Lee Valley – Hannah Rhodes
© Jake Mitchell

Lee Valley – Thomas Kent
© Jake Mitchell

Lee Valley – Phoebe Spicer
© Jake Mitchell

Lee Valley – Paul Mew
© Jake Mitchell

Stone 3/4 – Alex Soyoglu
© Bob Finch

Stone 3/4 – JacubDovey & Megan Pugh
© Bob Finch

Stone 3/4 – Kimberley Davies & Isabell Mackinnon
© Bob Finch

Stone 3/4 – Tomi Pugh
© Bob Finch

Stone 3/4 – William Soyoglu
© Bob Finch

Upcoming Events

Aberfeldy 3/4 Double
Apr 5th - Apr 6th
Breadalbane Canoe Club
Venue: Aberfeldy
Organiser: Calum Cresser
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Sat Nav PH15 2EB
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Entries accepted on the day
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Breadalbane Canoe Club would like to welcome you to our Division 3/4 race at our Aberfeldy Slalom Site. The site is based just outside Aberfeldy - PH152EB next to Beyond Adventure Outdoor Centre. The course is set in small inlet off the River Tay and has a very slight flow of water, it is ideal for beginners and depending on water levels, most of the course you can just about stand up in. Like most other clubs we are really struggling for volunteers to help run the competition - we would really appreciate volunteers for judging, timing control and safety - please contact me if you can help - ewanwr@hotmail.co.uk

Practice There is very limited space to practice and warm up areas. The course should be set up on the Friday night for free practise and we will publish staggered practise times for both the Saturday and Sunday nearer the time. We ask paddlers to do a land based warm up before entering the water. Access to the river will need to be controlled due to the single entry and exit points, please listen to the staff on the day who will advise where you can get in and out. Please do not use the old walkway bridge at the far end of the course - this is not safe.

Parking Beyond adventure have very kindly allowed us to use their car park, stewards will guide you to a space but please be considerate as Beyond Adventure has also their own customers visiting

Toilets/Changing Beyond Adventure have very kindly let us use their brand new built toilet and changing facilities, please respect and treat it accordingly, we do ask if you could donate a £1 per person fee per day so we can contribute towards the sceptic tank empty

Catering We will have some basic Catering with hot drinks and soup both on Saturday and Sunday Camping We do not offer any overnight camping at this site. 


Holme Pierrepont Prem Double
Apr 12th - Apr 13th
Selection (junior)
Holme Pierrepont Canoe Club
Venue: Holme Pierrepont
Organiser: Ian Redfearn
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No entries accepted on the day
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Further details on the Selection race will be posted in due course. 

Entering this race does not confirm entry for selection - Please ensure you enter selection as well as the race.

Please note the following extract from the Selection policy Section B 4

All athletes meeting the eligibility criteria ...  wishing to be considered for selection to a 2025 Great Britain team should register for selection in order to confirm eligibility. The registration process can be completed here:

Selection Registrationforms.paddleuk.org.uk

 and should be finalised by 12pm on Wednesday 5th March 2025. Following the general selection registration process detailed above, athletes remain responsible for entering the appropriate race(s) before entry limits are reached. Entering the race is not registration.


Grandtully Prem/Div 1 Double
Apr 19th - Apr 20th
Breadalbane Canoe Club & C R Cats
Venue: Grandtully
Organiser: Alice McCrae
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Sat Nav PH9 0PL
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No entries accepted on the day
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LOCATION: The event will be held on the River Tay in the Village of Grandtully. Follow signs from the A9 to Aberfeldy. The site can be found on the right hand side of the road in the centre of Grandtully. Sat Nav code PH9 0PL 

PARKING: The only parking on the day is in the Paddle Scotland car park in Grandtully. There will be an overflow car park available in the case of larger numbers. In the interests of maintaining good relations with local residents and businesses, competitors and families are politely requested not to park in car parks belonging to local commercial concerns or associated side streets. 

FACILITIES: Refreshments will be available from approx 8am, serving a selection of hot and cold drinks, soup, filled rolls, etc as well as a fantastic array of home baking to cheer us all up! . Changing and showering facilities can be found in the Paddle Scotland car park. Paddlers are welcome to use the toilet block to change and shower. Please do not leave any kit or clothing etc in the shower area or toilets at any time. Anything that is left will be removed. Please remove any very wet or muddy gear before entering the facilities. 

COURSE CLOSURE: The course is likely to be set from 12pm on Friday.  

