Links and colleges from the past year’s reviews 2020 is certainly a year we will remember, however, there were some positive things that happened, here isa look back at the year.
We opened up and shut down again! After a moth of lockdown, we had a brief period where we could open up our sessions, but as Covid-19 cases accelerated across London , organised sport was again closed down, but this is what we did do in December.
Good Job Done at Harefield A small but hard working team were at Harefield on Sunday making maintaining and improving the slalom course, working together but in a Covid-secure way. Thanks guys, good job done.
Not a Lot Happened For all but a couple of days England was in Lockdown 2.0, so not much action going on.
Saturday and Sunday Sessions to Resume On Saturday 5th December Shark paddling Sessions will resume at 1pm at NW10 and at 1pm in Southall, Harefield sessions will start on Sunday 6th December at 1pm.
Encouraging signs returning Whilst it has been a very difficult year for all of us, September showed some positive signs for the future with more people paddling.
Training Camp Report We held a training camp for our slalom paddlers in Llandysul, Wales, the site is used for events at al divisions in the UK calendar, so an excellent venue, for fun, practice and a weekend away.
To all our Staff The past few months have been a trying and testing time for all of us, The Sharks were up and paddling within days of the lockdown lifted at first with experienced paddlers and then gradually introducing other socially distanced sessions.
When some things start to look normal Whilst August was not a normal month for any of us, things did at least begin to look as if things were returning to normality and for The Sharks, that means paddling.
We have moved, but only slightly From now on the meeting place for our sessions in Southall will be just in a slightly different place, just 200m further along the canal, but providing us with far better options so we can improve what we do.
Enabling More People to Paddle more Often As restrictions are easing we are gradually opening up more sessions to more people, but still in a controlled way to minimise the risk of Covid-19.
New Sessions and New Times As we further open up the Club following Covid-19, we now have some new sessions and new times at Southall, so that more people can become part of The Sharks.
New Sessions and New Times From Sunday 4th October our Slalom sessions at Harefield will be on Sunday at 1:30pm .
We are Back! Although we have a long way to go till we are fully open, after being locked down it is good that our existing paddlers have been able to get out on the water, hopefully July will see more action and more paddlers.
Covid-19 Support The Sharks would like to thank Sport England for a donation of £1,000 to help us through the difficult circumstances created by Covid-19 pandemic.
No More Ranking Events This Year Sadly, but understandably the British Canoeing’s Slalom Committee has announced that there will be no more ranking events staged in 2020, due to Covid-19.
Not a Month we will want to Remember May usually one of our busiest months, and this year was the warmest May ever, but opportunity and activity were on hold due to the Coronavirus.
Havelock Sessions Are Back In keeping with our plan to re-open post Covid-19 lockdown, we have resumed sessions at Havelock Road in Southall on Tuesdays at 5pm.
Harlesden/Park Royal Sessions to start on Thursdays In keeping with our plan to re-open post Covid-19 lockdown, we are now running sessions at NW1o at 4pm and 5pm on Thursdays.
What Next? The first tentative steps have been taken by the Government to re-open England for business and recreation, but there is along way to go. The Current status of canoe-sport is on our Covid-19 page.
What Can We Say? Normally at this time of year we have lots to report, lots of events, sessions and activities going on, but Sadly April 2020 is probably a month that will stay with us for a long time, for all the wrong reasons.
A Very Strange Month March 2020 is a month very few of us will ever forget, but not everything was bad, in fact the start was very good.
The Plans, The Ideas For a long-time now The Sharks have been looking for a “home of our own” and a base in Southall has been key to where we want to be.
Work goes on behind the closed doors We have for sometime been working on a project to establish a home of our own in Southall on Havelock, whilst we may not be able to paddle at the moment, work has been on-going for some time, seeking funds, getting planning permissions and preparing the site.
Another Shark Champion Sam Liddy is the latest Shark Paddler to win a national championship, he is under-sixteen Wild Water racing Champion of 2019, he also won the under-sixteen Wavehopper Championship
Let’s get ready for Slalom 2020 The Slalom calendar and bib numbers for 2020 have been published and are available on the Canoe Slalom Website. In total we have 17 nationally ranked paddlers and a number of new paddlers who we expect to get promoted early on in the season.
What are your paddling Plans for this year? There are plenty of opportunities to get active, to get more involved and there is no pressure to do anything other than what you want to commit to.
The First Race of the New Year Racing in 2026 commences on Saturday 10th January at the Legendary Barrow-Upon-Soar Race, organised by Soar Valley Canoe Club.
Saturday 17th January 2026 Two races for the price of one, a day out in Burton-on-Trent, a race suitable of all standards, beginners to experience paddlers. Sprint event in the morning (200m) and 2k classic in the afternoon.
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.
Next Race 8th November The Legendary Barrow Wild Water Race series next race on Saturday November 8th and continues once a moth through to March 2026.
Monthly Mini-Marathons The next race takes place on Saturday 27th December. The last Saturday of each month. Full details are here, with Risk Assessment here.
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.
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.