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One hundred and two competitors turned out for the final race at Leighton Buzzard, in damp and overcast conditions.  Class winners were: Class 1 (K2 16+ M) - James Doran & James Walkinton (CLM) Class 2 (K2 16+ Mixed) - Cassian Payne & Olivia Logie-Simpson (CLM) Class 3 (K2 16+ F) - Gayle McKeand & Sienna Payne (CLM) Class 4 (Marathon C2) - Peter Kruszelnicki & Helen Kruszelnicki (PRA) 
 The MRC has confirmed there will be no promotions from this race. The event was won by Chelmsford CC (100 points), with Leighton Buzzard CC second (92) and Bishops Stortford CC third (84). In the Dick Grieve competition for novice juniors (Div 9 and below), Chelmsford were also the victors (20 points), Ealing CC second (19) and Bishops Stortford CC third (18). This season's trophy winners:
The main Winter Series Club trophy was won (as it has been in since 1994) by Chelmsford CC with a perfect score of 60 points. Leighton Buzzard were runners-up with 47 points and Cambridge CC were third with 45. A second club trophy - the Dick Grieve cup - is based on the performance of unranked juniors. As the rules preclude it from being won by the club which wins the main club trophy, this passed to B. Stortford. The Bob Porter Trophy is awarded to the club with the largest number of u12 entries. This season the winners were Leighton Buzzard CC who filled 14 seats in the u12 classes across the series. See
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After a couple of weeks of extremely cold temperatures which saw many rivers around the region iced up, there was a risk that the race might have to be postponed. However, slightly warmer temperatures and rain in the days leading up to the race cleared the ice from the River Can which runs through Chelmsford, and there was sufficient flow to ensure that even sub-zero temperatures on Saturday night did not cause it to re-freeze. The organisers took the precaution of adjusting the course to make a larger number of shorter loops, in order to keep the competitors away from the furthest and most treacherous part of the course. Even so, the conditions in the narrow channel were extremely choppy, with a tight turn at the far end. Unsurprisingly, the turnout was lower than usual for this race, with just 89 paddlers taking part.
 Class winners were: Class 1 (K2 16+ M) - James Doran & James Walkinton (CLM) Class 2 (K2 16+ Mixed) - Kerry Tubby & Ben Tubby (BSF) Class 3 (K2 16+ F) - Gayle McKeand & Sienna Payne (CLM) Class 4 (Marathon C2) - Barry Howe & Philip Hyde (CLM)
The following people have received divisional promotions: Leanne and Aaron Jordan (MAI) have both been promoted to Div 3, and Chelmsford CC members Harry Boggis, Lauren Avery, Joel Auvray, Simona Adonia and Asher Bara have all been promoted to Div 4. Towards the end of the race a wind whipped up, and rain threatened, but held off for the prizegiving.
Class winners were: Class 1 (K2 16+ M) - James Doran & James Walkinton (CLM) Class 2 (K2 16+ Mixed) - Rich Winstanley & Hannah Crofts (BSF) Class 3 (K2 16+ F) - Gayle McKeand & Sienna Payne (CLM) Class 4 (Marathon C2) - Nick Onley & Richard Stirling (PRA)) 
The MRC have confirmed that there were no promotions as a result of this race.
The event was won by Chelmsford CC (100 points), with Cambridge CC second (95) and Bishops Stortford CC third (93). In the Dick Grieve competition for novice juniors (Div 9 and below), Cambridge CC were first (39 points), Chelmsford CC second (20) and Bishops Stortford third (19). See
The next race will be at Chelmsford on Sunday 11th January.
Although the number attending this race was fewer than the organisers had hoped to see, the event went off well. Those who rose to the challenge of the estuarine conditions should find their class position in the series considerably improved as a result. The recent cold snap had abated and, after a wet start to the day, the skies cleared and the race took place bathed in autumn sunshine. 
The series is now half-way through. The series results for clubs, and also for individuals/crews within the classes, can be seen alongside the race results at the link below. (If you are not sure how the series results work, check out the explanation here). See
Despite cooler and showery weather, the Maidstone race attracted a very good turnout of 109 competitors. Class winners were: Class 1 (K2 16+ M) - George Hampton & Mark Hampton (CLM) Class 2 (K2 16+ Mixed) - Julia Passmore & Tom Kelly (TON) Class 3 (K2 16+ F) - Sienna Payne & Gayle McKeand (CLM) Class 4 (Marathon C2) - Andy Porter & Dean Williams (CLM)
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Update: Promotions have been awarded to Aaron De Silva (LEE) and Asher Bara (CLM) who both now move into Division 6. The next race will be at Barking on Sunday 23rd November. The online entry system will close on Friday 21st.
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Congratulations to Cally De Silva of Lee Valley Paddlesport club who has been awarded a promotion to Division 6 by the MRC on the basis of these results. The next race will be at Maidstone on Sunday 16th November. The online entry system will close on Friday 14th.
 There was a good turnout of 114 competitors, despite driving rain and high winds.
 Class 20 (K1 SuperVet M) - Ben Tubby (BSF) Class 21 (K1 SuperVet F) - Catherine Shirley (EAL) Class 22 (K2 u16) - Edith Smerdon & Olivia Logie-Simpson (CLM) Class 23 (K1 u16 M) - Ewan Bates (LBZ) Class 24 (K1 u16 F) - Rebecca Perrin (CLM) 
 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). This season's trophy winners:
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 Despite overnight temperatures of -5, the river Can did not freeze and the race was able to go ahead with 108 competitors.
Class 20 (K1 SuperVet M) - Ben Tubby (BSF) Class 22 (K2 u16) - Edith Smerdon & Olivia Logie-Simpson (CLM) Class 23 (K1 u16 M) - Ewan Bates (LBZ) Class 24 (K1 u16 F) - Rebecca Perrin (CLM)
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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 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.  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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