The Scottish Canoe Association ( sco, Scots Canoe Associe; gd, Comann Curach na h-Alba) 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 ...
for
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 ter ...
ing,
kayaking and other paddlesport in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
.
It covers all branches of the sport from recreational activities to
canoe slalom
Canoe slalom (previously known as whitewater slalom) is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on river rapids in the fastest time possible. It is one of ...
;
wildwater racing;
flatwater sprint racing and marathon racing;
canoe sailing;
canoe polo;
surf kayaking and canoeing; and
extreme racing (including the international event on the
Glen Nevis in
Lochaber
Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creatio ...
).
It was founded in 1939 by four canoe clubs, the Canoe Section of the Camping Club,
Clyde Canoe Club,
Forth Canoe Club (1934) and Scottish Youth Hostels Canoe Club. The body now has approximately 3,000 individual members, including 1,750 qualified coaches, plus 90 affiliated clubs and associate organisations.
Performance
In March 2019, SCA announced double Olympic medallist
Jon Schofield as their Head of Performance & Pathways.
SCA Performance runs programmes in 2 Olympic disciplines, Sprint and Slalom canoeing. Rio 2016 saw the introduction of Paracanoe in the Paralympic programme and SCA aim to support the identification of Scottish athletes to join the British Canoeing Programme centrally delivered in Nottingham High Performance Centre.
Disciplines
There is a diverse range of different disciplines covered by Scottish Canoe Association. Along with the traditional competitive disciplines (including the two Olympic disciplines of Sprint and Slalom) there are several recreational disciplines:
Regional development
SCA have 9 regions in Scotland. They are Borders, Central, Fife, Tayside, Grampian and Shetland, HIghlands and Islands, Lothians, South West and West.
Each region has its own Regional Officer, whose purpose is to:
* Support the delivery of SCA strategy within the region
* Act as a regional contact for SCA members, affiliated clubs and centres linking them to SCA volunteers, committees and staff as appropriate
* Support SCA coaching and development work in the region
* Represent the SCA Coaching Service within the region
* Be a regional ambassador for SCA and British Canoeing
Governance
The SCA Board is responsible for high-level planning, governance, and compliance with legislation. SCA Committees deal with specific paddling development and planning and therefore play a key role in the delivery of SCA activities. The Board and Committees are strongly supported by employed staff in areas of Coaching & Development, Performance and Administration.
References
Sports organizations established in 1939
Canoeing
Sport in Edinburgh
1939 establishments in Scotland
Canoe organizations
Kayaking
Paddleboarders
Canoe polo
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