Governance – Page 2 – Canoe Marathon Racing UK

New Athlete Representative required for selection committee – Urgent!

25 May 2023 Athletes, Governance, Selection

The MRC Selection Committee are seeking a volunteer to join as Athlete Representative.

The athlete representative will be invited to all selection meetings, and will be able to contribute to the discussion, but is not a voting member of the selection committee.

Requirements of the athlete representative:

Act as an independent member of the committee (not MRC, a current athlete seeking selection or club coach).
They should bring with them experience of being an international athlete (where possible).
Know and understand the selection policy.
Question and challenge the process during the meetings to ensure selections are made in line with the policy

The next meeting of the selection committee will be in the days following the assessment weekend 10th/11th June, and the new athlete representative should be available to join this meeting.

For more information and to register interest please contact Tom Sharpe by Sunday 4th June.

MRC Annual Consultative Meeting 2023 – Initial Information

24 April 2023 ACM, Governance

The MRC Annual Consultative Meeting will take place online on Wednesday 28 June 2023, starting at 7.30pm. This will include the elections for the 2023/24 committee.

Joining details for the meeting will be available on the MRC website nearer the time, as will a full set of papers. Each BC affiliated club which has participated, or has an interest, in marathon racing is entitled to a vote, and that club’s voting member will need to be registered in advance.

In addition to the annual election of the Chair this year there will be an election for seven committee members.

The following are due for re-election and have expressed an intention to stand again to stand again:

Stan Missen (Chair) – elected annually
Graham Warland
David Enoch
Evan Shephard
Holly Mobbs

Standing down mid-term or/not seeking re-election:

Dyson Pendle
Kat Wilson
Siobhan Urquhart

Anyone wishing to stand for a place on the MRC must inform the Secretary of their candidacy by 18 May 2023. They must be a full member of British Canoeing and be proposed and seconded by two other full individual members of British Canoeing.

Standing as an elected member of the MRC is a great way to make a difference to our sport and be involved directly in how it is run. Committee members are expected to attend around four meetings per year (there is usually an online option), and to play an active role in the administration of the discipline in between meetings. Roles covered by those named above include: Treasurer, Committee secretary, rules, short course, communications, junior development, secretary to Selection Committee, major events, safeguarding and race management. If you are interested in standing and becoming involved in any of the above, please feel free to contact the Chair (Stan Missen) or Secretary (Siobhan Urquhart) by 18 May, supported by two full members of British Canoeing.

Anyone wishing an item to be raised at the ACM needs to be a full member of British Canoeing and have submitted it to the secretary by 18 May 2023 supported by two additional full members of British Canoeing.

Other items may be discussed at the meeting at the Chairman’s discretion.

Email addresses:
Stan Missen – Chair – marathon.chair@vol.britishcanoeing.org.uk
Siobhan Urquhart – Acting Secretary – marathon.secretary@vol.britishcanoeing.org.uk

Update to Marathon Selection Policy 2023

6 March 2023 Athletes, Governance, International, Selection

The selection policy has been updated for March 2023 to include confirmation of the venue of Elmbridge Canoe Club for the first assessment race on Saturday 22nd April.

Another amendment is that the MRC have had to adjust the athlete contributions in line with the current inflationary environment to enable the trips to run as scheduled. These changes can be found in sections 3.3.b and 3.3.c of the selection policy.

Please take the time to familiarise yourself with the policy. Any questions, please direct them to Nanette North, the Chair of the Selection Committee.

International Selection Webpage

Division 1 K2 at Hasler Races 2023

21 February 2023 Athletes, Governance, Racing

Based on athlete feedback, the Marathon Racing Committee are excited to announce the addition of a Division 1 K2 to a select few Hasler Races. In recent years, there has been no provision for Division 1 standard K2’s to race on a regular basis due to lack of engagement from paddlers historically. This addition will allow Division 1 ranked paddlers, as well as Division 2 ranked paddlers, to race K2’s outside of assessment and selection. This could be with a potential selection-worthy boat, supporting younger juniors to race up or to race mixed boats.

The following races have agreed to host a Division 1 K2 race during the 2023 season:

Nottingham Hasler – Sunday 30th April
Worcester Hasler – Sunday 14th May
Norwich Hasler – Sunday 21st May
Reading Circuit Hasler – Sunday 28th May
Falcon Hasler – Sunday 25th June
Richmond Hasler – Sunday 18th June

These events have been selected due to timing’s in the racing calendar, location in reference to current Division 1 paddlers and course specifics that will allow for good racing.

