Welcome
3
Spring is here , the restrictions to combat Covid-19 are gradually being eased , and I am sure that we are all now beginning to look forward to the year ahead with a sense of new beginnings . I certainly have this sense and it feels timely that we have just reached out to all members asking for their thoughts on the changes and developments they would like to see within British Canoeing over the next few years .
We have made some significant progress since 2017 , and the launch of our first strategic plan , Stronger Together 2017-21 . Membership has grown to over 60,000 , member satisfaction has improved annually , we have revised all of our qualifications , hundreds of thousands of paddlers are engaging with Go Paddling , we are making progress around the access agenda , our support of clubs has strengthened and our athletes and teams have won hundreds of medals on the international stage . There is much to be proud of but still so many opportunities . So we were pleased to see so many members add their voice to our recent strategy survey which will help enormously in ensuring British Canoeing delivers on what is most important to paddlers .
I was delighted to welcome Gill as our new headline partner for Go Paddling . It is an indicator of our progress that we have been able to attract such an internationally recognised water sports brand to help us build on the growing reach and reputation of Go Paddling . We are now looking forward to developing ‘ Go Paddling with Gill ’. This association will bring many benefits including a 15 % discount to members . You can view their range of paddling products on page 5 .
We recently held the first meeting of our Sustainability Advisory Group . We have been fortunate to recruit four outstanding volunteers to this group from within our membership . Each volunteer is a committed paddler but also has great expertise and knowledge around the sustainability agenda . It was a delight to join the group for the first meeting and I look forward to our sustainability strategy emerging , enabling us to drive change in this area over the next 12 months and beyond . Reducing the use of single use plastic will be just one part of the strategy , see the feature on page 8 for ways you can begin making a difference .
We have been equally busy in our environmental work , submitting evidence and presenting to the Environmental Audit Committee Inquiry into Water Quality in Rivers . In doing so we have partnered with the Environment Agency and Angling Trust to create a new role tackling non-native invasive species within the Thames Catchment . We are also really proud to link up once again with Surfers Against Sewage for the
Million Mile Clean campaign this May .
We should have been hosting the World Freestyle Championships in Nottingham this July . Whilst Covid restrictions have prevented this , I was delighted that we were able to reach agreement with the International Canoe Federation to postpone rather than cancel the event . We now look forward to hosting the World Championships as part of a Paddling Festival in June 2022 .
In a very difficult economic climate , we recently secured funding from UK Sport for the sprint , paracanoe and slalom programmes for the Paris cycle . The Tokyo Games have been a long time coming , but are now only a few months away . Our teams will be finalised by the end of May and I know our athletes will be ready to perform at their best in Tokyo . Our organisation will also be ready to take advantage of the media spotlight on paddling which comes in a Games year .
I sincerely hope that we will see athletes and teams in all of our disciplines competing internationally again later this year and am sure it is going to be a very busy and exciting time ahead for us all .
Happy paddling ,
David Joy CEO , British Canoeing
Canoe Focus Late Spring 2021