Paddle UK has today announced the nominations for Paracanoe and Canoe Sprint World Class Programmes for the 2025 season, including a list of athletes who will receive support as we move forward into the LA cycle.
The announcement includes athletes selected to join the Paracanoe Academy, Sprint High Performance Community, and Sprint Performance Academy.
14 athletes have been selected for the World Class programme in Paracanoe and seven athletes in Canoe Sprint for the upcoming 2025 season, as the international season culminates at the Senior World Championships in Milan and the Junior/U23 World Championships in Montemor, Portugal.
While only one athlete is named within the Paracanoe Academy, several others will be invited to camps and activities throughout the year as the programme looks to capitalise on the Paris 2024 success, create training opportunities for existing paddlers, and support new athletes entering the sport.
The Sprint Performance Academy has selected 17 athletes with the aim of providing athletes with environments that support their development from U23 through to senior level, with the aspiration of preparing athletes to transition into, and thrive in, the World Class Programme (WCP).
Sixteen athletes have been selected into the Sprint High Performance Community which will support a wider cohort of senior athletes with access to coaching and facilities, to provide a key stepping stone and training opportunities for paddlers aspiring to represent senior GB teams.
Chris Furber, Paddle UK’s Performance Director for Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe, said:
“2024 was an amazing year for the paracanoe team, returning from the Paris Paralympic Games with their best-ever performance.
“Despite increasingly competitive international fields, the athletes, supported by the coaching and wider performance support team, have continued to work really hard and be courageous in adapting to new approaches. They remain in a class of their own.
“Within the Los Angeles Paralympic cycle, standards will continue to rise across the classifications and events, and we will take time to ensure our approach and strategy will keep us as the world’s leading paracanoe team.
“Within Canoe Sprint, we know that there is still much to do if we are to become consistently successful on the world stage. Not to have a boat representing GBR at the Paris Olympic Games was incredibly painful for everyone involved with the sport.
“What is positive, is that there were some great performances from U23 athletes, particularly at the European, World and University Games over the last two seasons.
“Looking ahead, we remain focussed on working with partners to support athletes and coaches across the pathway to drive change. Reduced central funding means that our resources will be challenging, but as we embark on the LA cycle, we have a clear strategic approach.
“By announcing paddlers as part of the Sprint High Performance Community and the Sprint Performance Academy, we demonstrate our intention to put more resources into the pathway and to do what we can to give opportunities and guidance to aspiring paddlers.
“This aligns with our continued approach to support clubs in England through the ‘Talent Club Partnership’ initiative.
“We will also continue to invite club coaches to support our international teams and continue to get international selection input and advice from top club coaches through the Junior Sprint Policy Advisory Group (JSPAG).
“To achieve our ambitions, we have had to take the difficult decision to narrow our focus at the very top of the pathway and reduce the number of athletes who will receive a UK Sport Athlete Performance Award (APA) in 2025.”
The athletes who are nominated to UK Sport for 2025 World Class Programme places are:
Paracanoe
World Class Programme
Laura Sugar MBE
Emma Wiggs MBE
Charlotte Henshaw MBE
Jack Eyers
Dave Phillipson
Hope Gordon
Ed Clifton (Chelmsford)
Robert Oliver
Stuart Wood
Jonathan Young
Xander Van der Poll (Royal Leamington Spa)
Ellen Field (Royal Leamington Spa)
Jon Tarrant (Royal Leamington Spa)
Lindsay Thorpe (Newark 4as)
Para Academy
Charlie Knowlden (Royal Leamington Spa)
Canoe Sprint
World Class Programme
Deborah Kerr (Anker Valley)
Kristina Armstrong (Scottish Performance Squad)
Emma Russell (Chelmsford)
Zoe Clark (Royal)
Thomas Lambert (Lincoln)
Emily Lewis (Worcester)
Daniel Johnson (Chelmsford)
High Performance Academy
Tier 1
Lucy Lee-Smith (Norwich)
Matthew Collinge (Fowey)
Trevor Thomson (Ealing)
Tier 2
Isabel Evans (Chester)
Bethany Gill (Chelmsford)
Afton Fitzhenry (Belfast)
Anna Palmer (Reading)
Rebeka Simon (Elmbridge)
Abigail Burgess (Wey)
Melissa Johnson (Chelmsford)
Thomas Lusty (Solihul)
Matthew Johnson (Chelmsford)
Stuart Bristow (Royal)
Sprint Performance Academy
Amy Green (Worcester)
Jessica Urquhart (Nottingham)
Lucy Guest (Nottingham)
Elise Montagna (Royal)
Katie Pocklington (Nottingham)
Annabel Hutchinson (Reading)
Mollie Ball (Devizes)
Philip Miles (Royal Leamington Spa)
Benji Cabrera (Fowey)
Haydyn Cooke Bayley (Nottingham)
Dominic Stanley (Falcon)
Gabriel Popham Coveley (Falcon)
Huw Singleton (Nottingham)
Sam Cribbett (Royal Leamington Spa)
Tom Holland (Wey)
Nelson Kinzler (Richmond)
Dylan O’Connor (Richmond Academy)
Xavier Hinves (Richmond Academy) (Southampton)
Appeals
The nomination list of athletes for the Paracanoe and Canoe Sprint World Class Programme is subject to Appeal and final ratification from UK Sport. The Paddle UK appeal process can be found here. Please remember that any appeal must be submitted within 5 working days of the publication of this statement to the Director of Governance at: .
Any Appeal will be heard by three members of the Paddle UK Disciplinary and Appeal Panel Register (More details can be found here). If you object to any potential Panel members hearing your Appeal, please detail this in your Notice of Appeal as well as outlining the reasons for the objection.
The deadline for appeals is 12:40pm Thursday 21 November 2024.