There was a good turnout of 114 competitors, despite driving rain and high winds.

Chelmsford CC (292 points) were the winning team, with Leighton Buzzard CC second (200), and B. Stortford CC third (130). The same pattern was repeated for the points scored by novice juniors towards the Dick Grieve cup.

The MRC have awarded divisional promotions to Rikki Weir (BAD), Jasper Kirtland (BSF), Catherine Shirley (EAL), Isabel Green (HEM), Marco Mangiantini (ROY), and Conor Bates, Adam Deri, Chris Myers, Euan Standen, and Ethan Tingay (LBZ).

See

• the full race and series results on the Winter Series results page
• simplified race results (positions, times and promotions only) on the MRC results page
  
• a few photos of the Chelmsford race on Google Photos

Despite overnight temperatures of -5, the river Can did not freeze and the race was able to go ahead with 108 competitors.

See

• the full race & series results on the Winter Series results page
• a few photos of the Chelmsford race on Google Photos
  

The next race will be the series finals, at Leighton Buzzard on Sunday 26th January. This will include the presentation of the series trophies for each class. Details of the race can be found on the online entry system at https://entries.canoemarathon.org.uk/entries. Entries are already open and will close on Friday 24th January.

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 full race & series results on the Winter Series results page
• a few other photos of the Barking race on Google Photos

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.

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 full race & series results on the Winter Series results page
• a few other photos of the Cambridge race on Google Photos
  

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.

There was excellent weather for the Maidstone Winter Series marathon - the second in this series and also the second time that the race has taken place at this venue. A different course was used this year due to works along the river.

The race was very well attended (112 competitors) and large groups of classes were started together. In particular the mass start of the 17 doubles boats made an exciting spectacle for the onlookers.

The cumulated points for clubs and for individual paddlers towards class trophies  can also be viewed.

Congratulations to all those who received divisional promotions: Chelmsford's Sam Towell and Joel Auvray; Maidstone's Brian Williams and Michael Wibrew; Asad Ibn Saifullah and Molly Harrison of Cambridge; Julia Passmore of Tonbridge; Siobahn Nicholas of Barking; and Steve Tingay of Leighton Buzzard.

See

• the full race & series results on the Winter Series results page
• a few other photos of the race on Google Photos
  

The next races will be Cambridge on Sunday 1st December. The online entry system will close on Friday 29th November.

The race attracted 120 competitors, many of them of an extremely high standard. The men's and women's SuperVet (50+) classes introduced last year proved even more popular than before, with the men's race having the most entries of any class at this event.

Matthew Johnson & Leah Falltrick of Chelmsford CC were again the fastest K2 on the 7-mile course (55:14), one of three doubles boats to finish in under an hour.

Promotions have been awarded by the MRC on the basis of these results:

• Neale Gregory (TON) to Division 2
  
• Matthew Villaruel (EAL) to Division 3
  
• Matteo Bose (CLM) to Division 3
• Jasper Nielsen (CLM) to Division 4

The next race will be at Maidstone on Sunday 17th November.  The online entry system will close on Friday 15th.

Many thanks to everyone who gave feedback following the last Winter Series (2023-24). The committee have now looked through your responses and decided on some changes for the coming season.

ENTRY SYSTEM: Many of you have your entries put in by your team leaders, but the vast majority of those who had used the entry system found it easy. A couple of tweaks have been suggested which we will be implementing for the coming season.

PAYMENTS: There were a good proportion of entrants who would like to be able to pay electronically. We feel the fees for accepting online payments are too steep, and there would be the added difficulty of making refunds if races are cancelled or postponed (much more likely with Winter racing). However, clubs will now be able to arrange advance electronic payments on behalf of their team if they wish. If your club has a mechanism for collecting electronic race fees centrally from you, they may be able to do this and then pay the FRA electronically.

PROMOTIONS: Last season the WS became a group A race - this was the only practical way of operating within the insurance requirements without requiring all club associates to purchase day tickets. Like all Group A races (including many non-Hasler races), last year's WS races were subject to promotions awarded by the MRC. This took everyone by surprise, not least the FRA committee! We had known promotions would be possible, but had not anticipated the number that were given. The MRC assure us that they are using the same algorithm to calculate promotions that are used for other events. If anyone feels their promotion is not justified they can ask their club's team leader to raise it with the Regional Marathon Adviser for their region. Promotions will continue to be listed on the WS results on the FRA website, but the MRC's technical boffins are working towards including WS results on the main Marathon Results system as well so that you will be able to see everything in the same place (hopefully this season).

