April 2015 THE WORLD CHAMPS ARE COMING! September 16-20 2015 sees Lee Valley White team who will be on hand at the event. Plus there will Water Centre host the ICF 2015 Canoe Slalom World be FREE kids activities including Bungee Trampolines, Championships, bringing 300 of the world’s best Canoe Bouncy castle and Climbing wall. Slalom athletes from 55 different countries to England to battle out for the title of World Champion 2015. The event will also see athletes take a huge step on the ‘Road to Rio’ as the Championships are the last qualifying race to decide who will make it on to Team GB for the 2016 Olympic Games. Not only is the event a huge step for many of the world’s elite, it also offers a fantastic day out for the whole family. Encourage those who have never Tickets are now on sale, so be part of the story and paddled before to ‘give it a go’ with the Go Canoeing watch our athletes live. Buy your tickets here. IN THIS NEWSLETTER... The World Champs are coming! | Go Canoeing news | This Girl Can | Lifeguard courses www.britishcanoeing.org.uk NEWS THIS GIRL CAN! You may have seen or heard about the ground-breaking ‘This Girl Can’ campaign recently. Developed by Sport England to promote confidence in women in sport, it is a celebration of women and girls in sport, who embrace taking part no matter how they may look doing it. To celebrate women in canoeing, in addition to our monthly photo competition, in April we are hosting a #ThisGirlCan photo competition with three special prizes up for grabs. The prizes courtesy of Palm Equipment are a ‘Halo’ women’s buoyancy aid and two ‘Seti’ women’s longsleeve thermals. #ThisGirlCan is all about every girl and woman getting involved in sport and realising you can do it. We know there are some brilliant women in paddling and we want to continue to share that, so please send us your photos of women and girls canoeing, kayaking or stand up paddle boarding. NEWS One entry per person will be allowed and the images will be shared on our Facebook page throughout the month before the winners are selected. Those who entered images in the #InternationalWomensDay competition will automatically have one of their images entered. GO CANOEING SPRING HAS SPRUNG SO GET CANOEING! Spring is finally here and with it come longer days, lighter mornings and evenings and lots more brilliant opportunities to get out on the water. There are lots of great tours happening around and KESWICK MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL after Easter so be sure to check out our Seasonal Keswick, Thursday 14th to Fun page for details of activities happening all over Sunday 17th May 2015 the country! Your ultimate outdoors weekend! Outdoor activities, world class speakers, sporting events, camping and live music in the evening- Events For Your Diary something for every adventurer. From river paddling trips to moonlight canoeing, there will As well as lots of great Starter Sessions and Guided be a fantastic range of outdoor activities both for Tours, we’re supporting some fantastic events this us water-lovers and for those who prefer to stay spring, including... on dry ground. MIDLANDS CANOE SHOW Among the brilliant speakers at the event will Northampton, Sunday 10 May 2015 be survival expert Ray Mears. Don’t miss this 10am-4pm compelling theatre show in which Ray will share Taking place at the Nene Whitewater Centre in stories from his career surviving the wilderness and Northampton, this promises to be a jam-packed day its colourful wildlife. of canoeing and kayaking fun. Whether you’re an avid paddler or just looking for something different There will also be a thriving festival village where to do, there’ll be lots for you to enjoy. you’ll be able to sample delicious food, try out a range of exciting outdoors activities and enjoy live Have a go on water rollers, enjoy the competitions, music from big names like Badly Drawn Boy and the maybe even discover a new hobby! Entry is FREE and Peatbog Faeries. Go to keswickmountainfestival. food will be available on site to keep everyone happy. co.uk for tickets and more information about this fantastic event! SOUTH WEST CANOE SHOW Devon, Saturday 16 May 2015 10am-4.30pm THE FOURTH ANNUAL PADDLE 2 THE HEART There will be loads on offer at this great event! Birmingham, Saturday 6th June 2015 The South West is home to some of the UK’s most Paddle your way to the heart of Birmingham in amazing paddling. So come and see all the latest this fun event! Choose from one of the many canal boats, paddles and equipment you need to get networks leading into Birmingham City Centre and out there and enjoy it. Some of the