The Marathon Racing Committee are seeking volunteer staff to support the GB team at its international races this year.
It’s a fun and rewarding but tiring few days travelling with our best athletes, helping them achieve their best possible result. You will be an integral part of the team and help out in a variety of ways potentially including driving, general organising, drinks changes at portages, emotional support, and safeguarding. Teams are led by an experienced manager so new staff are well supported and all forms of experience are welcome to volunteer. All expenses are paid, and team kit provided.
We are looking for support staff for the following international trips in the 2024 season:
Waterlands Marathon – Amsterdam – 20th April – Juniors, U23’s and Seniors
Marathon World Cup – Brandenburg, Germany – 1st-2nd June – U23’s and Seniors
European Marathon Championships – Poznan, Poland – 25th-28th July – Juniors, U23’s and Seniors
World Marathon Championships – Metkovic, Croatia – 19th-22nd September – Juniors, U23’s and Seniors
French National Marathon Championships – Date and venue tbc – Juniors
Staff are urgently required for the Waterlands Marathon.
The MRC Selection Policy has been published for consultation. You are invited to review the document and share your feedback. Consultation closes at 12:00 noon on the Friday 2nd February 2024.
The Marathon Racing Committee are excited to finally confirm all the dates and venues for the 2024 Major Events. Thank you to all the venues, clubs and organisers for stepping forward.
Sadly, year on year it has been harder and harder to find venues for these key events in our calendar. The MRC wants to re-emphasis to the community that without a variety of clubs stepping forward to host a major event, they will cease to exist in our calendar and at the level we have become used to. ALL clubs should be having serious conversations around how they can support the canoe marathon major events, whether that is through hosting at their home venue, using an alternative location or partnering up with another club. The more clubs that get involved the less work for everyone.
The International Canoe Federation Marathon Committee have published detailed statistics booklets for the World Championships and the European Championships. These will be long-term published within our archives section of the website in due course but they can be viewed below in the meantime.
The Marathon Racing Committee, Sprint Racing Committee and BC Talent Department are excited to announce the sign-up for the third JDS Winter Series 2023/24 day is now open.
Run from Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham, the day is a K1/C1 and K4/C4 day with a carasouel of sessions covering a wide variety of skills. These sessions include start buckets, sprint race planning and understanding fundamental gym movements.
For more information about the JDS, including entry criteria and to sign up please click HERE. As a reminder, the cost is £10. Sign up closes on Friday 19th January at 17:00. Late entries won’t be accepted.  Please also check the criteria for athletes attending and if in doubt, contact Charlie Barwis and Holly Mobbs using the emails on the website.
Please note that we are aware of the river situation in Nottingham and we are monitoring the lake conditions at HPP. We will make a decision about the day happening on Friday 19th January. We recognise that for many, you will be travelling a longer distance to attend and will potentially be booking accommodation so we want to give as much notice as possible, whilst still giving the day the best chance to go ahead.Â
As usual, the coach development will be delivered by Scott Hynds during the day. However this one will run slightly differently to others. It will revolve around a carousel of coaching stations led by a specific coach who will be delivering a specific topic area. As such, coaches attending the day will have the opportunity to view and observe a number of different sessions led by a variety of different coaches. As a coach attending, areas you will observe and review will include:Â
Session construct: Are the objectives of the session clear and how achievable are the outcomes?
Session Delivery: How have the paddlers been briefed? In what ways has the coach used audio, visual and demonstration to explain the session purpose?
How does the coach check for understanding?
How is feedback sought and how is it delivered? Â
All coaches attending will receive 10 CPD points. To sign up to attend the coach development aspect of the day please click HERE.Â
For the second year in a row, the MRC has directly partnered with the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race Organisation to put on the National School Canoe Championships on Sunday 19th November. Run from Hawley Lake in Farnborough, the National School Canoe Championships was created with the main objective to encourage grassroots paddling, and better preparation and development of school teams in paddlesport.
In 2023, five schools submitted entries with paddlers representing Norwich School, Heathside School, Lord Wandsworth College, Kimbolton School and Bryanston School. To take part, all schools have to show an active commitment to supporting paddlesport with their students. If you are interested in getting involved in 2024 and need advice on how to get paddlesport established within your school, contact the MRC Junior Development Lead here.
The morning involved a series of “500m” and “200m” sprint races for both the Senior/Experienced and Novice categories. The Novice category was mostly made up of crews who had only been in a boat for a matter of months. In the Senior/Experienced 500m final, Jared Hughes and Tate Morrison (Lord Wandsworth College) took the win in a close fought battle with Ted Umbers and Xander Finn (Lord Wandsworth College) and Sophie Dunlop and Henry Moult (Heathside School). In the Novice 500m final, Alex Williams and Joel Watt (Lord Wandsworth College) finished in the fastest time by over two seconds.
