Canoe Wales membership has risen to over 3000 members

Since restrictions started to ease in March, Canoe Wales has been pleased to see an exponential growth in its membership, with numbers topping 3000 for the first time ever at the start of June 2021, and continuing to rise. This is following a decrease to 2,500 (the lowest figure since 2018) in June 2020.

The biggest rise has been in On the Water members, which has gone up 40% since the same time last year and has seen over 200 new members in May alone.

The impact of inclusive programmes like #ShePaddlesCymru is clear to see, with 32.3% of our membership now being female (an increase of 3% since the same time last year).

Club Associate membership numbers are also beginning to rise, but the impact of COVID-19 on clubs has been significant - with a 35% decrease in Club Associate membership numbers since the same time in 2020. Canoe Wales plans to support clubs as much as possible over the coming months with volunteer training and access to courses and information.

Alistair Dickson, CEO of Canoe Wales said:

"We’re very pleased to be welcoming so many new members to Canoe Wales over the last few months. It is clear to see how appealing paddlesports are to the people of Wales following such a challenging winter.

We aim to support as many new people into paddlesports as possible. We intend to reinvest income generated by membership fees into other inclusive programmes that will support people to try paddlesports for the first time and continue along their chosen pathway.

Likewise, we intend to support current paddlers to access more locations to paddle, and to provide useful information on how to paddle safely, responsibly, and enjoyably.

We are also committed to continuing to support our wider paddling community – whether that is virtually through conferences and events or in person as restrictions continue to ease."

For any organisation looking to capitalise on the increased demand for paddling, we recommend looking to organise an event during Go Paddling Month. Go Paddling Month aims to get 18,000 people across the UK on the water in July, and it supports clubs and other organisations with free resources and promotion to help make your open day or event a success. Find out more here.

We would like to thank all members - new and those who’ve been with us for longer - for all your support. We are a members’ organisation and membership really is central to everything we do. Despite the challenges Coronavirus has thrown at us, we have been able to depend on the support of our membership which is truly fantastic, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you all!

If you have any suggestions on how we could support you better, please do not hesitate to contact us at admin@canoewales.com and we will do all we can to help. We are a small team, but we are committed to supporting the paddling community in Wales.

Photo: Paddlers at Llandysul enjoying a taster session as part of the #ShePaddles Cymru 2020 On Tour series