Paddlers are reminded to take care when crossing the road from the car park to the slalom site. Children should be supervised at all times.  


Alva 3/4 Double
Apr 26th - Apr 27th
Pinkston Panthers
Venue: Alva
Organiser: Emma Nabili
Enter online
Start list
Sat Nav FK10 3AW
Directions
Entries accepted on the day
Oughtibridge 3/4 Double
Apr 26th - Apr 27th
Sheffield Canoe Club
Venue: Oughtibridge
Organiser: Karen Crowhurst
Enter online
Start list
Sat Nav S35 0GG
Directions
Entries accepted on the day
More details

Site Postcode: S35 0GG

What3Words: bills.fades.below

There is camping on site for Friday and Saturday night, please email the organiser to book a place.

Please be aware of the Sheffield Clean Air Zone and check using this link: https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/clean-air-zone-sheffield 

Saturday: We will run teams with entries taken on the day. WWR after the slalom, entries taken on the day.

Sunday: Fun C2 event with an emphasis on family entries. Prizes for first C2 crews made up of an adult and either a J8, J10, J12, J14 in the front. You can enter as prem/3 or div 4. Entries will be taken on the day, please enter before 10:00am on the Sunday.

On the day entries will be accepted until 10am both days, payment can be made with cash or card. 


Full Calendar>

Shaping the Future of Slalom Consultation Event
Saturday 5th April 2025, 10am
Paddle UK HQ, Nottingham and online.

Reminder: Please register that you will be attending by completing this form, ideally by 2nd April, this will allow us to organise lunch for those attending in person and share a meeting link with those that are planning to attend virtually.

Following discussions at November’s ACM, the Paddle UK Slalom Committee have been looking at ways to make changes to the competition structures.

Participation numbers are declining so we need to make some changes to retain numbers and recruit more paddlers into Canoe Slalom. Evolving the competition system is one way of changing the offer and appeal of the sport.

This event will:

  • Set out the challenges that we are facing as a sport and highlight the need for change to secure the future of the sport in the long term.
  • Present the proposals which aim to create and promote a system that engages and retains competitive paddlers for life.
  • Gain feedback from the slalom community on the changes being proposed.

Full details, including who the meeting is for, how to register to attend and advanced information about the proposals can be found here.
Update (29/4/25): a video explaining the process for calculating points under these proposal is now available on the link above.

In Memoriam, Jürg Götz and Roger Fox

2024 saw the paddling community lose two greats whose contribution to paddling particularly at Holme Pierrepont was massive. As the paddling community comes together at Holme Pierrepont for the Premier races and culmination of the 2025 slalom selection process in mid April, it seems fitting to remember two people that massively contributed to the sport we love today, Roger Fox and Jurg Gotz.

Two small ceremonies will be held to say a few words and to install the plaques at the newly planted trees in their name.

For Jürg Götz on Friday 11th April 2025 at 4.30pm, meet beside mid course control at the top of the grandstand
For Roger Fox on Saturday 12th April 2025 at 12.45pm, meet beside mid course control at the top of the grandstand.

Everyone is welcome to attend to recognise their contribution to our sport.

 Grandtully Easter – important information

Details of water access & rules, water slots, course setting and how to book camping if you are attending Grandtully at Easter have been updated. Please follow the link for more information. The organisers would appreciate you making yourself with the information therein before attending the race.

Paddle UK Canoe Slalom & Kayak Cross International Panel Statement

International Panel Statement -17 March 2025, including an updated list of eligible paddlers.

2025 Senior, U23 & Junior Selection Policies:
The 2025 GBR Canoe Slalom & Kayak Cross selection policies were published on the Paddle UK Website on 16th December 2024. The IP are aware that the kayak cross diagram A in section 15.2 had an error in the points allocation, therefore an updated version of the policy with this corrected is now the final version ahead of the season and can be found here.

Confirmation of Kayak Cross Start & Finish Lines @ Lee Valley:
The International Panel can confirm that the start and finish lines for all the Kayak Cross Races have been agreed:
Start Line – The race will start from the Kayak Cross starting ramp
Finish Line – The finish line will be at the exit of ‘The Oval’ section of the course.

All Athletes – Registration Update:
Thank you to those athletes who have registered for selection. The list (in no particular order) in the International Panel statement of 17 March 2025 provides a list of those athletes (bold are pre-selected) who are eligible and registered.
● If you believe there are any inaccuracies in your details, please let the IP know at enquiries.internationalpanel@paddleuk.org.uk
● Please make sure you also enter the races as registration is not entering the race(s)!

