The second #ShePaddles The East Midlands event brought sunshine, smiles, and plenty of paddling to Broadway’s Meadow in Leicestershire.
Over 70 women and 15 coaches and leaders came together for an action-packed weekend of paddling and personal development.
The event, organised by Claire Lambert of Lincoln Canoe Club, was all about building confidence and inspiring more women to get into coaching and leading.
Claire’s work has created opportunities for women to share experiences, build skills, and connect with others on similar journeys. She shares more about the weekend and how you can get involved in this year’s event.
Words by Claire Lambert
The first #ShePaddles The Midlands event focussed on bringing the female paddling community together. The second event placed more emphasis on the development of paddlers, coaching, and leadership.
Confidence is often cited as a barrier for women to lead sessions, but by discussing why they feel less confident and giving opportunities to show what can be achieved with the right support behind them and how to ask for that support, we saw huge growth and development across the weekend.
Over 70 women and 15 coaches and leaders attended, doing everything from getting women on the water for the very first time, to building skills for white water SUP, to an impromptu rolling workshop. The weekend was a hive of activity!
It all started with a night paddle on Friday. We donned our paddling gear, decorated our craft with fairy lights, and headed onto the water. The following morning saw the field become a buzz of excitement with paddlers, boats and boards everywhere.
With the support of Jenna Sanders, Sarah Janes, and Emma Love, female coaches and leaders were offered feedback and guidance on their coaching. Many had informal conversations about pathways into coaching, and with a team of coaches and leaders at every stage of the coaching spectrum, we were able to share experiences to inspire paddlers to come back next year as leaders and coaches themselves.
The sessions run over the weekend included a huge effort removing floating pennywort with the environment team, coaching across kayak, canoe, and SUP, learning how to work locks, fun and games on a bell boat, and moving around on a paddleboard, which proved to be the most popular session.
We also had a stay-and-play session, where women could try out different kit and equipment, helping them find what worked (and, in some cases, what didn’t). With so much kit available, it was easy for paddlers to discuss their needs and realise that some of their challenges stemmed from equipment that didn’t fit them properly.
One of the coaches, Kate, just two weeks before the event, completed her Core Coach course and volunteered to lead sessions all weekend to gain experience ahead of her discipline-specific training.
Ali, an RAF veteran, attended in 2023 and worked hard in sessions to overcome her fears. She returned in 2024, having had a year off the water whilst undergoing treatment for cancer. She inspired so many of the paddlers over the weekend, working through her fears and trying new craft whilst battling the mental struggles with confidence and learning to work with physical limitations.
Susie came to the weekend to learn and ended up sharing her knowledge with so many of the paddlers and inspiring them to get on the water to learn to roll, and Helen tried out a sit in kayak for the very first time!
Without the support of the amazing coaches, leaders, off-the-water volunteers, and those who joined in to support sessions, weekends like this would not be possible.
A huge thank you to everyone involved!
It’s important to have female role models to share experiences and show that women of all ages, shapes, sizes and physical abilities can coach and lead. There is a saying that if you cannot see it, you won’t be able to see it, but I quite like the idea that if you cannot see it, be it!
We would love for more women to come and join us, either leading sessions of their own, developing their coaching or to come and experience the fun for themselves.
So if you are interested in coaching, leading or want to see if coaching and leading are for you, why not join us at this year’s event?
Save the date
#ShePaddlesThe East Midlands returns for 2025 from the 30 to 31st August.
Book your tickets here. Day tickets and camping options available.
If you would like to get involved in coaching, leading or supporting the sessions at the next event, please contact Claire Lambert at for more details.