SCA Annual Report: April 2018 - March 2019

Scottish Canoe Association Annual Report 2018 - 2019

2

Contents

Our Mission To enable and inspire involvement in paddlesport; for

enjoyment, health, community, challenge and achievement.

Our Vision Working collaboratively at the heart of paddlesport

communities in Scotland to create more paddlers, more

members and more national and international success.

Page 3Introductions from the SCA President, Chair & CEO

Page 6 Coaching & Education

Page 8 Clubs & Communities

Page 9 Pathways & Achievement

Page 10 Membership

Page 11 Access & Environment

Page 12 Participation & Events

Page 13 Financials

Page 17Discipline Committee Reports

Page 24

#WeAreTheSCA: Our Board, Staff, Committees & Partners

Page 27SCA Recognition Award Winners 2018

Our Values • Leadership

• Engagement

• Openness

• Inclusiveness

• Responsibility 

• Collaboration

SCA Annual Report: April 2018 - March 2019

Foreword from the SCA President

I commend this report to you; there is a

great deal to be proud of, and like any

healthy outward looking organisation, we

also focus on the various challenges that

face us all. This year has seen a new set

of Coaching and Personal Performance

awards introduced and I am really

heartened by the way this has been taken

forward by so many.

The sport is flourishing despite challenges

in access, concerns about the environment

and the concern about bringing on the

next generation of coaches and leaders. In

competition and recreation alike, a

remarkable generation of paddlers have

invested their time generously in bringing

through talent, at a time when working

lives have become exponentially

demanding, while many funds and services

have become harder to access. Despite

this we are punching well above our

weight.

It is greatly to members’ credit that the

sport continues to thrive and develop. Yes,

there are challenges but together we are

confronting them and I sense a collective

vigour which will take us far. Read all

about it here, the whole is definitely

greater than the sum of the parts, and

these parts are pretty impressive in

themselves. Thank you to our staff for

their unstinting work, and to you all for

the way in which you make this sport

vibrant.

David Simpson, SCA President

4

This time last year I was looking forward

to finalising a new federal agreement

between the four home countries and I

am very pleased to confirm that was

completed as expected. Although this

new agreement is fundamentally the

same as the previous version it has been

updated to reflect the changes in scale

and sophistication of our respective

operations and it forms a sound basis on

which to continue our collaboration whilst

taking clear responsibility for all aspects

of paddlesport in Scotland.

When I took on the role of chair at the

2017 AGM I set out an objective to

establish a succession plan for the board

and key volunteer roles and to build on

the deep experience we already had with

fresh ideas and enthusiasm. I am

delighted that this process is going well,

with 3 new board members already in

place and another two in the pipeline for

the 2019 AGM. I would like to thank all of

the directors for their commitment in time

and energy over the year, which has

enabled much of the progress that has

been made, but there is more to come in

the years ahead.

During the year we saw a number of staff

changes which is always a challenge but I

honestly believe that we have emerged

stronger as an organisation and are

poised for even greater things across the

whole range of activities reflected in this

report. I am also appreciative of the

efforts of all the volunteers who make our

committees, disciplines and activities

work and who play a critical role in

moving our organisation forward.

We continue to be grateful to the National

Lottery and to sportscotland for their

considerable support, both financial and

also through the activities of the

sportscotland National Centres at

Glenmore Lodge and Cumbrae and their

support for many activities we have

undertaken with individual members,

clubs and a growing number of partner

organisations. We have to be aware of

the changing priorities for sport as set out

by the Scottish Government and to seek

opportunities to expand paddlesport

across our communities in line with

Sport for Life and the Active Scotland

Outcomes Framework.

Brian Chapman, SCA Chair

SCA Chair

SCA Annual Report: April 2018 - March 2019

This Annual Report covers the year 1st

April 2018 to 31st March 2019 and

highlights the progress and achievements

to date for the second year of the four

year Strategic Plan 2017-2021. We are

making good progress against all seven

areas of the strategic plan in developing

and growing paddlesport in Scotland.

The engagement and communication

between key SCA volunteers, staff and

our members has increased and this is

very encouraging. This is enabling us to

achieve together what we would struggle

to achieve in isolation. We are continuing

to engage and work with a variety of

partners, including the national outdoor

training centre at Glenmore Lodge,

to help more people take to the water

more often.