SUPER-VET CLASSES: The Super-Vet (50+) classes for K1 M & F introduced last year as an experiment were well received (especially the Mens) and will be retained, and perpetual shields are being purchased for these classes. Taken together, we had more people competing in the Vet (35+) and SuperVet classes last season than we used to get in the un-divided Vet classes pre-Covid.

AGE-RELATED MEDALS: To give due respect to paddlers who carry on competing, the current age-related awards of First SuperVet (50+) and First UltraVet (60+) in the K1 and K2 classes will be extended to First HyperVet (70+) as well.

PADDLING-UP: Many people suggested that the paddlers should be allowed to paddle up into more senior races. The committee gave this serious consideration but felt that allowing paddlers to effectively sort themselves out by ability would undermine the concept of the age/gender based system that distinguishes the Winter Series from the Haslers. Vets will continue to be allowed to compete as Seniors, and SuperVets can compete as Vets, but otherwise paddling up will not be allowed. Those whose age places them on the 3-4 and 5 mile courses who would rather be doing the 7-9 mile course can enter the K2 classes, so long as at least one person in the crew is 16+.

NEW K1 OPEN CLASS ON SHORT COURSE: At the same time, the committee is fully aware that the huge range of ability that exists in any age band causes too big a challenge to some. In particular we want to create a more accessible class for brand new racers who are often not ready for the distance their age requires from them, or for those who just find winter conditions too demanding. We are therefore going to try out a new K1 class on the 3-4 mile course. It will be open to anyone of Div 7 standard or below who does not feel up to doing a longer course. Under-14s will not be able to enter this race as they would be doing this distance in their usual classes anyway. Medals and points will be given as normal, but there will be no series trophies.

BUOYANCY AIDS: Buoyancy aids in the WS are compulsory for everyone below Div 6 and everyone under 16. The committee has decided to extend this requirement to everyone taking part in an u16 race even if the child concerned has passed their 16th birthday since the start of the series. This will make it easier for bank staff to check buoyancy aid compliance.

STAND-UP PADDLEBOARDS: SUPs will be able to enter the two C1 classes, as is the case for Hasler races.

SLALOM BOATS: Similarly, Slalom boats, including fibreglass boats, will be able to enter the GP classes.

DAY TICKETS: Another change for this season is that "Single Event Membership" purchased in advance direct from Paddle UK has replaced the old method of purchasing a Day Ticket at the desk during check-in. As it seems SEM can only be purchased during the online entry process, it is vital that anyone attempting to enter on the day brings physical evidence of valid PUK membership (whether "On Water" or via their club).

The race rules for 2024-25 and the schedule of races can be seen on the main Winter Series page.

Class winners at this race were:
Class 1 (K2 16+ M) - Scott Leblanche & Domas Malinauskas (BAD)
Class 2 (K2 16+ Mixed) - Kayleigh Dixon & Matt Lodge (LBZ/NOR)
Class 3 (K2 16+ F) - Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Ayling (BSF/EAL)
Class 4 (Marathon C2) - Peter & Helen Kruszelicki (PRA)

As the last race of the series, the prizegiving for the day was followed by the presentation of series trophies. First, second and third place engraved glasses were given in all classes, subject to paddlers/crews having completed at least three races. There are also perpetual shields or cups for most classes.

See also the full class & club results for 2023-24 Winter Series.

Some photos here

Last season we asked paddlers to give us their opinions about the Winter Series. We had an extremely good response and spent much time deliberating over everyone's feedback. We can't fix the weather (unfortunately) and some people wanted things changed in the opposite direction to other people, so we know we won't have pleased everyone.

At the same time, the Winter Series races were re-designated as Class A races (like Haslers) which necessitated further changes to fit in with MRC rules and requirements. All together, there were quite a number of changes to this season's series!

We would now like to know how all these changes worked for you, so we are inviting you to complete a very brief, anonymous survey using GoogleForms.

To take part in the survey,

• use the link that was mailed out to those on the FRA mailing list on 24 Jan,
• look out for the QR code poster at the Finals at Chelmsford (Sunday 28 January 2024),
• ask your club's WS team leader for the survey link,
  
• email the FRA Secretary from any email address that has been used to place entries in the WS during this season and request a link