There is a race team meeting at 12.30 Sat. 8th Feb. at the docks
We will be looking at all the different disciplines and how they run locally and nationally.
We will explain how the club can help and where to go if your skills out grow what the club can offer.
BUT most importantly we will ask what you want to do, at what level and how can we help you.
If you miss the meeting please arrange to talk through things with me so you do not miss out on anything.
John 

The first weekend of October saw a small band of our race team make the trip to Reading for the Hassler finals.
They had a great time and it was quite an experience to be paddling with 800 others!!

Click here for more photos

North West Lightning Series 2012/2013
 
Congratulations to all the lightning paddlers in the region who have paddled this year.

The North West Lightning Series runs alongside the Hasler Marathon races and takes in all the races in the North West - Chester, Macclesfield, Trentham & Runcorn.  This year Duddon joined the region and it has been great to welcome their troop of smiling youngsters full of enthusiasm and camaraderie.  It has also helped increase the numbers at the North West events which can only be a good thing.

The winners of the 2012/2013 North West Lightning series are:

U10 Boys             Josh Gregory                    Duddon
U10 Girls             Jess Proctor                      Trentham
U12 Boys            Owen Wilson                     Duddon
U12 Girls             Victoria Longstaff              Duddon

Team Trophy:  Duddon

Congratulations to Victoria Longstaff on winning all her races and getting maximum points, and to Jess Proctor, Lewis Proctor, Owen Wilson, Victoria Longstaff and Ruth McKenny on attending all the races in the region. 

The team trophy was closely contested between Trentham and Duddon this year, with Trentham putting in a strong team at the Trentham race but Duddon managing to maintain their lead finishing with a fantastic score of 547.

In total 26 youngsters competed in the events – I hope you all enjoyed your racing and look forward to seeing you all on the water for the next season of racing.

Prize giving will be at the Chester Marathon on the revised date of Sunday 27th October. 1st, 2nd & 3rd prizes will be presented along with the perpetual trophies for each class and the team trophy.

The first race of the next series is the Chester race on 27th October.

Happy paddling and a big thank you to all the coaches, helpers and parents who have supported all the youngsters.

This year Duddon canoe club joined the Hasler, flat water marathon racing league, the competition consists of a series of races held throughout the North West in place such as Stoke, Chester,  Macclesfield & Runcorn. With the top 2 clubs being invited to the Hasler finals to be held in pangbourne near Reading this year. Duddon finished second in their first year in the competition and have therefore been invited along to the finals in Oct along with Trentham who won the North West series and Chester. The finals should be a new experience for the Duddon paddlers with every division having over 40 paddlers lined up for a mass start.

The Lightning Challenge

Running alongside the adults competition is a junior competition called the Lightning Challenge this is for under 12’s & a Lightning is a specially designed light weight racing boat for smaller paddlers. In the Lightning challenge competition is fierce and raced over a 2 kilometre course, and at the end of the North West series there is a national final where the lightning paddlers race for the Geoff Sanders Trophy which is awarded to the club that has amassed the most points in their local series of races plus the finals. Duddon Lightning Wizards have just won the North West series of races and are now going to the finals. 

There has been some outstanding racing in the under 12’s in both the under 12 Boys & Girls category with Owen Wilson winning 4 races and finishing 2nd in 1 & Victoria Longstaff winning all 5 of her races. Owen & Victoria pushed each other hard in 3 of the races with only seconds between them after a 2 kilometre race, if you would like to see the Runcorn lightning race please click here.

 In the under 12 boys category Duddon finished 1st & 3rd with Owen Wilson finishing as champion &  Nicky Dunn in 3rd place behind a paddler from Trentham. In the under 12 girls category Duddon claimed a clean sweep with Victoria Longstaff finishing as champion with Ruth McKenny finishing 2nd and Stephanie Dunn in 3th place.

In the under 10 boys category Duddon have 3 paddlers and they finished 1st, 3rd & 4th with Josh Gregory finishing as champion Matthew Austin in 3rd place and 8 year old Connor Bentley finishing in 4th. Sadly Duddon currently have no under 10 girl paddlers so we could not compete in that category, if you would like to try K1 racing or just general kayaking why not come along to the leisure centre on Thursday at 7.00pm or our Ramsden Dock Base on a Friday at 6.pm in the summer or Saturday 2pm in the Winter.