Canoe Sprint: Ed McKeever is a British kayak sprint athlete and a current European and Olympic Champion.
An exciting new Canoe Sprint initiative will be taking place at London’s Royal Albert Docks this July. The aim of this new competition is to increase the profile of regional Canoe Sprint racing and hopefully encourage further competitions across the UK.
The London Regatta will be on 21st July 2013 and will complement the National Canoe Sprint Regatta in Nottingham. The London Regatta will also increase competitive opportunities for athletes in and around the London area.
It is hoped that there will also be opportunities for non sprint racers to give the sport a go, in stable non-sprint kayaks (sprint canoes tend to be rather wobbly if you are not used to them!)
Accurate timing systems are essential to Canoe Sprint and a new, portable timing and entry system has being secured for the London Regatta Centre. It is hoped that the new system will then be used at regional race events around the country.
The British Canoe Union (BCU) Sprint Racing Committee is seeking volunteers with a wide range of skills to help drive the success of this event. If you can offer any of the following skills they would love to hear from you:
- IT, administration or secretarial;
- reception, promotion or media;
- water safety, scuba, or officiating;
- commentating, public address systems or graphics;
- medical, first aid or DIY;
- water operations, boat driving, marshalling or catering.
Local clubs and individuals will be heavily involved in this event and the Canoe Sprint Racing Committee are in need of organisational leaders and support workers. Hopefully this will be the first of many more regional Canoe Sprint events across the UK.
For more information, or to register your interest, skills and availability, please drop a line to Cathy Wynne at londonsprintregatta@gmail.com. Non sprint racers are welcome to get in touch, as it is hoped to include races for all levels of experience.
Image credit: BCU