I would like to take this opportunity to

thank all those involved in delivering and

organising our sport: in clubs as coaches

and helpers, at committee discipline

events and on the Board. Thanks too to

the employed SCA staff who consistently

go the extra mile to help things run

smoothly.

Stuart Smith, SCA CEO

From the CEO

6

2018-2019 was a busy year in the area of

coaching as together with British

Canoeing, we announced details of the

new Personal Performance Awards and

new Paddlesport Instructor qualification.

It was also the first full year of the new

British Canoeing Coach Awards. These

changes are the result of several years of

consultation with members, clubs, centres

and the wider sector to ensure we have

training and qualifications fit for purpose.

SCA members, through our staff and

committees have been involved in the

consultations and design of the new

awards and we warmly welcome all the

contributions. Feedback on the changes

has been overwhelmingly positive. The

figures in this annual report already show

the positive uptake by participants of the

flexible choices available, including direct

entry to the Coach Award, and the wide

range of disciplines on offer.

In July we announced details of the new

Personal Performance Awards; with 288

coaches and leaders completing the e-

learning module by the end of the year.

This shows a great engagement in

preparation for the new awards for the

wider community.

Coaching & Education

Our Workforce

SCA Annual Report: April 2018 - March 2019

Coaching & Education in Numbers

*until 31/12/2018 **133 achieving the generic craft award prior to December 2018 and 43 achieving the new craft focused Paddlesport Instructor in either Kayak, Open

Canoe or Sit-on-Top kayak after the launch in January 2019

8

Our second Well Run Clubs conference;

held at the National Centre Inverclyde

welcomed clubs from across the length of

the country to attend workshops on social

media, pathways, GDPR, deliberate play,

planning and much more. The community

spirit and support between clubs is great

to see.

Working in partnership is at the heart of

what we do and we’ve had much to

celebrate from partnerships during the

year. The Pinkston Homework Club is an

example of partnership working at its best

where SCA, a facility, schools, a college,

housing associations, faith groups,

Glenmore Lodge National Outdoor Training

Centre, paddlesport coaches and others

came together and made a difference to

young people. We are committed to more

engagement with partners to use

paddlesport as a vehicle to change lives.

Clubs & Communities  

SCA Annual Report: April 2018 - March 2019

Another great year of achievement in

Performance and Pathways.

In the Sprint Programme we have seen

excellent progress of many athletes. A

summer training camp was again run as

well as a cross-country ski camp over New

Year and a warm weather paddling camp

in Portugal in February.

In the Slalom Programme our two home-

grown coaches, have delivered an

excellent programme for our athletes with

input from Mark Delaney former British

Canoeing Slalom Coach and the support of

additional coaches.

SCA Performance has established a “one

team” approach working closely with the

sportscotland Institute of Sport leads and

service providers in order to offer the best

possible support to Scottish paddlers.

Erasmus Project

The joint collaboration project with

partners in Italy and France made

excellent progress with the different

strands of research being pulled together

for a final international conference sharing

all the findings which took place in June

2018.

Winning Students

The SCA had a successful second year as

a core sport within the Winning Students

programme - offering support and funding

to selected student athletes in Slalom,

Sprint and Wild Water Racing. We are

extremely grateful to Winning Students for

their support to our athletes and for their

partnership working with the SCA.

Pathways Project

The Pathways Project started late 2017 in

order to support performance coaches

delivering in local training environments.

As the project has developed we have

been able to engage with additional

coaches to support their development and

in turn the development and progression

of the athletes that they regularly coach.

Pathways & Achievement, Olympic & Paralympic 

”SCA Performance

has established

a one team

approach”

10

Membership

Membership & Gender Breakdown

*At 31/03/2018 in the 9 different categories of membership: Full, Recreational, Junior, Family Adult, Family U18, Family Recreational, Honorary, Life, Supporter **Members of SCA Affiliated Clubs who are not also SCA members, at 31/03/2019 ***Increase of total SCA Membership

SCA Annual Report: April 2018 - March 2019

There are several clearly defined trends in

the work facing the Access & Environment

Policy Committee over the past year. In

one way we have the same old and

everlasting access issues. Problems facing

us have over the past few years have

changed to an ever-increasing challenge

over parking vehicles to enable us to go

paddling – with some landowners having

got switched onto the fact that if one

prevents parking, one prevents much

paddling.

There have also been issues of land

changing hands, and physical access to

water being made more difficult. The large

rivers, the Spey, Dee, Tay and Tweed have

all produced problems, as have some

popular coastal locations.

There were 30 Access reports made to

Robin Cole during 2018/19.

As the SCA representative on the National

Access Forum, there is much sympathy for

us, but also understandable criticism when

things go wrong, and it is up to all of us to

‘tell it as it is’ if we see unfortunate, or

illegal behaviour.

The major project of the year must have

been the wonderful and hard work by

Gavin Millar on the Glen Etive hydro

schemes. This could certainly stand as the

ultimate dilemma for those of us

passionate about both paddling, and our

environment. If the scheme had not been

approved by planners, there was no

problem – the rivers were there as before.

The scheme was approved, and so, what

can we do? Not to work with the

contractors? In that, there is no gain at

all. We appear to have now got the best

deal in the circumstances, with a multi-

Party agreement (SCA, Planners and

SEPA), using the SEPA CAR Licensing

process, which safeguards high

environmental standards – and gives

rivers to paddle with water in!

Broad environmental issues give us much

food for thought for the near future.

Much of the website content on guidance

concerning animals and birds has been

updated, and the committee is working

towards new environmental policies in

partnership with external organisations.

Access & Environment  

”30 Access

Reports made to SCA during

2018/19”

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Participation & Events

SCA Annual Report: April 2018 - March 2019

Financials

The following pages show a snapshot of

the SCA Finances. The document SCA

Accounts FY1819 contain the financial

details for the year and the Finance

Director, Kelso Riddell, has produced a

financial commentary which has also been

published on the SCA website.

This year, the SCA achieved the predicted

break-even financial situation. As we

continue to develop alternative sources

of income we are extremely grateful to

sportscotland for its investment into

several of our core delivery areas and

in particular the support to employed

staff roles.

”SCA achieved the

predicted

break-even”

14

The SCA’s total income for the FY

2018-19 was £861,602. 55% of the

income is sportscotland investment

into the SCA to achieve agreed

targets in terms of growing the

sport, increasing the size and quality

of the coaching workforce,

supporting the clubs and running

and developing performance

pathways in the two Olympic

disciplines of Sprint and Slalom.

Membership is the

next biggest contributor to

income at 15% which is made

up of individual membership

subscriptions, club affiliation

fees and Quality Mark Provider

fees. Coaching Awards

generate 11% of income and

the Committee activities and

the Grandtully Campsite each

generate 4% of total income.

sportscotland InvestmentMembershipOther Grants & DonationsCoaching AwardsCommitteeOtherGrandtully Campsite

Performance ProgrammeCoaching & Development StaffingCore StaffingCoaching Projects & Scholarships

57% of the sportscotland

income is to run the SCA

Performance Programme. This

is to operate and develop the

pathways in Olympic disciplines

for aspiring athletes to reach

the standard to join British

Canoeing programmes. The

majority of the remaining

sportscotland investment is to

support employed staff roles

against specific agreed

outcomes. The remainder of its

investment is to run specific

coaching projects and to

provide coaching scholarships

to develop and support our

enthusiastic coaching

workforce.

sportscotland Investment

Income

SCA Annual Report: April 2018 - March 2019

The cost of running the

Performance Programme is

met through a combination

of sportscotland

investment and athlete/

parent contributions.

Approximately half of the

cost of Performance &

Pathways activities is to

employ staff and the

remainder of the

programme is

made up of

travel,

accommodation

and facility fees

including several

overseas trips for

training camps

and competitions.

Employment CostsPerformance ProgrammeAdmin & Office ExpensesCoaching Projects & UKCCTravel & CommsCommittee ExpenditureOtherCoaching AwardingBritish CanoeingPublicationsFacilities Costs

45% of the annual SCA

expenditure is to employ staff,

much of which is supported by the

sportscotland investment that the

SCA receives. The SCA continues

to carefully manage operating

expenditure in order to provide

services that members value at

the best price. Increased use of

online video conferencing rather

than face-to-face meetings for

committees and training sessions

has reduced travel expenditure as

well as being more

environmentally friendly. At the

same time, running Regional

Forum meetings twice per year

across Scotland has increased the

cost of staying in touch with and

engaging with our members.

