Fantastic Florence slaloms to Olympic silver in Scottish canoe
12 Aug 2008
David Florence responds to pressure and puts in a smooth powerful run to win Silver in the Beijing men’s canoe slalom; Walsh cools off in kayak heats.
Full story and video @ BBC Sport
Walsh and Florence going for kayak and canoe slaloms
11 Aug 2008
The two Brits have reahed their semi-finals in China’s white water slaloms.
Vidoe and full story @ BBC Sports
The British Canoe Union (BCU) is the national association.
Canoe camping club
Open Canoe Association covers open (Canadian) canoes
Disabled canoeing- the BCU has a Paddleability programme
Find a canoe club near you.
Want an exciting or relaxing water-sport that gets you close to nature?
You can paddle your canoe down slow flowing rivers or foaming rapids, see the hidden side of cities, explore lakes and sea-coast, or surf the waves.
If you are comfortable with water, single canoeing is perfect for solitude and double-canoes are great for families and couples.
Open Canadian canoes are good for calm rivers and lakes, and can carry two adults and camping gear or one or two small children.
For rough water and the sea, you need closed canoes (kayaks) fitted with waterproof spray-skirts. Life-jackets or buoyancy aids should, of course, be wore by everyone all the time.
Canoeing is easy to learn, and can be as muscular or relaxing, safe or extreme, as you like. It is accessible to people with many levels of ability and is not very expensive.
take part? just you | small group | with family
where? outside
energy/fitness level? you’ll sweat a bit
sociability? can talk some of the time
disability access*? ok with help
can be played? competitively | as friends
contact sport? non-contact
try it cost? moderate
play it cost? moderate
* Individual circumstances vary hugely, and this affects participation in any sport. This guide is necessarily general in nature and may not suit your situation.
Going to give canoeing a go? Good idea! Like most sports, joining a local group or club is fun, safer, and will help you to master the basic skills more quickly. Find a canoe club online. You can also check out your local council’s website, your local paper and the getting started page.
Then you might like: