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The Winter Series returned to Barking after an absence of 6 years. The day was blessed with perfect weather, and 83 competitors turned out to take part.  With the width of the Roding estuary at their disposal, the organisers opted for fewer, larger starts, so although plenty of time had to be allowed to get everyone afloat, it did not take long to get the racing under way. The three courses comprised a number of loops on the Roding estuary, so the ability to execute a good turn around a buoy was key.  There were no divisional promotions from the MRC at this event.
With a relatively low number of participants at Barking, those who did take part will have had a welcome boost to their series points, which build up across the series towards class awards and trophies. You can read more information about how the winners are calculated. See
The next race will be the penultimate event of the season, at Chelmsford on Sunday 12th January. The online entry system at https://entries.canoemarathon.org.uk/entries is already open and will close on Friday 10th January. Behind the overall winning club Chelmsford CC (262 points) were B. Stortford CC (91), and then Cambridge CC third (76) but with Leighton Buzzard CC hot on their heels (75). Chelmsford CC also lead on Dick Grieve points (for novice juniors), but Leighton Buzzard CC held second place and B. Stortford were third. Lost Property: Someone lost a Garmin watch at this race - please get in touch with the FRA Secretary to claim it. 
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You can check how you and your club are doing in the series by looking at the Winter Series results page. If you would like to know more about how series results are worked out, read on. Class 1st, 2nd, 3rd Within each class, paddlers/crews accrue points at every race, and the top three paddlers/crews in each class (except class 40, Open K1) will win first, second and third-place awards to keep, in the form of engraved glasses. Things to bear in mind are
In the event of equal points for 1st place, the number of wins will be used as a tie-break, and if they have had the same number, it will come down to the performance at the last race. Class perpetual trophies For each class (except class 40 - K1 Open) there is also a perpetual cup/shield for the winner to take home for the year and (if you wish) engrave with your name. These trophies must be returned to the first WS race of the next season. Everyone taking home a perpetual trophy must leave contact details (of a parent, in the case of a junior). 
Since they joined the series in 2018, Cambridge has always been one of the most popular venues. This race did not disappoint, with a great turnout of 141 competitors from 14 different clubs. This was the largest number of paddlers at any Winter Series race post-covid, despite constant rain throughout. The event was particularly notable for the number of canoes which participated. Five MC2s competed on the 5-mile course, and three TC2s on the 3-mile course.
The singles equivalents were equally popular, with a record eight entries in the C1/SUP classes, all but one of them taking the longer 5-mile option, including the two SUPs. 
 There was also a good turnout of u12 Boys at this race (10 entries). The biggest class of all though was the K1 Open - a new class being trialled for this season on the 3-mile course, which attracted 12 entries.
The home team turned out in force, bringing Cambridge CC their second successive Second place behind Chelmsford CC. Bishops Stortford CC were third. The Dick Grieve points (for unranked juniors) followed the same pattern. Promotions have been awarded to Alessio Fiacco, Simon Margot, Paula Paredes Vergara, Karen Weimer, Henry Ibberson, Isabella Quaglia Stegmann, and Shanzheng Tan (all CAM), Isabel Green (HEM), Martin Shirley (EAL), Ewan Bates (LBZ), Rohaan Seshan (CLM), Rebecca Perrin (CLM), George Bell (FLA), and Rob Passmore (TON). Well done all! This race brings us to the half-way point in the series, and points are accumulating towards the trophies for the various classes. Anyone who has taken part in at least three races during the season is eligible for a 1st/2nd/3rd place award, and the overall winner of each class (except Class 40) can take home the class shield/cup for a year. Assuming that all six of the scheduled races take place, the score for each paddler/crew will be calculated from their best five scores across the series. See
The next race will see the Winter Series return to Barking for the first time since 2017! The race will be on Sunday 15th December. The online entry system is already open and will close on Friday 13th November.
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