All masters boats going on the trailer to Gyor will be loaded on either the Monday 25th August or Tuesday 26th August at Bryn’s House: 12 Bredgar Close, Maidstone ME14 5NG.
Please ensure that all your straps have your name on them and, if possible, let me know a rough time and day that you will be bringing your boats. Bryn can be contacted by his email here.
The return trip is planned to arrive back at Bryn’s House on the evening of Friday 5th September with unloading on Saturday 6th or Sunday 7th September. Please again contact Bryn directly to confirm collection of your boat.
The World Games in Chengdu, China saw canoe marathon take place last weekend.
With humid and varied weather across the weekend, the best racers from the top 20 countries in the world took to the water, including GB athletes James Russell and Melissa Johnson.
Both appeared in short and long distance races across Saturday and Sunday, qualifying for their respective finals at Xinglong Lake.
To read the full article, visit the Paddle UK News page here.
Please see the below open invitation to paddlers re Lyon Kayak 2025
Lyon Kayak 2025 is introducing an exciting new format: 🏁 The Combined Short Race & Marathon – Single Kayak (K1) 📅 September 20–21, 2025 📍 Lyon, France – Confluence District
A unique weekend combining high-level competition and a festive atmosphere in the heart of one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.
🔥Why Participate?
Two spectacular races:
Short Race (Saturday afternoon): 3.5 km sprint between the Rhône and Saône rivers, with two 200 m portages in an exceptional urban setting.
Marathon (Sunday morning): 21 km downstream on the Saône, with an optional portage and a finish at the Confluence Water Plaza.
Prize Money 💰for Open Men & Open Women podiums:
🥇 1st place: €300
🥈 2nd place: €200
🥉 3rd place: €100
Special offer for international elite athletes:
✅ Nelo boat rental provided (limited availability – first come, first served)
✅ Participation fee of only €100 for the first 5 international elite athletes registered for the combined event
🚆Easy Access – No Excuse Not to Join!
The Lyon Kayak Village, located in the heart of the Confluence district, is highly accessible:
By train: just 20 minutes from Lyon Part-Dieu station
By plane: 40 minutes from Lyon Saint-Exupéry International Airport
By public transport: direct access via tram, metro, and bus
By car: parking available nearby
👉 Accessibility is not a barrier – everything is designed to make your participation easy, no matter where you’re coming from!
🎉A Festive Event in the Heart of Lyon
🍝 Friendly Pasta Party on Saturday evening for all participants
🎶 Free entry to the Lyon Kayak Private Party: music, great vibes, and networking in the riverside park at the confluence of the rivers
🛶 Lyon Kayak Village buzzing all weekend with exhibitors, water activities, food trucks, and more!
📧 For more information: [email protected] ⚠️ Spots are limited – don’t miss this unique experience combining sport, celebration, and the discovery of Lyon!
The 87th Descenso Internacional Del Sella will take place this Saturday 9th August in Asturias, Spain. We have a long history with paddlers competing in the event from teams being selected historically to several clubs now supporting paddler entries over recent years.
In the 87th edition, we have 60 boats with 104 paddlers representing Great Britain and their clubs on the start line. You can find the full start lists via the event results page here. All paddlers will start at 11am BST from Arriondas and racing the 20k route down to the sea at Ribadesella. If you have not had the opportunity to watch any of the previous Sella Descents, you can find live streams and videos on youtube here.
While majority of the racers will only compete on the Saturday, the Senior Men K2 and K1 racers also compete tomorrow morning in a time trial to determine their starting order on Saturday. You can view the full results from this time trial here.
Spanish television live stream the whole descent, with a focus on the front of the race. You can find the live stream for this on the RTVE website here.
We wish all British racers the best of luck and we look forward to cheering you all on via the live stream on Saturday.
This weekend (9th – 10th August), Melissa Johnson (Nottingham Kayak Club) and James Russell (Chelmsford Canoe Club) will be representing Great Britain and Canoe Marathon on the disciplines biggest stage, The World Games.
What is The World Games?
The World Games is an international multi-sport event, similar to the Olympic Games, but including sports that are not part of the traditional Olympic Games Programme. It is held every four years and in 2025, it will take place in Chengdu, China. Canoe Marathon has been an official event at The World Games since the 2022 edition in Birmingham, United States. Dragon Boating and Canoe Polo will also be part of the event programme, as well as many other sports.
Nations are required to qualify spots in the two race categories at the previous years World Championships. The two categories available for qualification are Senior Men K1 and Senior Women K1. For the 2025 edition, our senior athletes qualified both available spots, which continues our prefect qualification record for a second games in a row.
What does Canoe Marathon look like at The World Games?
At this year The World Games, canoe marathon involves two distances, short course and standard distance.