This is viewed as being a

worthwhile investment.

sportscotland investment in Performance & Pathways Staffing sportscotland investment in Sprint Programmesportscotland investment in Slalom ProgrammeParticipation Fees Sprint ProgrammeParticipation Fees Slalom ProgrammeWinning StudentsOther Pathways income

Expenditure

Performance Programme

16

Annual income and expenditure are broadly

stable and continue to grow each year. SCA

broke-even this year.

Committee income and expenditure varies

according to whether events are run

directly by the committee or by an Affiliated

Club on behalf of a discipline committee.

Committees aim to achieve a break-even

situation except where exceptional items of

expenditure have been agreed in advance.

Income Expenditure

Income vs Expenditure

Committee Income vs ExpenditureFinancial Year

Income Expenditure

Development

SCA Annual Report: April 2018 - March 2019

Discipline Committee Reports

18

Canoe Polo

This season we have had 23 teams

competing in three Divisions, we are

pleased that attendance at competitions

has continued to improve with only two

occasions with teams not attending a

competition. We are so close to 100%

attendance and this remains the target.

This year we ran two one day

tournaments in the Meadies 4s and

Unnamed Pinkston that were well

received by all players involved.

I would like to thank Stirling University

Canoe Club for running P in the Loch as

an SCA event, I would like us as a

committee to support more clubs to run

competitions, and we have a pool of

resources that can help with running of

an event.

We have three teams competing in the

National Leagues, with GKC having a

successful time in Div 3, finishing 1st in

the Div 3 N with a playoff pending.

Titans and Team Scotia competed well

in Div 2 N finishing 2nd and 3rd.

We continue to be well represented in

the squads with Alison Brown and

Bethan Dean finishing 2nd in the World

Finals in Canada this year. Brian

Anderson continues as an ICF Grade 1

referee and was selected to referee the

senior Women’s World Final.

Finally I would like to thank everyone for

their support this year. The committee

has been working hard behind the

scenes and have the best interests of

polo in their hearts. For the first time in

a number of years we have a full Canoe

Polo Committee.

Chris Carracher, SCA Canoe Polo Chair

SCA Annual Report: April 2018 - March 2019

Marathon

This season the Marathon committee

and various clubs organised and ran

nine ranking races. This included flat

water races on canals, the River Tay and

the River Forth, as well as the Highland

Series of descent races. Over 100

paddlers competed throughout the

season across all ages and abilities.

There are also an increasing number of

marathon paddlers competing in races

on the sea. We had new venues for both

of the marathon races during Scottish

Racing Week: the River Forth at Stirling

and the K1 Championships on the Tay

near Perth. Both gave us interesting

courses with a bit more challenge than

the canal races. The annual Glasgow -

Edinburgh challenge was successful

once again with people travelling from

all over the UK to take part as solo, K2

or relay teams.

The committee have also been trying to

increase participation in races and

winter training by using social media to

publicise events in a more effective way.

As well as the races here in Scotland,

several paddlers from various clubs

travelled to Reading for the British

Marathon Championships and to

Norwich for the Hasler Finals. Both

competitions were successful for the

Scots with 9 medals in total being

brought home. We also had international

success in the World Marathon Masters

in Portugal with Lizelle Kemp bringing

home a medal.

After consultation with paddlers at the

end of the season we are looking at

ways to encourage paddlers to

participate in different kinds of races as

a lot of the flat water paddlers don't do

descent races and vice versa. We would

also love to see more recreational

paddlers and beginners to the sport

giving racing a go. This season has seen

the launch of 'Division 10' which will act

as a stepping stone for young paddlers

between Lightning races and entering

the divisional system with the adults. We

hope this will encourage and push on

these young paddlers giving them the

confidence to race in K1 boats over a

longer course before working their way

up the divisions.

Debi Ives, SCA Marathon Chair

20

Slalom

GB Senior Team member Sophie Ogilvie

achieved a Gold medal in the C1Ws

team.

SCOTS had 34 paddlers aged 7-17 enjoy

a training camp at Saint Pierre de Boeuf.

22 paddlers went onto a training camp

Sault Brenaz and 16 paddlers continued

to a training camp in Krakow.

Aberdeen Kayak Club have developed a

new slalom site in Scotland. Persley

Slalom Aberdeen hosted a two day event

for Divisions 2 and 3. An excellent event

run by the youths of the club on this new

site. A great time was had by all on this

sunny weekend with lots of paddlers and

families in attendance. The Landowner

and fisherman were impressed and

delighted with the event and an excellent

working relationship has been fostered.

