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Welcome to the
Summer Issue of Canoe Focus
After a full 12 months of consultation, it was
great to finally launch Stronger Together,
the new strategy for British Canoeing in
Manchester on 25 March. It sets out a
clear Purpose, challenging Vision and 11
significant ambitions for us all over the next
4 years. On page 17 and 18 you will find
an overview of each of these ambitions
and links to videos which explain more.
We are delighted that Steve Backshall agreed to
become our official ambassador for National Go
Canoeing Week this year. Steve is a committed
paddler and recently completed the Devises
to Westminster canoe race. He is massively
helping us to raise the profile of the sport on TV
and through his social media channels. There’s
a great feature on Steve from page 43.
As part of the strategy delivery, we have begun
the work to review our membership offer and
have been consulting widely with members
in the past few weeks. Over 200,000 people
paddle regularly, yet our membership has been
static at around 33000 for a few years now.
We want to attract more members, but we also
want our members to be much more satisfied with
the services, more engaged with British Canoeing
and to stay in membership for longer. We have
recently engaged a specialist company to help us
better understand these issues, so that we will be
able to make some positive changes next year.
As part of this process I will be meeting with
members in 10 locations throughout the country
in late June and July to provide an update on
the latest developments from the strategy, and
to discuss membership matters. Details of these
dates and locations will be circulated very soon.
The Chairman and I had the pleasure of paddling
with over 40 members on the Stoke Heritage
Trail a few weeks ago and it’s great to see lots
of social events being promoted on page 6.
Explore Jersey
by sea kayak
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Guided tours, courses and offshore trips.
BCU star tests 1-4 and navigation courses.
Sea kayaks and sit-on-tops available.
Open all year.
Tel: 07797 853033
www.jerseykayakadventures.co.uk
28171_Jersey Kayak Adventures_Advert Alterations_ADVERT 4.indd 1
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ROCKET
Gear for the next generation that’s ready for a lifetime of
adventure. Our new Rocket pants make a two-piece set
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There are interesting features on every page of
this issue of Canoe Focus. On page 30 there is a
fascinating article on Jeff Allen - A day in the Life of
a Guide, news and features about our international
athletes and teams from page 34 and on page 58
we meet Pip and JoJo who both have unique
stories to share about their paddling adventures.
I hope you enjoy reading this issue of Canoe
Focus as much as I did. We continue to explore
how we can make sure it is read more widely.
If you enjoy the read, please share the news
with all of your canoeing friends and encourage
them to open it up and take a look.
David Joy
Chief Executive
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