The MRC would strongly encourage Division 1 and Division 2 paddlers to engage with this provision.

For more details on how Division 1 K2 will work at the above Hasler’s, visit our race organisers information document below.

Division 1 K2 Race Organisers Guide

Marathon Selection Policy 2023

25 January 2023 Athletes, Governance, International, Selection

The Marathon Selection Committee are excited to announce the 2023 selection policy is now live on the international selection website page on the Marathon Racing Committee website.

Any questions on the policy should be directed to the chair of selection committee, Nanette North, via her email here.

International Selection Webpage

British Canoeing Competition Hardship Fund

21 January 2023 Athletes, Governance, International, Selection

British Canoeing has created a hardship grant for eligible English athletes who are having financial difficulties, or whose family circumstances mean they are at a disadvantage relative to their peers. The grant can be used towards athlete contributions to international competition, travel and accommodation for competition and entry and accreditation fees.

For full details on the grant and the full policy, visit the British Canoeing article here.

2023 UK Anti-Doping Prohibited List

5 January 2023 Athletes, Coaching, Governance, International, National, Racing, Rules

Check the Prohibited List – Not knowing is not enough.

The 2023 Prohibited List is available to read now and comes into effect on 1 January. Read about the Prohibited List over on UK Anti-Doping‘s website below.

2023 Prohibited List

Talent Club Champion

13 November 2022 Governance

If you would like more information about how your club can gain Champion Club Accreditation, British Canoeing is running a free “Introduction to Talent Champion Club” webinar on 24 November. To book a place, please click here.

For more details on what the Talent Champion role involves, club committee members can check out the Accreditation tab in the Club House or contact russell.smith@britishcanoeing.org.uk

ACM election results

16 July 2022 ACM, Governance

Many thanks to all those who attended the online 2022 MRC ACM on 13 July 2022. Apologies again for the problems with the initial Zoom link – these were beyond our control, but hopefully everyone managed to get there in the end.

The results of the elections were:

Chairman – Stan Missen (Bradford-on-Avon)

Committee – Scott Hynds (Elmbridge), having previously been co-opted onto the committee, along with Mick Nadal (Nottingham), Kat Wilson (Reading), David Sackman (Reading), Roland Lawler (Elmbridge), Bryn Price (Maidstone), and Siobhan Urquhart (Banbury), who were all re-elected. All will serve a period of two years. Details of the full committee can be found here.

The committee will be meeting on Sunday 11 September 2022 (before the start of the Pangbourne Hasler) with the annual all-day meeting on Saturday 19 November 2022 at Cropredy. We will continue to consider the issues raised at the ACM and, if you have further comments to make on those, or anything else you would like the committee to discuss, please contact either the chair (Stan Missen) marathon.chair@vol.britishcanoeing.org.uk, or the secretary (Siobhan Urquhart) marathon.secretary@vol.britishcanoeing.org.uk.

MRC ACM and Committee Nominations

23 May 2022 ACM, Governance

The MRC 2022 ACM will be held online on Wednesday 13 July at 7.30pm.

A reminder that anyone wishing to stand for a place on the MRC must inform the Secretary (Acting) of their candidacy by 1st June 2022. They must be a full member of British Canoeing and be proposed and seconded by two other full members. This year, in addition to the annual election of Chair (currently Stan Missen) we have the following whose terms are up but can stand for re-election: Mick Nadal, David Sackman, Kat Wilson, Siobhan Urquhart and Bryn Price. There is also a vacancy due to the sad death of James Smythe.

Standing as an elected member of the MRC is a great way to make a difference to our sport and be involved directly in how it is run. Committee members are expected to attend around four meetings per year, and to play an active role in the administration of the discipline in between meetings.

In addition to the annual election for the Chair, other duties currently covered by those named above include deputy chair, secretary to the committee, racing rules, secretary of the selection committee, international team logistics, national events and masters’ racing,

If you are interested in standing and becoming involved in the above, please feel free to contact the Secretary (Acting), Siobhan Urquhart, or the Secretary (Acting) by 1st June, again supported by signatures of two full members of British Canoeing. Other items may be discussed at the meeting at the Chairman’s discretion.