Category Archives: Athletes

  ICF announces exciting series of webinars

Athletes, Coaching, International

The International Canoe Federation will host a series of free online webinars showcasing the latest developments in coaching and athlete preparation.

Each ICF Performance Education webinar will be hosted by a world-leading expert in their field, and will include topics looking at how to manage an athlete from their first stroke through to the elite level, energy expenditure and fatigue, and high altitude training.

The six free online courses will be open to all participants, but pre-event registration will be required. The first course has been set down for August 19, and will examine the differences between training methods for men and women.

Participants will be able to ask questions during the webinars. Videos of the sessions will be posted online at the end of each webinar for those who are unable to participate in the live session.

“The ICF performance education webinars are a free online series aimed at coaches, athletes and administrators who wish to expand their knowledge on specific topics to improve their own performance or that of their athletes,” ICF sport development manager, Sebastian Cuattrin, said.

“We are very fortunate to have access to some of the leading experts for each webinar, so we are very confident all participants will benefit from these sessions. People will leave these sessions with new ideas and the latest cutting-edge information in their fields.

“The Covid-19 pandemic is presenting many challenges around the world, but by harnessing the latest technology and accessing our deep pool of experts, we can continue to ensure canoeing will go from strength to strength.”

The full schedule of webinars is as follows;

August 19: Difference between women’s and men’s training methods
August 26: Athlete’s career: From the first stroke to ultimate paddler
September 2: Considerations for the female athlete
September 9: Energy expenditure and fatigue
September 16: Choosing a paddle for young kayak athletes
October 14: High altitude training

Full details of the webinars and registration information can be found here.

  Women’s England Development Programme

Athletes, National, Talent Pathway

The England Canoe Sprint Talent Programme are pleased to announce details of their upcoming Women’s England Development Programme (WEDP) training event.

Dates
15th December 2019 at the Dorney Lake, Eton College Rowing Centre, off Court Lane, Dorney, Windsor, Berks, SL4 6QP

Content
Understanding females in sport; the demands, the successes and the barriers.
There will be On-Water activity and a workshop taking place in the morning. In the afternoon the intent is to observe Reading Football Club’s women’s first team in their match against Tottenham Hotspurs. Along with this we are hoping for the opportunity to spend time with the players to ask questions and learn from their experience of being females in elite sport.

Programme Purpose
The purpose of Women’s England Development Programme (WEDP) is to help female athletes learn what it takes to be an elite female in sport, build a community of like-minded people and increase female-specific knowledge of what they need to thrive and excel in our sport.

It is the hope of the talent pathway that this can be used as an educational starting block within a young female’s journey in sport.

A key component of this programme is around learning and equipping athletes with a toolbox of thoughts, capacities and expectations to allow them to continue their hard work at their club with specific focus for them as individuals.

The eligibility criteria for the training event is as follows:


  • be a member of British Canoeing

  • Be an under-16 athlete (with discretion in exceptional cases to include under-17s)

AND


  • have been born in England or

  • have a parent who was born in England or

  • have been a resident in England for over three years by 30th September 2019

How to sign up
Athletes are invited to register for the December Women’s Development Programme (WEDP) day by using the link HERE before 9th December 2019.

  Sprint Competition Review – Community Consultation

Athletes, Committee, Local and Regional, Miscellaneous, National, Organisation, Team Leaders

A Working Group (WG) was appointed by the Sprint Racing Committee (SRC) in October 2018 to review the UK sprint canoe/kayak competition structure and make recommendations to improve that structure

The SRC would now like to share the group’s report and ask for views from the racing community. The consultation report has been prepared by the WG and is the culmination of a process that has involved;

  • Engagement with the UK paddling community, through a questionnaire administered in March 2018.
  • A comprehensive review of regatta participation data for the period 2011-2017.
  • Discussions with senior leadership of the Australian, Danish and Canadian canoe federations.
  • Insight and experience of individual group members who are active in the sport.

The full report and a full summary of all data analysed can be found here.