The 200m event takes the format of a knockout, where crews are eliminated in groups until the last remaining five boats go head to head in the final. In the Senior/Experienced race, it was Jack Ockenden and Jasper Godfrey (Bryanston School) who showed an exceptional final sprint, securing the win by over two seconds and therefore securing the overall Senior Sprint Trophy by a matter of milliseconds ahead of Jared Hughes and Tate Morrison (Lord Wandsworth College). In the Novice category, Alex Williams and Joel Watt (Lord Wandsworth College) took the win again and securing the overall novice sprint trophy too.
The lead group of the Senior/Experienced category in the marathon event
After some lunch, crews then competed in the marathon event. The senior/experienced category competed over five laps of the lake with four portages, whereas the novice category competed over four laps with three portages. Due the increasing headwind, the decision was made to reverse the course to a clock-wise direction. In contrast to the previous year, the senior race started with a large group of six boats off the start line, with crews battling it out for the best positions in the lead group. Out of the first portage, it broke down into four with Jack Ockenden and Jasper Godfrey (Bryanston School) battling their way back into the group. The portage seemed to be the area where opportunity arose with many errors causing breakaways and comebacks. The final portage was the decider with Jack and Jasper managing to open up a gap over Samuel Bull and Finn Taylor (Heathside School) and allowing them to take the overall win. Sophie Dunlop and Henry Moult (Heathside School) were third over the line and enabling them to take the mixed win. Maddison Mckernan and Imogen Field (Heathside School) took the ladies win.
Speaking after the overall marathon and sprint win, Jack and Jasper said, “We were really pleased with our success in the marathon and sprint events at the National Schools Canoe Championships. It was an incredible experience to race in the company of so many crews of such great quality. The racing was incredibly close in both sprint events, and in the marathon. We would like to thank the committee for their hard work, and we look forward to racing over Easter Weekend in the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race.”
In the Novice category, another dominant performance from Alex Williams and Joel Watt (Lord Wandsworth College) saw them earn another trophy, with an impressive gap of nine minutes over the rest of the field. Emma Croucher and Tom Sumpton (Kimbolton School) took the novice mixed win and Grace Gadsby and Sofia Kulynych (Lord Wandsworth College) took the novice ladies win.
Overall, Lord Wandsworth College took the win in the Senior Team Trophy as well as the Novice Team Trophy.
Lord Wandsworth College Teams collecting their trophies
Reflecting on the schools win, Richard Lovell, Lord Wandsworth College team leader, said, “Instead of hanging up the canoeing kit at the end of DW, LWC have been training hard both on and off the water, and the results speak for themselves. What is equally impressive is the effect this has had on the students who only got in a boat in September. We have never had so many younger people out on the water. The team of 10 boats who entered the Nationals has come from a squad of 40 students. With 12 of last year’s DW team returning, having them as role models has helped raise the standard. The challenge now is to convert them into club paddlers when they leave the school next summer.”
“The National Schools is a great opportunity for students to meet up and compete rather than just time trial in the events leading up to Easter. It’s also a great showcase to the parents, showing there is more to canoeing than just DW. It would be fantastic to see more crews attend next year.”
Another year of tight racing was a personal highlight for the MRC and enabled some of the school racers to receive a direct invite to attend the recent JDS training day. We are certainly looking to grow the schools racing scene and would be keen to speak to any schools wishing to start a schools programme.
The Marathon Racing Committee, Sprint Racing Committee and BC Talent Department are excited to announce the sign-up for the second JDS Winter Series 2023/24 day is now open.
Run from Papercourt Lake, near Guildford, the day is a K2/C2 day with both sessions led by Ivan Lawler. The day will focus on marathon skills, with the sessions seeking to develop portaging, turns and wash hanging skills, amongst others!Â
For more information about the JDS, including entry criteria and to sign up please click HERE. As a reminder, the cost is £10. Sign up closes on Friday 24th November at 17:00. Late entries won’t be accepted.  Please also check the criteria for athletes attending and if in doubt, contact Charlie Barwis and Holly Mobbs using the emails on the website.
Please note that because of a technical issue with our membership platform, after completing sign up using the link above, you will be contacted directly via email to provide some further information which we require ahead of the event and cannot currently collect. We would appreciate it if you could complete this ASAP and ahead of the closing deadline of Friday 24th November.
Coaches are also encouraged to sign-up to support the day but also gain some CPD by working with other coaches as well as our coach developer, Scott Hynds. There will be an additional online coaches briefing in advance of the day on Tuesday 28th November at 19:30.
