Winter Series 2023/24

We are delighted to announce that this year, for the first time, Maidstone CC will hold a Winter Series marathon race, bringing the series back to five events. (We still hope to return to a full compliment of six races in the following season).

• Race 1: Bishops Stortford - 5 November 2023
  
• Race 2: Maidstone - 19 November 2023
  
• Race 3: Cambridge - 3 December 2023
  
• Race 4: Leighton Buzzard - 14 January 2024
  
• Race 5: Chelmsford - 28 January 2024
  

There is a printable list of races and classes that you can download.

Changes to the classes for 2023-24
Last year we held a survey of paddlers' opinions about the Winter Series, and a number of changes have come out of this. One of the most noticeable is that the classes have been restructured. In particular we have introduced K1 SuperVet races on the 5-mile course for those 50+.

Some classes will have inevitably have low entries, so starts will frequently be combined on the day - but this will not affect competitors' finishing positions or points, which will still be given with regard to just their own class.

Entries & Eligibility
Another big change is that the series has been registered with BC's Marathon Racing Committee as a Group A race. In practical terms this means that

• advance entries will be made through the same online system as Haslers (though we do not expect to be collecting payments electronically this season)
• Club Associate members of any BC-affiliated club, not just those who host Winter Series races, can participate without the need to purchase an Event Ticket (as well as personal BC members)

We still expect that in most cases it will be Team Leaders who will make the entries for their teams, but please check with your own club what their intention is.

Seat Fees
We are continuing to hold the cost of junior entries at £5, as they have been for the last 20 years. The senior seat fee will now be £10, but there are no late fees.

For more detail and to see the full WS rules, please visit the main Winter Series page.

We hope to see lots of you at the first race at Bishops Stortford on 5th November!