The report represents the final stage of the WG’s activity. It is the first stage towards a further process that will see the implementation of changes to improve domestic racing competition and participation levels in the sport.

This is the start of a consultation period with sprint paddlers and clubs.

The aim of this consultation is to encourage discussion around the report’s findings and recommendations.  The report does not aim to provide answers to every challenge and opportunity in the sport and indeed there will be varying views on what is presented. You may not agree with the recommendations, however it is important to bear in mind that whilst the existing structure has some strengths there are also significant weaknesses which means the status quo is not recommended.

We wish to encourage constructive feedback and therefore suggest you read the full report prior to sharing your views via the survey. You may like to take the time to discuss the recommendations at your club prior to responding. There is the option to submit your views as either an individual or on behalf of your club.

The WG haven’t addressed implementation of the recommendations within this report so we would encourage you to think around possible solutions as part of your response.

Thank you for your time and input.

Click here to share your views.

The report and summary data can be found here.

The closing date for responses is Sunday 1st December 2019

If you have any questions please email sprint.competitionreview@britishcanoeing.org.uk

  England Development Programme

Athletes, Talent Pathway

The England Canoe Sprint Talent Programme are pleased to announce details of their upcoming England Development Programme (EDP) training events.

Dates
The upcoming winter dates are as follows:
2nd and 3rd November 2019 at the National Water Sports Centre, Holme Pierrepoint, Nottingham, NG12 2LU
8th and 9th February 2020 club venue to be confirmed.

Please note: No accommodation will be provided for athletes or coaches at this event.

Content
Each camp’s provision will be themed around the 4-phase race model (see below) and sessions will be structured as stage and age approriate for U14-U16 athletes for the relevant point in the season.

1 – Start technique
2 – Translation into Race Pace
3 – Race Pace
4 – Race Pace endurance

Camp provision will be structured to ensure that learning and development occurs between events. As such, it is highly encouraged that athletes should attend these events with their club coach as this will support the intended learning outcomes of these weekends and each EDP core event will include coach development opportunities. The Talent Coach Developer will be present at these training weekends to provide support to club coaches.

Programme Purpose
The EDP is a new addition to the pathway for 2019/20. The intent with this programme is to help identify and support emerging club-based athletes who are primarily under 16 and who may be challenging for the GB Junior team in the next 2-3 years, as well as supporint these athletes’ coaches within the clubs. The full Eligibility Policy is available HERE.

To be added tp the EDP camp mailing list in order to receive information when these training events are open to register please complete the form HERE.

How to sign up
Athletes and coaches are invited to register for the November Development weekend using the link HERE before 25th October 2019.

  Statement regarding the election of the Chair of the Sprint Racing Committee

Athletes, Committee, Local and Regional, Miscellaneous, National, Organisation, Paddle-Ability, Team Leaders, Uncategorized

I write this as a personal statement as the current Chair of the Sprint Racing Committee to try and answer some of the questions around the process for electing the Chair and the proxy voting at the upcoming ACM.

The process of appointing the Chair of SRC

I understand that there is a concern about the advertisement that appeared at the beginning of the year to seek a new Chair for SRC and that this was not in line with the Terms of Reference in the handbook.

I had announced my intention to step down at the ACM in 2018 and despite lots of discussions to seek out a potential new Chair there were no candidates stepping forward to stand as Chair. The advertisement was intended to encourage people to step forward and had some limited success with one or two people making contact. This was never intended to change the fact that the ACM would elect the Chair, but was designed to try to find a candidate that wanted the role, had the skills to do the role and who may be suitable to the ACM.

The advert made it quite clear that the process of election and appointment rested with the ACM and that candidates could come through the normal channels. See extracts from the advert below.