The National Schools Canoe Championship is jointly organised by the Devizes to Westminster (DW) Race Organisation, and British Canoeing Marathon Racing Committee to promote schools canoeing in the UK by providing an event specifically for inter-school competition
It provides the opportunity for racing against paddlers from other school teams, particularly for crews preparing for the DW season, both returning 2023 crews and new crews making preparations for 2024, as well as encouraging schools to engage with paddlesport as part of their co-curriculum programmes.
The below information and rules govern the event and must be read by all participants, team leaders, school staff and support crew.
Entry Criteria and Eligibility
We encourage building partnerships between schools and clubs, where clubs provide an organised sporting activity to supplement school resources and staff.
Entry is open to Schools who:
compete in the annual Waterside, Thameside and DW Races, and/or:
wish to further their experience of canoe and kayak racing by promoting paddlesport as a sporting activity within the school
To be eligible, the School must demonstrate an active commitment to paddlesport and involvement in the preparation for the crew as follows:
Kayaking/Canoeing is listed as an available sport on the school website or prospectus and actively part of the co-curriculum programme
Entry form must be signed by a member of staff who will be in attendance on the day of the championship as team leader
Payment for entries must be submitted by the school
Entry fees are ÂŁ15 per seat, including all racing costs (venue, safety cover, etc.)
Entries and fees should be submitted per the instructions on the Entry Form, and must be received by Monday 13th November at 4pm GMT.
Paddlers must be a current registered pupil of the School they represent. They must be under the age of 19 years, and not less than 13 years old, on the 1st of January 2023.
Class eligibility is determined as follows:
Experienced Class – at least one of the crew has completed one event in the previous season (Waterside, Thameside Series or DW) or has a divisional marathon racing ranking in division seven or above
Novice – neither member of the crew has previously competed in the Waterside/Thameside Series or DW, and have been paddling for less than one year
Teams must be nominated for the duration of the event, and will consist of three or four crews, with the times for the Fastest Three crews being counted for Team Prizes. All teams must be pre-nominated by the Team Leader who must submit a completed team entry form(s) by the entry deadline. Crews will not count as a team in any other circumstances.
All Races will be Junior Doubles, raced in K2 or C2 in both Experienced and Novice Classes:
Sprint Regatta: 200M and 500M
Marathon Race: 15 KM
Novice Class Marathon race of 10KM
Individual and Team Prizes will be awarded. A full list of trophies will be published prior to the event.
Venue
Hawley Lake,
Old Minley Rd,
Camberley,
Surrey GU17 9QG
Event Format and Timings
Time
Additional Information
08:45
Arrival and Check-In Open
Please do not arrive to the site earlier. Check-in can be found within the Sailing Club House.
09:15
Team Leader Briefing
Within the Sailing Club House.
10:00
Sprint Races
Race 1: Seeding Heats Race 2: 500M Time Trial Race 3: 200M Knock-Out Competition. (Each Race has separate starts for Novice Class)
12:30
Lunch
Please bring your own lunch but some bacon rolls and hotdogs will be available in the club house.
13:30
Marathon Races
Courses will comprise laps of the lake with buoyed turns and compulsory portages: · Experienced Class Marathon Race – 15KM · Novice Class Marathon Race – 10KM
Buoyancy Aids: ALL Competitors must wear an Integral Foam Buoyancy aid or lifejacket conforming to one of the following European standards: EN 393 or EN 395 or ISO12402-5 or ISO12402-6. The EN standard must be clearly displayed via a label attached by the manufacturer.
Competitors must be able to swim 50 metres in paddling kit.
All crews and their supporters shall race in a fair and considerate manner and maintain a satisfactory standard of conduct throughout the event. Unsporting conduct by either paddlers or their supporters will be penalised. The decisions of the Organisers on all matters shall be final.
Disciplinary Matters: inappropriate behaviour by supporters and/or competitors will be penalised. Any failure to observe the rules or obey the instructions of any Race Official at any time may render the crew liable to disqualification or other penalty.
Canoeing and Kayaking are “Assumed risk”â€â€śWater contact sports” that may carry attendant risks. Participants should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement.
Any relevant pre-existing medical conditions must be advised on the entry form.
Boats and equipment: must contain sufficient buoyancy to support their crews in the event of capsize. Sandwich construction boats are not presumed to have sufficient inherent buoyancy and must carry additional foam or other non-porous buoyant material. Closed and water-tight compartments built in by the original manufacturer may be accepted at the discretion of the Organisers, but must have adequate buoyancy at both ends.
British Canoeing Membership: All Competitors should be members of British Canoeing
The full event risk assessment can be found here. By submitting entries, Team Leaders are agreeing they have read it and agree with the control measures in place.
Please contact if you have any further questions or need further information:
Gareth Scragg – Junior Teams Liaison Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Race
Following a number of incidents over the past 12 months, race organisers are reminded of the recommendation in Part C of the Marathon Racing Rules. See below for a summary of Item 3 from Part C.
