Cumbria Canoeists, is the brand name of the British Canoeing, Regional Development Team (RDT) supporting paddlesport in Cumbria.
Wherever you are on your paddlesport journey we can help. We are the local branch of British Canoeing and are here to support paddlers in the county either directly or through local clubs. Have a look at what is on offer and get in touch if we can help.

Information on keeping your qualifications up to date can be found here.

Chair and Vice Chair comments

Hello All
I am writing this – having just taken a phone call from the British Canoeing CEO David Joy…
I had the pleasure of being told that the Cumbria Paddling Community is a “greatly respected & talked about Region” - for Club Culture, and delivery of paddling opportunities & experiences to both new & experienced paddlers alike… but I know that we should not rest on our laurels!!
Looking back at the start of 2021 - over the lockdown we delivered CPD update sessions to nearly 500 Northern region Coaches and leaders on a series of weekly Zoom calls; with participants earning their BC Points.
A series of successful one-water workshops was also done – covering a range of topics from “Introducing paddlers to White Water” to “Incident Management for Sea Kayakers”; again we issued BC points to those participating - approx. 50 coach/leaders.
As a management and Club Leadership Team there were lots of healthy discussions & debated to design a fresh programme for 2021 and deliver in a different way to before.

The Sea kayaking Events have got off to a flying start with trips to the local Yorkshire Coast, Summer Isles, Skye, and the Farne Islands.
The STARTER coaching Programme (targeted at Cumbrian Canoe Club members) has out stretched our imagination, with over 30 paddlers experiencing one or two taster coaching sessions, a weekend of professional sea kayak coaching on Coniston (10 starters and 3 coaches) plus a demo day, canal and estuary trips, with more to come.  To see the website for a series of sea kayak events to come for this year.
This Year's coach development programme has ensured that seven of our experienced sea kayak leaders have had four days British Canoeing certified training, in partnership and delivered with Cumbria WildRiver team, with Bursary support from The Outdoor Partnership - who set up in Whitehaven and are working with three of our West Cumbria Canoe Clubs.
The Open boat team have successfully delivered their programme with small coaching sessions and a very successful wild camping trip through the Great Glen (of the Caledonian Canal) and have a number of other events lined up this year.
The Youth River Running Group has continued throughout much of the lock down (legally) and when river running has been curtailed due to lack of RAIN! (hard to believe I know) they have been training the young paddlers in white-water safety and rescue techniques - finished now till the Autumn

Nationally – Stand Up Paddle Boarding is the fastest growing participation sport – and with this drive; SUP opportunities have been offered to all of our Clubs and our partners at Killington Lake and other local venues. Killington Sailing Association - have thanked us for supporting their open day and club evenings with SUP coaching – and this discipline continues to be an active area in our region.
Racing has just started their summer program – with Duddon Canoe Club hosting a series of introductory sessions for young people to try different types of racing. These run all the way through July – so reach out to John via the website if you are interested!
As restrictions eased – Polo sessions can resume outdoors. Penrith Club have been welcoming new paddlers; with new paddlers coming into the sports and enjoying the light evenings on the lake. The more seasoned paddlers are now eagerly awaiting the National Championships being held in Nottingham at the beginning of August.
The access and Egress situation on our rivers is overseen by a small team of experienced access and paddlers, making inroads behind the scenes to ensure our voice is not lost and we continue to have a respected presence, when involved with a collection of river/lake user/owner stakeholders.  Supported with the British Canoeing new strategy of "Clear access and Clear Waters" fighting for "for fair, shared, sustainable open access for all" - see Clear Access Clear Waters | Official Campaign Website.  Slow but vital work for the future of our paddle sport.
Having written all this down - I can now see why the British Canoeing CEO was keen to have a chat and send his thanks & congratulations to the Cumbria Paddling Community. There are so many people involved – who work hard to create varied exciting & professional opportunities for others to enjoy the great recreational activities of all and any PaddleSport; I pass on the Congratulations to you all!

Do keep in touch and use the website to contact our team members if you would like to sign up for event or need advice in a specific area of PaddleSport – everyone is happy to talk paddling!

There are links to Cumbria Canoe Clubs, Local Providers as well as the information about the RDT activities too!
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See you on the water some time
Mike Sunderland                                                                             Mac Knowles
Chair of Cumbria Canoeists                                                          Vice Chair of Cumbria Canoeists
Coaching.cumbria@vol.britishcanoeing.org.uk                 M.knowles7@icloud.com

What's on in the next FEW months: 

Please see the calendars for planned events, feel free to express an interest as we will try to run events even if we have to move the date!

As you can see; the grass has NOT grown under the feet of the Cumbria Canoeists Reps and Management Team.

If your appetite is wetted by some of the 2021 plans above, but details are not apparent on the website, please contact Mike Sunderland - Chair and Coaching/Leadership Rep or Mac Knowles- Vice Chair - expressing your interest.
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If you are new to paddling feel free to contact us or book on to one of the introductory sessions which can be found in one of the discipline-specific pages 

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Regional Calendar:
​Navigate to date and event & click on calendar entry to see more details and any attachments or links

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