‘The post of Chair of the SRC is one that is elected by the registered Sprint Racing Clubs at the ACM in line with the terms of reference’

‘The preferred person will then be nominated to the Annual Consultative Meeting of the clubs on 19th October 2019 for them to vote their approval. In the event of more than one nomination, the normal voting system will take place’

In the end this advert did not produce a candidate for these elections. The two candidates standing, Roland Lawler and myself both came through the normal process of being nominated by 2 members as per the Terms of Reference.

Proxy Voting

I understand there are a few concerns around proxy voting. Prior to this year to cast a vote, a member of a registered Sprint Club had to be present at the meeting.

This is the first year that proxy voting has been introduced. Proxy voting means that clubs can vote without having to attend the meeting, by sending their vote with someone else. It is designed and has been introduced to increase democracy not the opposite. The new terms of Reference [as in the handbook] allow for proxy votes and I would refer you to the 2019 handbook page A7 items 8.8 to 8.14. As per the Terms of Reference, the detail of the proxy voting system is at the discretion of the SRC and I am sure the SRC will be very happy to consider comments about how this could be improved for next year.

The Terms of Reference allow for a club attending the ACM to hold two (2) proxy votes. The guidance issued was incorrect when it stated a club could hold 1 proxy vote and this will now been adjusted to allow clubs to carry 2 proxy votes in addition to their own in line with Terms of Reference. The limitation was designed to encourage clubs to actually attend the meeting and so take part in the whole Annual Meeting process.

There is a concern that the proxy voting form does not provide for the facility for the club using the proxy to cast its vote in advance. It had been envisaged that this would have been done in conversation between the two clubs, so that the person holding the proxy would know how to cast the vote.

Proxy votes still need to be registered in advance by the deadline of Wednesday of this week.

I hope this helps to clarify the situation re the election of the Chair and the proxy voting

Your sincerely

Alan Laws
Chair SRC

 

  Draft 2020 Paracanoe selection policy available for feedback comment

Athletes, National

A draft 2020 Paracanoe selection policy, including the draft Tokyo Paralympic Team selection process, is open for public consultation from now until 28th October 2019. The International panel invites feedback from any interested party on ideas on how to improve the policy, errors in the policy or other feedback. Following consultation, the final policy will be published by the end of December 2019.

The draft policy is available on the link below. Feedback can be provided by using the hyperlink contained within the policy document itself, or by using the link HERE.

    icon_pdf  Draft 2020 Paracanoe selection policy

  Squad (EPS) and England National Talent Squad (ENTS) Qualification Criteria and England Development Programme (EDP) Eligibility Policy published

Athletes, Committee, Local and Regional, National, Organisation, Talent Pathway, Team Leaders

As you are aware over the last few months we have conducted a review and public consultation of the England Talent Sprint Programme. There is a very real desire through collaborative working to further strengthen the talent environments within clubs. The long term ambition is to establish clubs as an integral and fundamental part of the talent pathway within Sprint Racing in order to help drive the depth and standard of the sport to new levels to ensure that the performances that were on show at the Junior World and European Championship earlier in the summer are repeated and built upon.

The England Talent Canoe Sprint Plan was released in June. This plan marks a significant change in direction, with a reduction of investment in regional squads more support and resource for clubs and their club coaches to develop talented junior paddlers. The England national programmes remain a key component of the England Pathway and today sees the release of the Qualification Criteria and Eligibility Policy for each of the programmes.

The Qualification Criteria and Eligibility Policy links below have been updated due to some feedback received. We have clarified a point around which discipline performances are able to register matrix scores. This clarification does not impact on the Qualification Criteria principles or application process.

We are sending a statement out to all England Talent Programme athletes, coaches and parents around the updated links in case they have downloaded the previously uploaded policy document.

England Talent Canoe Sprint Programme Qualification Criteria 2019/2020

England Talent Canoe Sprint Programme EDP Eligibility Policy 2019/2020

England Talent Canoe Sprint Qualification Criteria Infographic 

Kind Regards

Daniel Thompson
Talent Programme Administration Officer
British Canoeing

Tel: 0115 9822094 EXT 5
Email: Daniel.Thompson@Britishcanoeing.org.uk