The committee purchased various items

of timing kit during March, to time

Division 1 and Premier races in Scotland.

The kit’s first use was at the Grandtully

Division 1. Thanks to Andy Grudinski,

who along with Ken Baillie put in the

extra effort to get the kit up and running

for the event.

Another successful 'Slalom Inspires'

event, led by Eilidh Gibson, was held at

Grandtully, which everyone enjoyed.

To date, Scottish paddlers have enjoyed

numerous personal successes across all

the slalom divisions and at international

levels. Several Scots made the GB squads

following the GB selection races

and enjoyed racing on the international

stage.

Four paddlers have gained promotion to

the Premier Division, twelve paddlers

have been promoted to Division One,

thirty paddlers promoted to Division 2

and thirty-one promoted to Division 3, in

their respective classes. The majority of

those promoted are under the age of 16.

The promotions are testament to the

excellent coaching at club level, at the

summer camps and to the commitment

of the paddlers and their parents.

The committee would like to thank

everyone; coaches, organisers, judges,

caterers, parents and paddlers, who have

worked throughout the year to make the

season another successful one for all

involved.

Bill Gerrie, SCA Slalom Treasurer

SCA Annual Report: April 2018 - March 2019

Sprint

This year the committee again ran 2

events at Strathclyde Park the Scottish

Sprint Championships in September and

a new format K1 only regatta in June.

The 10K Championships for K1 and K2

were changed to 5km to come in line

with the distance raced Internationally

and we ran them alongside the 2

regattas at Strathclyde Park rather than

as stand alone events.

In conjunction with the Marathon

Committee we continued to organise the

Scottish Racing week (two marathons &

three 10k races) which this year included

to new venues on the River Tay at Perth

and the River Forth at Stirling both which

proved popular. The committee

supported clubs to run further events; -

three local sprint regattas at Linlithgow

and Kinghorn Lochs, and the 5 Summer

Series 2k/6k/10k races at Linlithgow. Scottish paddlers competed in good

numbers at each of the five National

Regattas held at Nottingham. It was

pleasing to see an increase in club

paddlers travelling to this level of regatta

at Nottingham in addition to those going

with the Performance Squad. Young

Scottish paddlers continue to win medals

across all age groups at the British

Championships. There have been a number of successes

with Scottish paddlers at all levels,

(Senior, U23, Junior and U17/U16/U15)

being selected for British Representative

teams attending the European and World

Championships, World Cups and the

Olympic Hopes Regatta.

In conjunction with the Marathon

Committee and Performance Programme

we will continue to work on a club

coaching structure for the development

of Lightning and U14 paddlers prior to

them being considered for the

Performance Programme. We plan to extend the introduction of

U12 K1 racing as a separate category

from Lightnings with more classes at club

regattas and the Scottish Championships.

This new category is successfully

providing a transition into K1 racing for

the more experienced U12 paddlers. The Committee has been promoting

sprint racing through a more concerted

social media presence and will continue

to develop this.

The Sprint Committee will continue to

work with the Marathon Committee to

support the organisation of courses for

the new Racing Coach award.

Margaret Chapman, SCA Sprint Chair

22

Surf

This year has been an active year for

surf kayaking. The spring saw Thurso

host the annual Scottish Championships

with paddlers competing in 9 categories.

This was well attended and very well

organised by David Russell. There

followed a series of domestic

competitions that ran on breaks around

Scotland and were both fun and well

attended.

In September Glenmore Lodge hosted a

collection of courses based on the north

coast. This Gathering has become an

annual event and the campsite at

Thurso a favourite venue. This year saw

some development activity: a new surf

specific club created, The Highland

Paddle Surf Club. There was also

courses run in Advanced Surf Safety

Training and Leadership.

The main event of our year was hosting

the combined event of The Home

Internationals team event and The

British Championships. The event took a

massive effort, before during and after

the week of competition and I would

like to thank everyone that made it

happen, including our hosts Thurso and

all our sponsors. Competitors saw the

north shore in a great light that week.

The wave gods were kind and we saw a

fantastic competition that included for

the first time Women’s Masters classes,

Men’s Grand Master classes and

Waveski. Watch the video here! This

was one of the best performances by a

Scottish squad for many years, taking

18 places in the finals of the British

Championships. A total of 7 Silver

medals with Meg Spittal and Ian

Sherrington taking Gold.

