on the water. You can imagine the risk assessments some of these organisations need to do when booking sessions with us.
The way it works is that AquaPaddle funds local Delivery Partners to run the sessions. We are not asking for anyone to volunteer for these sessions as there is cost and equipment that needs to be maintained.
Our Delivery Partners are generally involved with AquaPaddle Locations in some form, but not exclusively. For instance, if a Marathon Racing Club were to run AquaPaddle, then we would be happy to talk to them about becoming a Delivery Partner and starting to help their local community. They could, obviously, do this themselves; however, as we grow, we will be able to help more people through the publicity of the events we run nationally.
All our locations have their own donation pots that local paddlers can donate to their local BlueSpace sessions. Once there is enough in the pot, we then work with the local charities and groups to help people in need.
Thank you to Brett for spending some time chatting with us about AquaPaddle and how it could strengthen marathon club offerings and more. If you are intrigued about how AquaPaddle and also the BlueSpace sessions could integrate into your club offering already, feel free to get in contact with AquaPaddle directly to start the conversation or explore their website for more information. The MRC strongly believes the more people getting on the water safely, the better.
Please see below information on the 2025 GB-ONE Coaching Conference, organised and delivered by Scott Hynds, PaddleUK Flatwater Coach Developer. The MRC supports the core aims and delivery of this conference and encourages all clubs to engage with it to continue to strengthen flatwater racing in the UK.
This November, we will be delivering a coaching conference at Wey Kayak Club. The conference will be taking place on Saturday 22nd November from 12:00 noon – 17:00pm.
We’re inviting coaches to join our interactive workshops designed to build shared understanding, spark great conversations, and create a more consistent approach to coaching across the UK.
🕐 Session 1 (12:30–14:30)
Focus: The fundamentals of effective paddling technique.
Two tailored sessions:
🕒 Session 2 (15:00–16:30)
Focus: Coaching practice and behaviours—exploring what great coaches do.
We’ll dive into communication, feedback, goal setting, and interpersonal skills to strengthen how we stretch and support our athletes.
Please CLICK HERE to sign up and attend the day.
Join us to connect, learn, and help shape a consistent, collaborative coaching approach across the UK. Attendees will receive 10 CPD points.
Entries for the 2025 National Schools Canoe Championships are now open via the marathon racing entries system here.
The National Schools Canoe Championships are jointly organised by the Devizes to Westminster (DW) Race Organisation and the Paddle UK Marathon Racing Committee to promote schools canoeing in the UK by providing an event specifically for inter-school competition. Particularly, the MRC and DW Organisation want to promote schools having an active involvement in getting students on the water and in boats.
It provides the opportunity for racing against paddlers from other school teams, particularly for crews preparing for the DW season, both returning 2025 crews and new crews making preparations for 2026.
For full information and full detail on the criteria for entries, please visit the entries page here.
Any queries should go directly to the race organisers:
British development juniors returned from Vernon last week with several podiums and valuable lessons. Racing on the fast, busy River Seine forced them to adapt due to strong currents, large river traffic and tricky portages. The whole experience sharpened their racing, boosted confidence and created valuable lessons for them to take into a winter of training at their local clubs.
The 2025 French National Canoe Marathon Championships were held on the wide, fast-flowing River Seine in Vernon, where heavy river traffic and a noticeable downstream current challenged the juniors. Athletes quickly learned that the usual pontoon side was difficult to launch from and that using the opposite side or running to the end of the pontoon often produced better, faster exits at portages.
Saturday began with the K2 races. In the U14 girls’ K2, Ruth Shephard (Reading Canoe Club) and Ariana Manley (Wey Kayak Club) produced a strong start, then settled into a comfortable lead that they maintained to take the win. Finn Meredith (Elmbridge Canoe Club) and Edward Stroud (Wey Kayak Club) faced a highly competitive U14 K2 field and finished fourth. In the U16 K2 races Imogen Field (Elmbridge Canoe Club) and Kyla Holt (Richmond Canoe Club) made an excellent start and led to victory. Johanna Milbrandt (Cambridge Canoe Club) and Jocelyn Allan (Wey Kayak Club) started slightly slower due to the mixed, busy start line causing a lot of wash but paddled strongly through the field to claim second. In the longer and high-competitive U16 22 km K2, Marcell Nagy (Reading Canoe Club) and Henry Pitt (Royal Canoe Club) took third while Ben Eskriett (Gailey Canoe Club) and Owen Attwood (Wey Kayak Club) finished fourth.
