Athlete New to The Sharks in 2025
Coach and Athlete Michael is one of our lead coaches at Harlesden, he also races Marathon
Coach and Athlete Semir joined our coaching team at Thamesmead when we launched in 2025, he also races in Slalom
Athlete A Thamesmead paddler, new in 2025
Athlete Paul started paddling at Thamesmead in 2025
Started paddling in 2025 at Thamesmead
Athlete Joined via our Cohort from Loughborough, Peter started racing in 2025
Athlete First raced for The Sharks in 2025
Athlete Started Paddling at Thamesmead in 2025
Athlete first raced for The Sharks in 2025
Athlete New to paddling in 2025, Andrew started at Thamesmead
Athlete Started paddling with us at Thamesmead in 2025
Athlete Recently started kayaking at Thamesmead
Athlete Imran joined in sessions with us when his two daughters started paddling at Southall, he made his racing debut in the Cedric Avery Mini Marathon Series in October 2025.
Athlete Adam has recently returned to racing wit The Sharks Wild Water Racing Team at Barrow in October, where he took top Shark spot. He has also race Sprint and Marathon in the past.
Coach and Athlete Giles is our lead coach at Thamesmead, and occasionally races, Giles has a very long association with water sports at Southmere and it is great to have so much experience and knowledge onboard from the beginning of this project.
Athlete Ian joined our competitive squads at Cardington Slalom in August 2024, where he came 9th in Men’s K1 Division 4 and first senior. He joined our Wild Water Racing Team at the November 2024 Barrow Race coming 23rd.
Teacher, Coach, Athlete Aaron has been ranked in Division 2 for Slalom Men’s K1, although not raced slalom for a couple of years. He is one of our teachers and coaches.
Athlete Joined our Thamesmead sessions in 2025 and is now racing.
Athlete Taking up kayaking in 2025 at our Thamesmead site and racing before the year was out.
Athlete and Staff Caitlin joined our sessions at Thamesmead in 2025 with other members of our family.
Athlete Sheila started racing after joining our sessions at Thamesmead.
Athlete New to paddling, Lizzie started in 2025 at Thamesmead.
Athlete Michelle has joined our Club at Thamesmead and has started racing at the events we held there in 2025.
Athlete Making her racing debut at the Barrow in October 2024, Carmel was just behind daughter Ryo, also making her debut.
Athlete Daniel has a talented slalom paddler who has recently returned to competitive paddling.
Athlete and Coach Peter has recently joined our coaching team, he is an experienced marathon paddler racing in Division 3 and has recently completed the Devizes to West Minster Canoe Race.
Coach and Athlete Neal is our lead Wild Water Racing Coach, although he also coaches Marathon and Sprint. Like most of our coaches, Neal has a background in competitive canoeing and does still race.
Athlete Khaleel has maintained his position of The Sharks top ranked slalom paddler for the fifth consecutive year.
Athlete and Coach Grant is The Sharks own home grown international talent, having represented Great Britain in Wild Water Racing, he also races Slalom, Sprint and Marathon
Athlete Jasmin is ranked in Slalom and River Racing, her appearances in 2025 have been limited due to her doctoral studies.
Athlete Richard Davis has a long history of racing in the UK and beyond, at 87 years old, the oldest slalom paddler in the UK, World, he is still competing in National Division 3 Slalom,
Athlete A paddler with a lot of experience now in Division 3 slalom, races Wild Water.
Athlete and Slalom Coach at Harefield Rick leads our Slalom Team based at Harefield, he is a very experienced paddler and still competes.
Athlete Alistair made his Slalom Debut for The Sharks at Langham Farm in April 2023, coming 11th in his first event. He has also added Wild Water Racing to his competitions racing at Barrow-on-Soar, in November 2023.
One of our older generation of paddlers, who races with the Itchen Valley Shark contingent and although mobility is becoming more difficult for the 75-year old, however, he turns up and races, proving that Kayaking is a sport for all people.
Shark Activities for Families Half Term Holidays are coming and The Sharks are planning activities for all ages, across our sites.
Winter Slaloms, get ready for 2026 The annual Stone Mini Slaloms take place on the Sundays of January 25th, February 8th, and February 22nd, including a slalom cross event on January 25th.
Saturday 28th February 2026 – 11am, check in from 10am. The next Cedric Avery Mini-Marathon takes place on Saturday February 28th at Troy Lake, Harefield. Control open from 10am, racing starts at 11am.
Where are you going in February, why not join us for some paddling fun at events?
Next Race 7th March The Legendary Barrow Wild Water Race series next race on Saturday 7th March 2026.
Saturday March 7th The final race of the Legendary Barrow Wild Water Races takes place on Saturday 7th March, let’s have a fantastic Shark Presence. Ideal for all standards from beginners to the experienced. It is a 3k race, which you can do in any boat
Saturday 14th March 2026 The Sharks are pleased to announce an amazing project, working in partnership with Paddle UK’s Wild Water Racing Committee, The Sharks are launching the Lee Valley Legacy Project, on Saturday 14th March 2026, and this is just the beginning.
Monthly Mini-Marathons The next race takes place on Saturday 31st January 2026. The last Saturday of each month. Full details are here, with Risk Assessment here.
Time to step up and start getting more active, as we head towards Spring
Our annual Sprint challenge in Harlesden. We have introduced a new challenge at our base in Harlesden, NW10, a monthly Sprint race on the canal with distances of 200m, 500m and 1,000m. Next race is Wednesday April 15th 2026.
Our annual challenge in Southall We have set up a series of Sprint evenings in Southall, running in the Summer moths to give everyone the chance to see how they are progressing, to have some fun and enjoy racing. Great for spectators too.
The Final of the 2025 Series Summer paddling at Harlesden draws in and we hosted our final Sprint races of the season, including a race with and for Harlesden Primary School youngsters attending the after school club.
A new event with a difference A small group of Shark Paddlers tried out an event with a difference, it was more about time on the water and learning new skills, in preparation for competition, although there were some non-ranking races to help.
The Charity Race of the year The second Great Harlesden Charity Canoe Race took part on Wednesday 24th September, raising money for local charities, the Brent Food Bank and Queens Park Rangers Community Trust. Both these charities support local people.
Preparing for Marathon The Sharks have introduced the Harlesden GS Series, the races are 3.5k long and are aimed at preparing youngsters for the Geoff Sanders Races at ranking marathons. However, we also run races for seniors.
We are looking for staff The Sharks are looking for people to teach and coach canoeing at all of our sites. We maybe able to help you get the relevant qualifications, whilst you work for us. Get in touch email: canoeing@thesharks.org.uk, or call: 07951 770241.
Apply for Your Slalom Bib From today Sunday January 18th, you can apply for your slalom bin if you are in Division 3 or above.
Get Involved and Help us Grow The Sharks are committed to helping to grow Slalom Canoeing and playing our part in this great community. We are joining the Slalom Starts Programme, which aims to bring more people into the discipline.
What Can we Achieve in 2026? Each yer we set some targets related to the Year number, so what can we don in 2026. If you have any ideas to add to this list, please get in touch by email: canoeing@thesharks.org.uk or call/text 07951 770241.