Calendar Amendments

Please note the following amendments to the slalom calendar in May:

    • Wagon Lane Bingley Div 3/4 Slalom has been changed to the weekend of  10th & 11th May (moved from 3rd & 4th May due to a festival on the sports club site).
    • Marple Div 3/4 Slalom has moved to 3rd & 4th May (previously on 24th & 25th May).
    • Kilnhurst Div 2/3 Slalom on 17th & 18th May has been cancelled due to site access issues.

Combined Kayak and Canoe Prize

A key aim of the England Talent Canoe Slalom HERE Programme Strategy is to encourage balance of participation across gender and classes. During the early stages of a paddler’s development in canoeing it can be beneficial to be exposed to both canoe and kayak disciplines in order to develop a broad and robust range of fundamental sport skills, movement abilities and learning capabilities.

For 2025, the England Slalom Talent Programme in conjunction with Peak PS will once again be offering a prize for the Male and Female paddlers aged J16 that have accumulated the greatest combined points total in kayak and canoe over the course of the 2025 domestic season. There will be a separate prize for each gender, where each prize winner will receive a £100 Peak PS gift voucher as a reward. 
 

Last year there were a total of 121 paddlers who scored points towards the combined prize criteria with over 1000 start lists throughout the season. The overall 2024 winners were Amber Forster (Holme Pierrepont Canoe Club) and Nathan Hicks (Stafford & Stone Canoe Club).

Full details of this combined prize can be found HERE. The combined league tab will be updated throughout the season to show paddlers rankings in relation to this combined prize.

Volunteering in Slalom Training Offer

The Slalom Committee have developed and trialled a presentation to help recruit and train more people to volunteer at events. The presentation covers judging and timing roles and aims to inform people about these roles and the relevant rules, and encourage volunteers to get involved with running events. This can be combined with getting people to have a go a these roles supported by an experienced official.  The trial run at September’s HPP Prem/1 event saw several new judges and section judges being recruited.

The committee would like to offer this suport to event organisers and clubs. We have a number of people willing to deliver the training which could be at club evenings, at events or training days. At events this could include supporting new volunteers into these roles.  If you would like to arrange a training sessions for potential volunteers please contact Sally Atkinson.

Check out John Gregory’s ICF slalom podcasts

There are 95 episodes which can also be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. Despite the name this is not an ICF product. John came up with the ICFslalom hashtag early in the 2015 season. The podcast started in 2019. This last year there were 58 guests across the 27 episodes. Series 4 were daily episodes through the Olympics and series 5 started this autumn. Lots of British guests and stories.

Happy listening.

Introducing the Slalom Start Box

As announced in October, Paddle UK is excited to introduce the Slalom Start Box, a comprehensive toolkit designed to support paddler recruitment within clubs to increase the number of children and young people engaged in canoe slalom across the UK. Slalom Start builds on the incredible work that all clubs and volunteers do to introduce children and young people to the amazing sport of canoe slalom. It is intended to help share this knowledge and empower others to engage more people in canoe slalom. The digital toolkit is now available and supporting webinars are taking place during the winter, you can sign up here. If you have any queries please contact slalom start

WATER QUALITY – Recommendations for the paddling community

With the recent high water levels and the risk of more and more rain, we would like to remind all paddlers, volunteers and anyone spending time by the rivers to consider the water quality and the risk of infection caused by microorganisms in the natural environment.

Please remember the following precautions:

cover any cuts and grazes with waterproof plasters
avoid swallowing river water
clean any wounds as soon as possible

wash your hands with soap and water after any contact with water, and shower as soon as possible if you’ve been in potentially infected water.

If you become sick, contact your GP and let them know you are a paddler, with details of when or where you paddled.

Further guidance and information

Slalom Progress Awards

Last year Canoe Wales and the England Slalom Talent Programme, in conjunction with the England Slalom Committee, presented the new Slalom Progress Awards. We have updated the Awards for this year.

New C2 pairings

Apply direct to the C2 Bib Officer – you do not need to go through reinstatement. Ranked C2 pairs may enter races at any level.

Last Updated 31 March 2025

 England Slalom Talent Programme Squad

The England Slalom Talent Programme have published their Qualification Criteria for 2025/26. A link can be found HERE.