On Saturday 9th August, James and Melissa will compete in short course heats, where the fastest five boats from each heat will go into the final as well as the five next fastest finishers. The short course finals will be later that afternoon.
On Sunday 10th August, both categories will have a standard distance race of 21.5 kilometres and 8 portages.
How can I watch and support the team?
The World Games has officially launched it’s own platform for spectators and fans to follow all the live action. The World Games Live is an website and app which “will offer live coverage of competitions, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and medal ceremonies for all 34 sports of the programme. After each event concludes, all streamed content will become available as video on demand (VoD), ensuring fans can relive the highlights whenever they choose. Additionally, the platform will feature daily highlights and a dedicated Daily Show throughout the Games. The application will be available on desktop and mobile versions, completely free-of-charge”.
You can also follow along via our normal social media channels (as well as possible with the time difference!).
Schedule of Events
Thursday 7th August
13:00 BST
Opening Ceremony
Saturday 9th August
02:20 BST
Senior Women K1 Short Course Heat 1
Melissa Johnson
02:50 BST
Senior Women K1 Short Course Heat 2
03:50 BST
Senior Men K1 Short Course Heat 1
04:50 BST
Senior Men K1 Short Course Heat 2
James Russell
10:00 BST
Senior Women K1 Short Course Final
10:30 BST
Senior Men K1 Short Course Final
11:15 BST
Senior Women K1 Short Course Award Ceremony
11:23 BST
Senior Men K1 Short Course Award Ceremony
Sunday 10th August
08:15 BST
Senior Women K1 Standard Distance
Melissa Johnson
10:15 BST
Senior Men K1 Standard Distance
James Russell
12:00 BST
Senior Women K1 Standard Distance Award Ceremony
12:05 BST
Senior Men K1 Standard Distance Award Ceremony
We look forward to cheering both James and Melissa!
Following the conclusion of the National Championships at Norwich Canoe Club, the Selection Committee met to select the World Championships and French Nationals teams. The Selection Committee would like to thank Norwich Canoe Club for hosting the final assessment at their well organised National Championship event.
We would like to congratulate the athletes on their selections to their respective teams.
For the full selection note and assessment date, please click on the relevant document links below.
As per the 2025 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, i.e. by 6pm on Thursday 31st July 2025.
Kat Wilson, on behalf of the Marathon Selection Committee – 29/07/2025
This weekend sees Norwich play host to the biggest annual canoe marathon event in the country. We are super excited to see some tight racing and who manages to claim (or reclaim!) national championship titles.
Whether you are a member of the canoe marathon community or someone who has never watched canoe marathon before, there are lots of ways you can follow along with all the action over both days of racing.
In Person and Locally
If you are local to Norwich, head down Norwich Canoe Club in Whitlingham Country Park (NR14 8TR) from 9am on Saturday 28th or 8:30am on Sunday 27th to catch some racing in person. There will be commentary, food stands, trade stands, starts, finishes and one of the two portages taking place in this location so lots of action to watch! Racing will typically finish around 4:30pm each day. A particular highlight will be the Mixed K2 (2-person Kayak) race on Sunday starting at 3:00pm. Check out some of the links below for further information.
Online
Throughout the weekend, the Marathon Racing Committee and Norwich Canoe Club will be providing coverage via live streams, stories and posts on their social media channels, particularly their Instagram’s. Click the names above to gain access to both accounts.
This weekend, over 700 competitors will head to Norwich to chase the prestigious title of National Champion across every age group, boat class (canoe, kayak, para, SUP), and gender category. With so many strong contenders on the start line, the podium battles are guaranteed to be tight. Who will rise to the top to claim the overall win?
In the Senior K1 and K2 categories, title battles look apparent in both Men and Women fields. In the Senior Men’s K1, reigning European and National Champion James Russell (Chelmsford Canoe Club) returns to defend his title. But with top challengers including Charlie Smith, Matthew Johnson, and Daniel Johnson (all from Nottingham Kayak Club), plus international entry Syver Borge Saksvik from Norway, it promises to be a fierce fight.
In the Senior Women’s K1, reigning champ Melissa Johnson (Nottingham Kayak Club) faces tough competition from international medalist and former National Champion Samantha Rees-Clark, also representing Nottingham Kayak Club.
In the Senior Men’s K2, the field is wide open. Previous champions aren’t racing together, with Matthew Johnson now paired with Matthew Collinge (Fowey River Canoe Club). European Championship crews, including James Russell & Charlie Smith, and Sam Cribbett & Joseph Enoch (both Nottingham Kayak Club), are sure to be in contention as well, while other crews are more than capable of a surprise podium finish. This could be potentially one of the most exciting race of the weekend.