3. SAFETY
Safety measures are largely at the discretion of the organiser, since courses and conditions vary considerably. All paddlers ranked in Divisions 7, 8, & 9 or competing in GST and fun races must wear a buoyancy aid [Rules 5 (a)(v) and 56 (a)]. Make sure you have adequate safety cover for all GST and Div 9 races. On the open sea it is wise to insist on buoyancy aids for all. On open water, rescue boats are very important. Ensure that no one is stranded or lost halfway round the course; it is important to account for all competitors. On calm water it is usually sufficient to have a back marker paddling the course. Marshals at turns and portages should carry safety equipment including an absolute minimum of space blanket or similar, throw line and mobile phone. Where possible a checklist of boat numbers will help marshals tick off those who have passed them.
All Race organisers shall appoint a Safety Officer, prepare a Risk Assessment and Safety Plan well ahead of their event and put in hand appropriate safety measures. Risk Assessments must be forwarded to the Regional Marathon Advisor before the event.
Paddlers, parents & Team Leaders are also reminded how important it is to keep race organisers informed of information such as health issues, retirements or incidents that may occur during a race.
The annual junior development trip to the French National Championships took place on the 23rd – 24th September.
The team consisted of eight under 16 athletes and four under 14 athletes who all raced up an age group Under 16’s raced in the under 18 category and under 14 raced in the under 16 category.
After a long 24 hours of travelling, the team arrived in Decize on Friday afternoon, giving the athletes a chance to unload, check, set-up and paddle their K1s and K2s! It was exciting to see lots of new partnerships come together and athletes supporting each other.
The course was same as European Championships a couple years ago (though much cooler than the 2019 heat wave!). It consisted of three different lap sizes which was enough to confuse even the organisers who accidentally set the junior ladies the wrong number of laps!
The timetable followed a different format to that of our own Nationals in the UK, with K2 racing taking place on Saturday and K1 racing following on Sunday.
Racing kicked off on Saturday morning with Marcell Nagy (Reading Canoe Club) and Freddie Heard’s (Exeter Canoe Club) K2 taking an impressive 5th place, just a couple minutes down from the winners. Hannah Nagy (Reading Canoe Club) and Imogen Field (Elmbridge Canoe Club) finished in a respectable 8th place, having completed an additional 3.5km lap due to the incorrect communication regarding how many laps the course was! Had the organisers communicated the correct course, the girls K2 would have won the race!
Saturday afternoon saw more hard-fought battles and tough racing. Tyler Kinder (Reading Canoe Club) and Tom Hatton (Royal Canoe Club) had an excellent race keeping out of trouble and fighting hard to finish in a superb 4th place. Unfortunately, it was not to be for Isaac Aveson and Alex Worgan (both Royal Canoe Club) who had an unfortunate swim at the top of the course. They went on to put in an impressive chase, working their way back up the field at an amazing pace.
The girls K2 of Kamila Sklenarova (Norwich Canoe Club) and Frankie Scrivener (Falcon Canoe Club) had a flying start, managing to break away from the lead French girls and spending much of the race in the front. However, another course mishap led them to do an extra 3.5km lap, costing them a couple positions. Teammates Charlotte Fulford-Perez (Reading Canoe Club) and Emily Bowles-Trow (Addlestone Canoe Club) put in an commendable couple of laps but were unfortunately forced to retire.
Sunday morning marked the start of the K1 racing, kicking off with the junior boys at 9am. The early start bought cold, mist and reduced visibility, making for an atmospheric morning but challenging racing conditions! Marcell had a fantastic paddle, paddling his way into 13th place. It was a good day for the Nagy family, with Marcel’s sister Hanna executing a brilliant race, earning a 10th place finish. Unfortunately, Freddie and Imogen’s races ended with both athletes having to abandon the race.
The older athletes had a later start, by which point the sun had started to shine! Alex, Tom and Tyler had strong races, Tyler suffering from a slightly slower start, but working hard to recover his place. The trio finished in 5th, 6th and 8th places respectively. Isaac finished a little further back, nonetheless, securing a respectable finish in the top half of the race.
Keen not to repeat the mistake of the day before, Kamila and Frankie took an early lead and dominated the race pulling out a 2-minute lead over the fastest French girls. Charlotte and Emily raced well coming in 4th and 8th.
The team’s impressive array of results was recognised by the organisers, with each athlete being given a small gift.
All in all, it was a successful weekend, allowing our young athletes to showcase their hard training and learn some important lessons that they can hopefully take forward into the 2024 racing season. The hard racing of all athletes on the trip was demonstrated by a remarkably quiet return journey!
Thank you to all the volunteers who made the trip possible, especially Julia, Colette and Elizabeth for all their help and patience over the weekend as staff.
Thank you to David Sackman for his help in constructing this report and his role as Team Leader for the trip.
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