In addition to our normal development

work and domestic competition we will

specifically:

• Re-introduce surf and with a strong

all-women team of leaders to Scottish

Women’s Paddlesport Symposium May

2019

• We are excited to trial an inclusive

competition format at one of our

domestic events. We will use a handicap

system to encourage those new to the

sport to get involved. The system

effectively removes all the classes but

handicaps those who have previous

completion experience and success.

• Individuals and a Team will attend the

World Surf Kayaking Championships in

Peru

• Build on the success of 2018 at The

British Championships in Wales

Ian Sherrington, SCA Surf Chair

SCA Annual Report: April 2018 - March 2019

Wild Water Racing

The SCA WWR Committee has had

another positive season and has

attracted new blood to the committee to

provide an impressive combination of

experience and youth. The ACM was

held at the National Championships

Race on the River Spey and new

committee positions have been set for

the period ahead. Paul Anderson takes

the position as Chair with Fraser Gormal

taking Vice-Chair.

WWR in Scotland is continuing to see

increased success and activity. This year

saw the introduction of the Scottish

Championship Series, apart from the GB

rankings, now with the depth to stand

alone. The decision to hold the National

Championships at Knockando, was a

conscious decision to support WWR

across the country and support activity

in the North.

The Committee is supporting the sport

with coach support in each of the three

regions (North/West/East) and

encouraging a new generation of race

organisers. New events on the Spey and

at Aberfeldy have emerged this past

year which has been wonderful to

attract cross discipline participation from

slalom.

Great Britain team selection has

continued to see the success of the past

4 years with a number of team

selections at World Championship and

World Cup levels. Support to these

athletes is achieved through coach

mentoring and group sessions.

The Winning Students Programme has

served the discipline well, and

discussions are now in place around

selection of next year’s nominations and

considerations towards a formal training

camp to compliment.

As I write the WWR Sprint World

Championships approach (September

2019, Spain), and we have several

athletes competing with the team. Laura

Milne is worthy of special mention as an

athlete that this past year has some

consistent performances with numerous

qualification to finals. At 18 years old,

Laura is a real one to watch.

Paul Anderson, SCA WWR Chair

24

Board of Directors

David Simpson President

Brian Chapman Chair

Kelso Riddell Finance Director

Steve Roebuck General Secretary

Elizabeth Cain* Recreation Director

Colin Tannock Competition Director

Claire Chapman Director

Dean Hollis Director

Stephen Linksted Director

#WeAreTheSCA

Staff Team

Stuart Smith Chief Executive

Remi Gaspard* Head of Performance & Pathways

Andy Murray Head of Coaching & Development

Claire Fergusson Operations Manager

Mikaela West Events & Communications Officer

Sean Martin* Events & Communications Officer (Maternity Cover)

Roger Holmes Development Manager

Margaret Winter Administrator

Doug MacDonald Coach & Pathway Developer

Anton Vazquez Performance Coach - Sprint

Martin Chorvath Performance Coach - Sprint

Stuart Gerrie Performance Coach - Slalom

Ben Macdonald Slalom Coach

SCA is a membership organisation that

wouldn’t exist without a wide range of

volunteers; whether that’s volunteers on

the Board, on one the committees, or in

clubs/organisations.

Members, Volunteers, Committees, Board

& Staff; Together, #WeAreTheSCA.

