Welcome to another Paddle UK feature in this awesome Summer issue of Paddler Magazine.  We hope you’ve enjoyed exploring your local waterways, which, thanks to the Big Paddle Cleanup, look much cleaner!

In this feature, you’ll find information on how to watch our British paddlesport athletes heading out to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and plenty of #PaddleSafe advice, including our five top tips for paddling safely and courses to help you level up your paddling. You can also check out some of the latest news from Paddle UK below. Be sure to head over to our website https://paddleuk.org.uk, to keep up to date. 

Recruitment is open for a new Paddle UK Chair
Applications are now open for the position of Paddle UK Chair as Professor John Coyne CBE nears the end of his second term of office.

People are at the heart of Paddle UK, an organisation with a vision to inspire people to pursue a passion for paddling for health, enjoyment, friendship, challenge and achievement.

We are now looking to identify an individual capable of leading the organisation through the next exciting phase of its history. Info: https://paddleuk.org.uk/recruitment-opens-for-new-paddle-uk-chair.

New Government…
What next for water quality and access?
Check out our latest article on water quality and access on the Paddle UK website. Ben Seal, Head of Access and Environment at Paddle UK, talks about what might lie ahead for paddlers in the next five years following the General Election.

He says, “We now have hundreds of new, energised MPs to meet and enthuse about blue spaces. After six years of campaigning on Clear Access, Clear Waters, finding politicians who would actively champion our cause became an uphill battle. If a paddling community wants change – cleaner rivers and greater access – we must get on the front foot now.” Info: https://paddleuk.org.uk/new-government-what-next-for-water-quality-and-access.

What next for water quality and access?

Record number of volunteers take part in Big Paddle Cleanup 2024
It has been another brilliant year for the Big Paddle Cleanup, with a record number of people taking part! The Big Paddle Cleanup, which ran from 25 May to 9 June, engaged an incredible 3,699 volunteers.

Paddlers filled 1,888 sacks with rubbish and removed much larger items, such as crash barriers, fridges, chairs, shopping trolleys, toilets, and fire extinguishers, from the water.
Within those sacks, 7,809 plastic bottles, 2,374 glass bottles, 4,735 cans, 10,613 plastic food wrappers, and a whole host of unusual items were recorded as being removed from waterways. Info: https://paddleuk.org.uk/big-paddle-clean-up-record-volunteer-numbers.

Record number of volunteers take part in Big Paddle Cleanup 2024

Kayaker makes London Locks world record attempt
Olympians Sebastian Cuattrin and Sebastian Szubski have provisionally smashed the world record for paddling the 198.5-kilometre stretch of the River Thames from Lechlade, Gloucestershire, to London.

The pair covered the route from St John’s Lock to Teddington Lock in 21 hours and 57 minutes, provisionally beating the previous record by more than two hours. They paddled through 22 locks and ran and carried for the other 22. Info:
https://paddleuk.org.uk/kayakers-make-london-locks-world-record-attempt.

Kayaker makes London Locks world record attempt