Lovely paddling weather was enjoyed by the 101 competitors who gathered at Herts Young Mariners Base at Cheshunt for the last Winter Series race before Christmas.

The most popular class was, as usual, the senior doubles, with a total of 17 entries. No fewer than five of these were MC2s, with the canoeists all electing to compete over the 7-mile course with the senior K2s rather than 5 miles against the junior K2s.

There was also a good number of entries for the Mens Vet class which featured a close finish between Almir Balla and second-placed Doug Herbert, with just 9 seconds between them.

Chelmsford CC, were the overall winners, with Bishops Stortford CC second and Leighton Buzzard CC third. The same pattern is repeated in the league positions of the three clubs at this half-way point in the series.

The full race results are on the Winter Series results page. There are also a few photos of the race on Flickr.

The next race will be at Chelmsford on 12th January.

Eventually, everyone was persuaded to get off the water, so that they could collect their medals.

The final event in the series will be the Stortford Regatta on 8th September, when the award for the series will also be presented. To be eligible for a series award you need to have attended at least two regattas in the series. See the current standings on the Series results page.

One hundred and twelve competitors took part in the race on the Lea at Cheshunt, on a day that was  relatively warm with bright sunshine.

The next race will be on 13 January 2019, at Chelmsford. Race details will be online soon. Sign up to the mailing list if you would like to be alerted when they are released.

Herts Young Mariners Base hosted the second of the Summer Series Regattas on 10 June. Forty-three paddlers from seven different clubs took part.

The full results can be found on the Summer Series results page.
Photos of the event can be found in this Flickr album.

The next event in the series will be the Stortford Regatta on 9th September. The re-scheduled Chelmsford Regatta is now planned for the 23rd September and will include the presentation of the series awards.

The race was notable for the number of Canadian canoes taking part, as these have been declining in recent years. As well as the four boats in the C2 race (won for the second time in succession by Anna Maria and Stefanie of CAM), there were five C1s. David Shipway (LBZ) competed on the short course in Class 16, while four others (Paul Stenning of LBZ, Andy Porter of CLM and independents Ross Pearton and Nicholas Boyd) took on the 6-mile course - Paul won the medal for first C1.

The organisers and volunteers of HYM-COPS - the smallest of the clubs who host the Winter Series - worked very hard to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. They also ran a raffle to raise funds for Crisis at Christmas.

​The next race will be at Barking on Sunday 3rd December - see the Barking WS page for full details.

A good turn-out for the opening event of the FRA Summer Series, with 34 paddlers from Chelmsford CC, Leaside CC, Lee Valley Paddlesports, Bishops Stortford CC, and hosts HYM-COPS.

Early morning rain had given way to glorious sunshine by the time the 500m races started on the river. The paddlers transferred to the lake for the 200m races, in K1s, K2s and K4s.

Despite a day of continuous cold rain, 108 determined paddlers turned out for the fourth race of the Winter Series - and there was not one single retirement.

The results of this race can be found on the Winter Series Results page. There you will also find the cumulated series results from all the four races to date, both for individuals and for clubs. Please remember that each competitor/crew has to have paddled in at least three races this season to be eligible for a series prize, and also that we only count your best 5 results - you may be doing better than you think.

After lunch there was the opportunity for some to try out the K4s - and for the volunteer safety crews to practice their K4 rescue skills! Fortunately the day was warm and sunny.

The day ended with the usual the prizegiving. The full results can be seen on the Summer Series Results page,* where you can also see the competitors' overall series positions to date.
(*K2 & K4 200m times now added - 15/5/16)

The next regatta will be at Leaside on 7th August.

There were 114 competitors at the race on 6th December, hosted by HYM-COPS at Herts Young Mariners Base, Cheshunt - a slightly lower turnout than usual, probably due to the blowy conditions. Choppy water caused a couple of capsizes at the start, but the course was well-manned with rescue crews.

The series will continue after Christmas with a race at Barking on 10th January.