activities on enjoy a day of paddling the local waterways. Fun and offer will be: free demos, an Ergo Challenge, Taster boat-based games will be at Brindley Place from 2pm Sessions, Rolling Coaching Sessions, Fishing Kayak onwards. For route information and more information Demos and an After Party. contact [email protected]. GO CANOEING JOIN US FOR FUN ON THE WATER! Finally.... With the 2016 Rio Olympics on the Of course, we horizon, we want everyone to feel part of the excitement! can’t talk events without mentioning There are lots of ways for you to get our very own top involved; from Starter Sessions to event of the year: personal challenges. There’s something for everyone! National Go Canoeing Week, May 23–31! Go Canoeing Week www.gocanoeingweek.org.uk is an event that anyone can get involved in, from complete beginners To tempt you further, we’ve got some great to seasoned pros. All forms of paddlesport are prizes lined up for the top group and individual celebrated, from stand-up paddleboarding to white- paddlers, and five people drawn at random. All water kayaking and open canoeing! you have to do to be in with a chance of bagging a prize is by registering the miles you paddle There are only a few weeks to go til it all kicks off on during Go Canoeing Week on the website. May 23, so we’re getting really excited. Already so many fantastic activities have been registered, and Stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks. we’re busy working on even more exciting events. We hope you’ll join us on the Road to Rio! NEWS GB STARS IN THE RUNNING AT WPA AWARDS The World Paddle Awards will take place on Saturday 9 May 2015 in Augsburg, Germany. The first of its kind, the awards celebrate excellence within paddle sports, the achievements of its athletes and those involved in the sport. Voting closed in January, with the top three in each category – sportsman, sportswoman, lifetime achievement, sports team, sports junior, media ambassador and paddlesport professional – announced, and there are a few GB faces in the mix for the prizes…. Not quite making the top three was the official photographer of the British Canoeing team Antony Edmond in the Media Ambassador THE GB PARACANOEING TEAM have been category; and canoe polo legend Ginny Coyles in dominant in the world and European spotlights the lifetime achievement category. Well done to over the last couple of years, including picking both for being nominated. up six golds at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Moscow. Still flying the flag are the Great Britain paracanoeing team in sports team of the year. Twitter Steve West as media ambassador and Claire Instagram O’Hara as paddlesport professional. W Website CLAIRE (www.claireohara.blogspot.com.au) has five ICF World Championship titles to her name, making her the most successful British freestyle kayaker in history and the most successful female freestyle kayaker in the world. She also has STEVE WEST is an all-round ocean-paddling guru experience in almost every discipline of the sport, as from Hayling Island, Hampshire, who is a pioneer, well as coaching, mentoring and supporting paddlers explorer, entrepreneur, culture-promoter, role model and athletes in events and projects around the world. and writer, with scores of books and DVDs published She is an inspiration to many people across the globe worldwide over a 40-year career. because of her attitude, image, success and lifestyle. NEWS THE LONDON KAYAKATHON 2015 The London Kayakathon, taking place on spectacular London landmarks en route. 19 April, provides a unique opportunity for experienced sea kayakers to raise money Importantly this event is not a race and for causes that are close to their hearts by those wishing to take part should be paddling the challenging 26.2mile distance experienced and possess the appropriate along the river Thames. skills to paddle the distance as part of a group. The minimum requirement to take The kayakers will travel 13.1 miles upriver part in this event is a BCU 3* or equivalent with the flood tide to Chiswick Bridge where experience. Paddlers must be proficient at there will be a short stop to grab some rescues and be able to swim fifty meters lunch and stretch those legs before heading wearing a buoyancy aid. back to Tower Bridge on the ebb tide, passing the Houses of Parliament, London To find out more on how YOU can get Eye, the Tower of London and many other involved, click here. OUTSTANDING CHALLENGE AWARD 2015 A new national award is being launched to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the achievements and pioneering spirit of John MacGregor.