Sunday’s programme featured the K1 races. In the U14 girls’ K1, Ruth S began alongside a French paddler but used clean portages to drop her rival on the second lap and paddled the remainder of the course alone to win. Ariana M moved through the field throughout the race and finish eighth. Finn M and Edward S produced solid U14 K1 performances, finishing tenth and eleventh respectively.
The U16 K1 races produced close racing. In the girls’ event a French paddler eventually broke away; Imogen F worked to distance herself from team-mate Kyla H and secured second with Kyla third. Johanna M, competing in her first international K1, put in a confident performance to finish ninth, while Jocelyn A finished twelfth. The U16 boys’ K1 saw Henry P finish sixth and Owen A tenth. Marcell N was in the leading group early but took a wrong turn and attempted a portage a lap too early, costing time and leaving him thirteenth, with Ben E fourteenth.
The course and racing provided significant challenges and opportunities for learning for the whole team. Clean and calm portages proved decisive across the weekend. We hope that the whole team has been enthused by the trip to motivate them into another winter of training.
Thank you to our volunteer staff team that supported the trip and guided the juniors throughout the racing and off the water: Suzanne de Bruijin, Charlie Smith, Brian Greenham, and Zach Benstead.
Please see below message from Scott Hynds re the Coach Development Programme Evening Workshops.
Paddle UK are planning to run a number of CPD sessions throughout the year aimed at coaches working with juniors and U23s who are progressing through to top national and international level.
We aim to share knowledge, expertise and common experiences across a number of topic areas in a range of formats that will be beneficial to coaches and clubs and the paddlers that they are working with. Our hope is that a community of practice will be developed where coaches can explore different areas together and over time contribute to raising the national level of coaching. There will be further information provided on the above within the coming weeks.
The next sessions are as follows:
Topic One – Planning & Periodisation: Led by James Train: Wednesday 1st October 20:00 – 21:30 online (For coaches of juniors aiming to compete Internationally), and Wednesday 8th October 20:00 – 21:30 online (For coaches of juniors who are starting to train regularly)
These two sessions are designed to provide an understanding of the underpinning principles within a paddle-sport yearly training programme. It is aimed at those who are looking to improve their knowledge and understanding of planning and periodisation approaches, and how this can support on-water performance.
Topic Two – Training with a purpose: Led by Gabor Szeltner: Wednesday 12th November 20:00 – 21:30 online (For coaches of juniors aiming to compete Internationally), and Wednesday 19th November 20:00 – 21:30 online (For coaches of juniors who are starting to train regularly)
These two sessions are designed to explore how to make training purposeful whilst understanding the constraints that exist such as environmental changes, supporting paddlers through exam periods and managing individuals within training groups.
Whilst we are aware it is a busy time of the season, these sessions are at this point in the year to allow clubs and coaches to incorporate practices and ideas into their upcoming winter programme. The session are aimed at different parts of the athlete pathway and are being delivered by people with experience and knowledge in these different areas. We would ask that you share this with relevant coaches, parents & paddlers in your clubs and potentially via social media to help reach the widest audience. The invite to the online meetings will be shared in the upcoming weeks.
Please do contact Scott for further information here.
The National Championships on the 26/27th July in Norwich is the final assessment for the 2025 season. Results from this event will be used for the following:
IMPORTANT: To be considered for selection for either of these events, athletes must complete an availability form by 22:00 on the 23rd July: Worlds & French Nationals Availability Form 2025
Please note the following athletes have been preselected to the World Championships after winning medals at the European Championships:
Congratulations to these athletes. Further selections into these classes will be subject to securing a release place. Please refer to section 10.5 of the Selection Policy.
If you have any questions about the availability form, please contact the secretary Kat Wilson. For more information on the selection process, please refer to the 2025 Selection Policy found here. If you still have any questions, please direct them to the chair of the Selection Committee Nanette North at [email protected]