The Senior Women K2 race has four boats who could all compete for podium spots with our two European Championship crews of Katie Brookes (Richmond Canoe Club) and Elise Montagna (Royal Canoe Club), and Jessie Urquhart (Nottingham Kayak Club) and Brynde Kreft (Falcon Canoe Club) lining up alongside experienced international medalist Fay Lamph pairing with Greta Roeser (Wey Kayak Club) as well as Nerys Hall and Samantha Martyn (Wey Kayak Club).
Of course, this is just a small glimpse into the packed programme of racing taking place across the weekend. This year marks a milestone with the highest number of KL3 para entries ever, highlighting the growth of the para marathon fields. The action builds to a thrilling finale on Sunday afternoon with the Mixed K2, a large and fiercely competitive field that’s sure to deliver a dramatic close. Many of the age group categories are also shaping up to be incredibly close, promising exciting battles from start to finish.
For a follow look at all the entries for this years National Championships, click here.
For full details of races and timings for the day, visit Norwich Canoe Clubs event specific site here.
We will try to provide as many updates as we can via our Social Media sites throughout the two days of action but also tune into Norwich Canoe Clubs Social Media sites for additional coverage.
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:
K1 (and where necessary K2) results will be used to select the U16 / U14 French Nationals Development team
K1 / C1 and K2 / C2 lead assessment for the World Championships team selection
Please note the following athletes have been preselected to the World Championships after winning medals at the European Championships:
SMK1: James Russell (CLM)
JMK1 / JMK2: Will Short (ELM)
JMK2: Alex Worgan (RIC)
WKL3: Charlotte Creamer (LBZ)
MKL2: Jon White (EXE)
MVL2: Shaun Cook (NOR)
MKL3: Tim Lodge (WEY)
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]
Great Britain fielded a strong team of developing athletes to compete in the 2025 International K4 series, held across two stunning venues in Spain: Valladolid and Sanabria.
Senior Men K4 Selected: Joe Petersen (Banbury), Arthur Morley (Wey), James How (Norwich) and Matt Collinge (Fowey).
Senior Women K4 Selected: Matilda Enoch (Nottingham), Mollie Ball (Devizes), Nerys Hall (Wey) and Sienna Payne (Chelmsford).
A last-minute curveball hit the women’s team when Beth Perry (Southampton) was taken ill just 24 hours before the first race. Reserve paddler Sienna Payne stepped in with impressive composure considering the last minute change of plans. As in previous years, the Spanish Federation provided excellent hospitality, including transport, accommodation, meals, and boats, making the travel-intensive event smooth and enjoyable for the team.
The first 5K race unfolded in Valladolid’s tight river course, demanding top-tier teamwork and precise handling. Both British boats showcased superb boat control, particularly around the narrow top turn.
An electrifying finish saw British Men’s K4 neck-and-neck with Hungary, Czechia, and Portugal. Judges had to deliberate to decide the silver medallist, ultimately placing Czechia 2nd, Britain 3rd, and Portugal a boat length behind in 4th.
The British Women’s battled Portugal for 4th, pushing hard to close the gap in the final 150m but alas not having enough firepower to overhaul them.
Most GB athletes were debuting in K4 5000m racing, making the 16–17 minute endurance effort a true test of mental and physical strength. As Arthur, stroke of the men’s boat, reflected: “I couldn’t believe how fast and hard the race was—I really thought we were going to take gold from the Hungarians, but we just didn’t have enough to get past.”
The next day’s venue, Sanabria, offered expansive water ideal for strategic manoeuvring. As with the previous day, the International K4 races served as the grand finale following domestic competitions, which included around 50 K4 crews in action, alongside races in K1 and K2, with an estimated 600 participants to this regional venue.
The men’s race again was tight with only Germany and Spain slipping out of the leading group, leaving Britain, Denmark, Portugal, Czechia and Hungary to fight it out. This time Britain swapped places with Portugal from the day before, securing 4th this time.
In the Women’s race, Nerys led a powerful charge as stroke, but the team remained in 5th. Mollie summed up the experience: “It was amazing racing. We all tried so hard. I want to come back next year and I’ll know exactly what training I need to do to get on the podium.”
Final Result Summary
🥉 1 Bronze (Men, Valladolid)
🎖️ 1 Fourth Place
🎖️ 2 Fifth Places
Overall fourth place position for this British team for the International event
A solid showing from a young and determined group of British athletes, many of whom are likely to earn further international honours in the seasons ahead.
Several British paddlers remarked on the sheer enthusiasm and participation in Spanish racing culture, a likely contributor to Spain’s global success. With 50 K4s and exciting racing, its clear culture was evident: More fun fuels more participation, more racing drives more medals.
Thank you to Paul Dimmock, the trip team leader, for his support with the words for this article.
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