Canoe Wales ( cy, Canŵ Cymru) is the

national governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...

for paddlesport in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. It covers all branches of the sport from recreational

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

ing,

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

ing,

stand up paddleboarding Standup paddleboarding (SUP) is a water sport born from surfing with modern roots in Hawaii. Stand up paddleboarders stand on boards that are floating on the water, and use a paddle to propel themselves through the water. The sport was doc ...

and

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

to whitewater racing, slalom racing and wildwater racing; flatwater sprint racing and marathon racing;

canoe sailing Canoe sailing refers to the practice of fitting an Austronesian outrigger or Western canoe with sails. Austronesian sailing canoes The outrigger canoe was one of the key technological innovations of the Austronesian peoples. Although there is ...

; canoe polo; surf kayaking and canoeing; and

extreme racing Extreme racing involves paddling a kayak down a section of hard whitewater. The race is similar to a timed version of creeking. The rivers used for this sport are typically class V, containing waterfalls and dangerous rapids. Races may have mass-s ...

. The organisation has over 2,700 members including individual paddlers as well as affiliated club members. Full adult members of Canoe Wales are also by default Welsh members of

British Canoeing British Canoeing, formerly known as the British Canoe Union (BCU) is a national governing body for canoeing in the United Kingdom, established in 1936 as the British Canoe Union. In 2000 it federalised to become the umbrella organisation for t ...

. Canoe Wales' vision is to create an "inclusive and active paddling community in Wales" and its mission is "to inspire and support more people across Wales to go paddling".

History

Formerly known as the Welsh Canoeing Association, it was in the past responsible for the formal access agreements on the

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on ...

, Glaslyn, Llwyd,

Ogwr The Borough of Ogwr was one of six districts of Mid Glamorgan in Wales, which existed from 1974 to 1996. History It was formed under the Local Government Act 1972 from the urban districts of Bridgend, Maesteg, Ogmore and Garw and Porthcawl, a ...

Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

Tawe The River Tawe (; cy, Afon Tawe ) is a long river in South Wales. Its headwaters flow initially east from its source below Llyn y Fan Fawr south of Moel Feity in the Black Mountains, the westernmost range of the Brecon Beacons National ...

Tryweryn The Tryweryn is a river in the north of Wales which starts at Llyn Tryweryn in the Snowdonia National Park and after joins the river Dee at Bala. One of the main tributaries of the Dee, it was dammed in 1965 to form Llyn Celyn, drowning th ...

, Twrch,

Usk Usk ( cy, Brynbuga) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks th ...

and Wye and informal agreements on rivers and managed stillwaters. However, following conflicts of interest, it has disavowed access agreements and begun to seek a legislative solution to access problems hoping for a parallel to the

Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which establishes statutory public rights of access to land and makes provisions under which bodies representing rural and crofting communities may buy land. Provisions T ...

. It is also responsible for the rights of navigation agreements on sections of the Lugg, Severn and Wye. Canoe Wales organises competition at national and international level in all the canoeing and kayaking disciplines in Wales: freestyle; slalom; wild water racing; marathon racing; sprint racing; surf kayaking; and canoe polo.

Responsibilities

Canoe Wales manages

Canolfan Tryweryn Canolfan Tryweryn is the National White Water Centre for Wales, and is based near Bala in north Wales. It developed the first commercial white water rafting operation in the UK in 1986, and since then has grown to become the largest and on ...

, the National Whitewater Centre near

Bala, Gwynedd Bala ( cy, Y Bala) is a town and community in Gwynedd, Wales. Formerly an urban district, Bala lies in the historic county of Merionethshire, at the north end of Bala Lake ( cy, Llyn Tegid). According to the 2021 Census, Bala had a population ...

, where the organisation is based. The

Afon Tryweryn The Tryweryn is a river in the north of Wales which starts at Llyn Tryweryn in the Snowdonia National Park and after joins the river Dee at Bala. One of the main tributaries of the Dee, it was dammed in 1965 to form Llyn Celyn, drowning the ...

is a dam released river, allowing water to flow when other rivers are running dry, providing a year-round white water venue. Canoe Wales is also a supporter of th
Clear Access Clear Waters
campaign (formerly the

Rivers Access Campaign The Rivers Access Campaign is an ongoing initiative by the British Canoe Union (BCU) to open up the inland waterways of England and Wales to the public. Under current English and Welsh law, public access to rivers is restricted, and only 2% of a ...

), and has been seeking government approved statutory access to rivers for over 50 years.

References

External links

Canoe Wales websiteBecome a member of Canoe Wales

Canolfan Tryweryn website
{{Canoeing and kayaking Canoeing in Wales Sports governing bodies in Wales Canoe organizations Canoeing in the United Kingdom