The entries for the 2026 National Short Course Championships are now open!
The Marathon Racing Committee are super excited to be taking this year’s championships to Manvers Waterfront Boat Club for the very first time. Make sure you get your entry in by Sunday 26th April (11:59pm) to avoid late entry fees and to ensure we can organise heat draws and confirm the final schedule.
We look forward to another exciting and action-packed day of racing at a brand new marathon location!
The Talent pathway team are running two coaching workshops at the April regatta focused on The fundamentals of effective paddling technique.
It will be run in the PaddleUK gazebo with a slider & ergo.
To make it accessible for the most coaches, they are using the lunchtime gap in the program. The plan is a 45-60 minute (drop in) session, on both Saturday 12:45pm & Sunday 12:15pm, to allow as many coaches to attend without impacting on their coaching and watching/interacting with their athletes.
They understand that coaches are busy and they are more than happy for food & drink to be consumed whilst it runs.
The interactive workshops are designed to build shared understanding, spark great conversations, and create a more consistent approach to coaching technique across the UK. This year they launched the updated Technical Guides and a Technical Framework focussed on the phases of the stroke (Set Up, Catch, Drive, Exit), and to build on this they are running regatta workshops to share ideas with you and to gain your feedback and insights. Their aim is to create a common understanding and have greater technical conversations between coaches to create a more consistent approach to how we address forward paddling for racing within the UK.
The SRC are also running a drop in session about the future of racing and regattas at the same venue.
The Marathon Racing Committee would like to wish all competitors racing in the 2026 edition of the ThruDark Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race the best of luck. We hope you all have a safe and enjoyable race with many memories and stories to share for many years to come.
We would also like to thank all the volunteers (directors, committee, marshals and more) out on the course over the next few days. Without you, these events could not happen.
There is a variety of coverage happening over the next four days as the straight through crews, juniors and stages compete and you can follow their progress in a variety of ways.
The official DW organisation channels include the following:
PaddleDaily, an independent paddling media company, will also be following the race through their channels. In particular, they will be running a non-stop live stream throughout the senior doubles event on their Youtube channel. You can find their channels below.
Following the assessment race at Norwich, the MRC Selection Committee selected the Under 23 and Under 18 team for the Development trip to Waterlands International Marathon. The team was selected according to the published policy.
To see the full selection note by the selection committee, click here.
REQUESTS FOR REVIEW
As per the 2026 Selection Policy (published here), any requests to review the selections must be made in writing to the Chair of the Selection Committee, Nanette North at Marathon Selectors [email protected] within 48 hours of the publication of this document,. by 18:00 Thursday 2nd April.
On behalf of the Marathon Selection Committee – Fay Lamph, 31/03/26
Following community feedback Paddle UK recently updated their flatwater technique guides for coaches with more detailed images and explanations. There are 3 guides which differentiate technique based on the athlete’s level.
All three Flatwater Racing Technique Guides, updated in 2026, are available to view and download via our dedicated website page here.
The Marathon Racing Committee have been notified by the 2026 Hasler Finals host club of the need to move the event date to the 13th September. It was previously advertised as the 20th September.
This date change is out of necessity by the Richmond Canoe Club for the event to happen and the MRC apologises for any disruption this might cause.
We look forward to another successful Hasler Finals event on the 13th September.
Joe Petersen and Brynde Kreft have set a new world record for paddling the navigable length of the River Thames, completing the route from Lechdale to Teddington in just 14 hours and 3 minutes – 1 hour and 44 minutes faster than the previous mark.
The pair launched beneath the bridge at Lechlade at 6:26am, beginning a relentless push down the Thames that would see them cover nearly 200km of river, tackle 43 lock portages, and paddle the final stretch in darkness before reaching Teddington at 8:29pm.
To read the full article and interview, visit the Paddle UK News page here.
If you have a passion for paddling and want to help shape the future direction of travel, the new Paddle England Assembly presents an opportunity to influence at a national level.
We are looking for individuals who are thoughtful, open-minded and passionate about the future of paddling. You do not need to hold a formal position or title. What matters most is your perspective, your experience, and your willingness to contribute constructively.
Serving on the new Paddle England Assembly is a unique opportunity to play an active role in shaping the future. Members recruited will contribute their skills and experience to national discussions, connect with a broad cross-section of the paddling community and help ensure paddling remains inclusive, progressive and community-led. Membership of the Assembly will be drawn from different paddling communities, helping to ensure diversity of thought, challenge, and innovation. This approach supports more inclusive, informed, and effective development of paddling opportunities across England.
By bringing together voices from different disciplines, backgrounds and communities, the Assembly will help ensure diverse experiences are heard and valued, encourage healthy debate and fresh thinking, support more inclusive and informed decision-making and help shape priorities and future plans for paddling in England.
We will be recruiting up to twelve members to form the Assembly, drawn from across the paddling spectrum, including:
Competition paddlers
Recreational paddlers (including at least one member under the age of 18)
Delivery partners and uniformed groups
Independent paddlers
The creation of the Paddle England Assembly was agreed as part of the constitutional review completed in November 2024. It is an important step in strengthening how paddling is shaped, supported, and developed across England.
All applicants must be Paddle UK members who are based in England. There are similar bodies in place for our colleagues at Paddle Scotland, Paddle Cymru and Paddle Northern Ireland.
If interested and keen to give canoe marathon representation, apply here now.
Please see below message and invitation from Dave Martyn, the Sprint Racing Committee Chair. For more information, visit the SRC website here.
On behalf of the SRC, you are invited to a webinair on Monday March 16th at 20:00
The purpose of the call is to start a conversation across our community. We know that the sport needs to grow, we can only do this by working together. The SRC does not have the monopoly on good ideas, but might have information some people have not considered.
Come along and join in the conversation on how we can make our sport more fun for more people.
National regattas, how can we be more inclusive, get more people racing and enjoying the venue. What stops us doing everything we all imagine we would like.
Local regattas, What is the most fun local regatta, how do we make them all more exciting? What would a local regatta series look like and how would it help?
How do we invest in the sport when we struggle to break even. The case for a levy system.
The session is open to anyone who has an interest. Come along, understand the issues, discuss with friends and family and see what ideas we can come up with as a community. The SRC will have a desk at each regatta ,come and see us there or contact any of us at your convenience.
We intend to have a plan for 2027 by the September regatta so get involved early to make your opinions count.
Please use the link below to access the webinar and please feel free to share the link with others who may be interested.
The MRC does not track your movements or store any of your information. Accordingly, this website does not need to create any cookies. However, by law, we are obliged to ask for your consent and, ironically, it is only that process that creates cookies so it can keep a record your answer!
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
