Canoeing M


By Second Lieutenant Natasha Scott


arathon Canoeing is a fun, but challenging, endurance sport, that takes place across the country on rivers, lakes and canals. It offers progressive challenges from a couple of miles or kilometres to the ultimate challenge of the 125-mile Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race. As you learn more boat handling skills, it becomes tactically as well as physically challenging, with boats racing in groups and contesting sprint finishes. This year, I was selected to represent the Corps and the Army at two events: the Army Championships and the Interservices Marathon and Sprint Kayaking Regatta.


The Army Championships The Army Championships were held in July in Reading, hosted by Reading Canoe Club. This event saw paddlers from all parts of the Army including: the Royal Artillery, Royal Signals and a large cohort from the Royal Engineers. The event was held over five days, including three days of training, to ensure all paddlers involved could continue to develop their skills and conditioning. This consisted of practising sprint starts, building on paddling technique or working on balance and stability, so that you could race in faster (but less stable) boats. Once the training was over, paddlers took to the water to earn points for their units. Races consisted of a 200m, 500m and 1000m sprint, and a 6km marathon in the men’s and women’s categories. Overall, the Royal Engineers took top spot; the Adjutant General’s Corps were fourth overall scoring 34 points, only 10 points away from securing third place.


The Interservices Marathon and Sprint Kayaking Regatta In September, the Army Canoe Union gathered in Nottingham to train and compete at the Interservices Marathon and Sprint Kayaking Regatta. Unlike the Army Championships, this is a Tri Services event which saw paddlers representing the Army, race against the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. The Army paddlers spent four days training at Nottingham Kayak Club, honing technique and strategically deciding which paddlers to enter in the various races to earn maximum points. During the event, two paddlers from the Adjutant General’s Corps represented the Army, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Burt and Second Lieutenant Natasha Scott both from the Educational and Training Services Branch. The regatta consisted of similar events, divided into two categories: marathon and sprint. On the first day of racing, the Army was successful and lifted the marathon trophy over the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, after a 6-mile women’s race and a 10-mile men’s race. This gave a good boost of morale to the Army paddlers for the following two days where the three services raced in various sprint categories for the sprint trophy. After two days at Holme Pierre Point, the National Watersports Centre, the Army were victorious again, and were presented with the Sprint Trophy.


Both events this year saw a range of paddlers from the Army compete in different racing categories, requiring a number of skills within the discipline.


114 AGC JOURNAL 2022


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