*Joined or left during the year

SCA Annual Report: April 2018 - March 2019

Access & Environment Policy Committee

David Rossetter

Eddie Palmer

Gavin Millar

Grant Dolier

Jonathan Kitching

Coaching & Development Committee

Andy Murray CAG Representative

Calum McNicol RO South West

Christopher Wilson RO Highlands and Islands

David Rossetter National Centre Representative

Doug Cooper CSG Representative

Elizabeth Cain RO Central

Kate Duffus RO Highlands and Islands

Kevin Knox RO Tayside

Lyle Smith RO Grampian and Shetland

Poppy Croal McKenzie

RO Lothians

Robert Baird RO Borders

Steve Frampton RO West

Recreation Committee

Liz Cain

Bruce Jolliffe

David Rossetter

Nicholas Bennett

Rachel Dance

Canoe Polo Committee

Alan McGonagle

Anil Rach

Chris Carracher

Gavin MacLean

Maxime Biret

Paul Walker

Ross BarronMarathon Committee

Brian Chapman

Debi Ives

Donald Gardner

Lizelle Kemp

Margaret Chapman

Rachel Syme

Slalom Committee

Calum McDiarmid

Gary Gibson

Madelaine Jennings

Tony Leaver

William Fotheringham

William Gerrie

Sprint Committee

Irene Stevely

Jacqui Brockway

Margaret Chapman

Patrick Armstrong

Terry Kowal

SUP Committee

David Rossetter

Samuel Dean

Surf Committee

David Russell

Dawn Horsburgh

Ian Sherrington

John Inglis

Neil Baxter

Sophie Tankere-Muller

Tracy Sherrington

Wild Water Racing Committee

Calum Urquhart

Cynthia Berry

Fraser Gormal

Jacob Holmes

Paul Anderson

With thanks to the 62 Volunteers on SCA Board & Core Committees

Committee Members as on 31/03/2019

”Together #WeAreTheSCA”

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Who We Work With

SCA Annual Report: April 2018 - March 2019

Club of the Year: Edinburgh Kayak Club

(awarded to EKC Chair Graham Nelson)

Edinburgh Kayak Club is recognised as an extremely active and inclusive club - they

have very young children as members, and also many members at the other end of the

age spectrum. The club caters to everyone it can, including paddlers with disabilities

and LGBT groups. There is an excellent male / female ratio, not just among paddlers but

among the coaches and leaders as well.

Volunteer Coach of the Year: Robert Jackson (posthumously awarded)

Robert’s contribution, enthusiasm and commitment went far beyond the call of duty and

he was a hugely valued member of Edinburgh Kayak Club. His energy, rapport with kids,

patience, friendliness and willingness to give up so much of his time coaching earned

him many nominations for this award.

We value the hard work of those who contribute to Paddlesport in Scotland. To recognise these people, their time, effort and enthusiasm for

the sport we have established a number of annual awards. A huge thank you for the contributions made by all those that were nominated

this year, and congratulations to all the deserving winners!

SCA Recognition Award Winners 2018

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Young Volunteer of the Year: Conner Mackenzie (Inverness CC)

Conner has become a hugely valued member of Inverness Canoe Club; his volunteering

hours with the club has assisted him in gaining a 500 hour Saltire Volunteering Award this

year along with his other involvements. Conner has served on the committee representing

the interests of the younger members, and he also maintained and updated the website -

in addition to organising various trips and encouraging cross discipline participation. His

enthusiasm is infectious, and he is an excellent role model for young people.

Equality & Diversity Award: Scottish Women’s Paddle Symposium

The event is designed to help women have fun in their boats in a friendly and welcoming

environment all whilst developing their techniques. With all of the volunteers and coaches

also being women only, it is a chance to meet like minded women and learn from their

experiences, on the water and equipment. The 2018 event was the 7th year running and

numbers are growing each year providing more support to women paddlers.

Professional Coach of the Year: Stuart Gerrie

Stuart made an outstanding contribution to the progression of Scottish Slalom paddlers in

a very short period of time. He began coaching on the SCA Performance Programme in

September 2017, having previously successfully developed paddlers at Strathallan Canoe

Club, and in that time has not only helped to accelerate the progression of our paddlers

but also invested heavily in his own development, upskilling in numerous different ways,

always challenging himself to improve. Stuart's open-minded and hard-working approach

to coaching is hugely appreciated.

SCA Annual Report: April 2018 - March 2019

Youth Coach of the Year: Tomas Duarte (Forth CC)

Through his organisation, humour and encouragement, Tomas is hugely popular with the

youngsters he coaches; he's great at building a rapport with them, and supporting them on

their paddlesports journey.

Willing Hands Quaich: Chris Carracher

Chris won this Award for his time and commitment dedicated to Canoe Polo in Scotland.

Through his hard work as Chair of the Canoe Polo Committee, the number of people

competing in all levels in Canoe Polo has increased, the number of clubs running their own

events has increased, and Scotland has gone from having a single team competing in the

National League to having four teams competing in England.

President’s Award: Jock Young

Jock was awarded the President’s Award for a lifelong contribution to the sport, through his

personal excellence, motivation and support of others, in Canoe Slalom, Surfing and

Coaching. He continues, 35 years after achieving the sport’s highest standards, to complete

at a high level in Surf, and to coach slalom paddlers, bringing on the next generation to the

highest levels. The award is to acknowledge the performance and the huge personal

commitment and generosity of a world beating paddler.

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