BRITISH CANOE UNION PRESS RELEASE
2nd June 2009
European Canoe Slalom Championships – a resounding success all round
Last weekend (28 – 31 May) over 25 nations, 320 volunteers and nearly 3000 spectators swarmed to Nottingham to the 2009 European Canoe Slalom Championships.
The last time a major international canoe slalom competition took place in the UK was the World Championships in 1995, despite not regularly hosting such an event, there were positive reviews all round.
The competition took place at the National Water Sports Centre on the white water course, which has recently benefited from a £700,000 upgrade making it the best course in the country.
It helped that on the Saturday there was a flurry of medal success, creating a jubilant atmosphere amongst the athletes and supporters alike. Great Britain (GB) won four medals in total; a Gold in the Men’s K1 (kayak single) team event, a Gold in the Women’s K1 team event, a Silver in the Men’s C2 (canoe double) team event and a Bronze medal in the Men’s C2. Competing on home water provided a very memorable experience for the GB athletes.
In the Men’s C2 (canoe double) Etienne Stott pinpoints the moment when he realised how an Olympic appearance in his home country might feel - just as he and Tim Baillie emerged from the fifth gate of the course. "At that point the crowd were roaring, and I felt that real exhilaration and excitement. It makes my hair stand on end thinking about it, and I'll treasure that for the rest of my life."
Campbell Walsh, Olympic Silver medallist from Athens described the event as the ‘highlight of his career.”
There were also congratulations on the quality of the organisation and look and feel of the event. The venue looked magnificent, decked out in banners and flags with a superb sound system and ideally placed big screen. The weather was glorious, making stunning pictures for the live BBC television.
Huw Swetnam, achieved a personal best position of 8th in the Men’s K1 class commented,
“It's probably been one of the best run events I've ever been to. Thanks to all the volunteers and organisations that have put money and effort into it, it has been absolutely superb. From an athlete’s point of view, everything ran like clockwork; it's far easier to compete when it's like that."
Helen Reeves, former Olympic Bronze canoe slalom medallist turned BBC commentator said,
"It has been excellent. It looked good, the paddlers have paddled well and the foreign teams are buzzing and have said it has been excellently organised. The event went really smoothly, the crowds have been great and we have been lucky with the weather. It was so great to see British competitors coming down followed by crowds of their friends and team-mates, the local crowd shouting at them, flags flying," added Reeves.
The event was also well received by the European and International federations,
Albert Woods, President of the European Canoe Association (ECA), attended the Championships and commented: “We were delighted to have both the President and General Secretary of the International Canoe Federation present to witness the competition in Nottingham at the weekend, and they both expressed to me how impressed they were by the organisation and spectacle of this Championship.
“As President of the British Canoe Union as well as the ECA, I was very proud not only of the British team but also the execution and delivery of the event as a whole. I look forward to working with the BCU and our partners to continue to improve towards the home Olympics in 2012.”
Simon Toulson, Secretary General of the International Canoe Federation said,
“The European Championships went extremely well and were organised to a level that the ICF would like to see all major canoeing championships organised at. The weather helped and the competition on the water was world class. Now we need to see how we can have similar events in GBR in the run up to 2012.”
The event would not have been possible without the help of its supporter UK Sport and Nottinghamshire County Council .
Esther Nicholls, UK Sport’s Event Consultant for the 2009 European Canoe Slalom Championships, said: “It has been fantstic to support the BCU in bringing this Championship to the UK after fifteen years since the sport’s last major international competition here.
“The British athletes responded well to the home crowds and 320 volunteers were given the opportunity to gain experience of a major international canoeing event in preparation for London 2012. The event also attracted over 2500 spectators on the final day of competition, showing the enthusiasm for world class sporting events in the UK.”
Mick Burrows, Chief Executive for Nottinghamshire County Council said,
"The championships have been a fantastic event both for the National Water Sports Centre and in supporting Nottinghamshire's reputation as the sporting county."
"Many of the athletes told me that the refurbished white water course is now the best in Europe. This complements our exciting plans for the future of the National Water Sports Centre, to make it not only a world-class sporting facility but one of the premier leisure attractions in the country."
Ends
For further information please contact:
Chloe Nelson, British Canoe Union 0845 370 9511 or 07794 051287 chloe.nelson@bcu.org.uk
Unless otherwise stated, all images are the property of the British Canoe Union (BCU) and any copying or reproduction of them should be agreed in advance.
Notes to the editors:
Set up in 1936 to send a team to the Berlin Olympics, the British Canoe Union (BCU) is the lead body for canoeing and kayaking in the UK. In 2000 the BCU federalised to become the umbrella organisation for the Home Nation Associations in Scotland (SCA), Wales (WCA) and Northern Ireland (CANI). In England, Canoe England was set up, on a par with the other National Associations, as a division of the BCU, to support the development of canoeing in England.
The BCU is responsible for leading and setting the overall framework for the National Associations; including representing canoeing interests through coaching, competition and campaigning for increased access to Britain’s waterways for paddlers.
In the Athens Olympics, Canoeing was one of Team GB’s most successful sports with medals for Ian Wynne (Bronze) in flat water racing and medals for Helen Reeves (Bronze) and Campbell Walsh (Silver) in slalom. In the Beijing Olympics British Canoeing became a Gold medal winning sport, with Tim Brabants winning Gold and Bronze medal in flat water racing. In slalom David Florence won Silver. The aim for London 2012 is to win two Gold medals.
Today the BCU has a membership of over 60,000, including over 450 affiliated clubs and 145 approved centres. According to the RYA Watersports Survey there are an estimated 1.1 million people take to the water in a canoe each year. The vast majority do so under a watchful eye of one of the 11,000 BCU Qualified coaches or as part of an affiliated organisation.
For more information visit: www.canoe-england.org.uk.