Photo: Emma Godwin
Paddle UK is excited to introduce the Slalom Start Box, a comprehensive toolkit designed to support paddler recruitment within clubs to increase the number of children and young people engaged in canoe slalom across the UK.
Supporting the recruitment of new participants and volunteers into the sport is a key component of the Slalom Development Plan.
Slalom Start has been developed in conjunction with club coaches, notably building on the work that Mick Stegeman at Proteus Canoe Club has undertaken this year to introduce new members to the club.
Slalom Start builds on the incredible work that all clubs and volunteers do to introduce children and young people to the amazing sport of canoe slalom. It is intended to help share this knowledge and empower others to engage more people in canoe slalom.
This toolkit is designed to highlight some of the key processes and share some helpful digital and physical resources required to organise safe, high-quality taster sessions and recruitment campaigns that engage with local schools and other groups and bodies.
These digital resources will be freely available and accessible to any club in the UK, both those involved currently, as well as those who want to engage in slalom.
The full resource which includes the recruitment and marketing toolkit, tips on session planning and further information will be unveiled at the Slalom Coaching Conference on 1 December and will be shared publicly from the 2 December
You can sign up for the 2024 Slalom Coaching Conference here
Speaking on launching the Slalom Start Boxes, Rich Ramsdale, Head of Pathways, Events and Competition, said:
“The Slalom Start Boxes are a great source of support and resource for any club seeking to run a slalom recruitment campaign.
“Clubs provide children, young people and adults with their first glimpse into slalom canoeing and inspire a lifelong love of the sport.
“It’s important that we support this process and enable the dedicated volunteers to do this more easily.”
As part of the support available through the Slalom Start Box, optional workshops have been developed to provide opportunities for networking and collaboration with other volunteers running Slalom Start sessions and access to any support needed.
Each workshop will be between 1-1.5 hours and take place online.
Sign up for each session here:
Session 1 – Introduction to Slalom Start (Monday 9th Dec 19:30-20:30)
Session 2 – Marketing the session (Monday 20 Jan 19:30-20:30)
Session 3 – Volunteers and Safety (Mon 10 Feb 19:30-20:30)
Session 4 – Financial planning (Mon 3 March 19:30-20:30)
Session 5 – Getting prepared for your first session (Mon 7 April 19:30-20:30)
Session 6 – Optional drop in session (Mon 28 April 19:30-20:30)