Canoe Wales asked to present on progress at two national conferences

Last week, Canoe Wales employees were asked to present at two national conferences.

On Wednesday, SUP Lead for Wales, Emily Evans, was asked to kick-off the new British Canoeing Safety Conference by introducing Stand-up Paddleboarding (SUP). Emily provided a detailed overview of the growth of SUP and also the diversity of the activity with the many forms of its participation. This set the audience up for further discussion and review of the priorities of safety campaigns and messaging in the workshops towards the end of the day – one of which Emily facilitated.

Speaking at the conference, Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications at British Canoeing said:

“It was very clear from those that had made the journey and contributed throughout the day to the discussions that SUP safety is a priority for us all. I am very confident that this conference has created the appropriate platform for collaborative working with next year seeing a step change in how we work as a strong collective.”

On Thursday, our CEO, Alistair Dickson provided an overview of the progress Canoe Wales has made with respect to environmental protection and sustainability. Alistair was asked to speak at the Welsh Sports Association (WSA) Sustainability Conference following Canoe Wales’ nomination for the final of the WSA Sports Awards earlier in the year for the Big Paddle Clean.

Alistair spoke about why the environment and sustainability is so important to paddlers. He also provided an overview of the awareness drive which Mike Raine has provided to members through the many blogs, videos and articles he has developed. Alistair concluded by taking the audience through the recent Environmental Literacy programme for coaches and leaders which was delivered by Dr Ella Sutton.



Andrew Howard, WSA CEO, said following the conference:

“There were clear messages at the Conference and ‘collaboration’ and the ‘power and reach of sport’ were two of them. I have no doubt that all delegates left feeling that they had a responsibility to make a difference and if our Members can influence their players, coaches, officials and volunteers, to make lifestyle changes, then using sport’s reach, there is a quite a movement to tackle climate change.”