Shaping the Future Structure of Slalom consultation

The PUK Slalom Committee have been looking at ways to make changes to the competition structures following discussions at the last ACM. The proposals aim to create and promote a system that engages and retains competitive paddlers for life.

These proposals will be presented to the slalom community at a meeting on Saturday 5th April in Nottingham (and hybrid), followed by consultation with the community on the proposed changes. Please save the date – full details will be coming soon.

Prior to this we are asking all in the slalom community to please consider why we need some change.

Why Change?

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.

Below is a summary of the positives and negatives of the current ranking system in general terms.  This provides an insight to “compare and contrast” to illustrate why change may be needed.

Positives

  • Simple structure that broadly provides grouping of paddlers by ability
  • Paddlers can measure their progress through their ranking position in the division
  • Relatively simple points calculation based on finishing position in a race
  • Defined promotion targets based on achieving a given total across five races or three race wins

Negatives

  • Events with small entry numbers limit promotion for paddlers of similar abilities
  • Choice of venue to paddle at is restricted to those venues hosting a paddler’s division
  • Paddlers achieving promotion ‘too early’ can struggle with tougher racing conditions in the higher division
  • Attempts to manage promotion involve ACM motions to agree new promotion levels
  • Demotion from a division can be seen as a failure
  • Some paddlers restrict their race entries in order to stay in their preferred division and thus limit their racing opportunities
  • Forced promotion can have a negative impact on families and social groups needing to race at different venues
  • Points awarded do not take account of a paddlers relative performance compared to the event winner
  • Dropout rate is high, especially in late teenage years

The Slalom Committee have looked at several options to make changes following discussions at the 2024 ACM and they are planning to share these with the slalom community and hear from the wider slalom community.

Find below a timeline for consultation and possible implementation:

  • April 5th – a face-to-face opportunity alongside virtual (Hybrid model and recorded). Explaining need for change; presenting proposals & their benefits and what they mean examples; options for full or incremental implementation and their timescales, FAQs; and opportunities for questions and feedback.
  • April, May and June – opportunities for further consultation at events and through online sessions
  • July and August (onwards) – Looking at information gleaned from the consultation and refining proposals
  • November ACM – Present a proposal depending on the outcome of consultations
  • The timescale for implementation will be determined by the options taken forward, some changes may be possible for the 2026 season, others may have to be phased in later. Depending on the feedback from consultations there may the opportunity to bring proposals to an earlier SCM (e.g. September).

We hope you will be able to join us on 5th April to hear more about the proposals and provide feedback on these.