April Sprint Regatta – 11 and 12 April 2026

Worcester Canoe Club paddlers showed resilience and determination at the opening canoe sprint regatta of the 2026 season, held over the weekend of 11th–12th April 2026 in Nottingham. Racing was heavily affected by difficult conditions, with a persistent strong headwind across both days and even a hailstorm on Sunday afternoon causing delays to the schedule.

Despite the challenging environment, Worcester athletes produced a number of encouraging performances across all age groups.

The senior women delivered some of the standout performances of the weekend. Emily showed great consistency, taking 2nd place in the 200m, 500m and the 1000m. Amy also raced strongly, finishing 3rd in the 200m, 7th in the 500m, and 8th over 1000m, demonstrating depth in the women’s squad.

In the senior men’s events, Lochie put together a competitive set of results, including an impressive 4th in the 200m and a second placed finish in F3 giving him an overall result of 20th in the 500m.

In the U18 boys category, Freddy led the way with a solid series of races, placing 10th in the 200m, 6th in the 500m, and 7th over 1000m. He also combined well in the K2 1000m, securing an excellent 2nd place finish. Louis battled through the heats in tough conditions, finishing 9th in his 500m heat, he’ll be back later in the year, and having spent more time in his boat, not on the football or rugby fields, he will no doubt be back to his best and chasing the older athletes in search of another Olympic Hopes spot. Doogal also raced in the U18 category to gain experience of the crewboat selection process. He raised his game and raced well, making 2nd finals in many of his races. Tom showed strong pacing in the sprints, finishing 9th in the 200m Boys C and a 5th place finish over 500m in k2 with his partner from Royal CC and an 11th placed finish, racing up in  Boys A/B. Finn battled his way through the conditions and qualified well for the K1 1000m in Boys B, finishing 9th in that final. The last of our boys was Fergus who was racing in the Boys B category, he raced really well and proved what a huge competitor he is by taking on, and frequently beating, much older boys. He finished the weekend with two 2nd place finishes in the K1 500m and 1000m and a 10th placed ranking in the combined Boys A/B k2 500m.

Florence competed well in the girls C category, placing 7th in the 200m, although she was unfortunate not to qualify for her 500m final. Kaylen, racing in girls D, showed determination by competing in both the 200m and 500m after only being back in a boat periodically over the winter and just returning from an exhausting school trip to Iceland, the country!

Overall, the weekend provided a tough but valuable start to the season. The demanding conditions tested both physical and mental resilience, and Worcester paddlers can take confidence from their performances as they build towards the summer racing period on hopefully calmer waters.

Photos by official photographer, Anthony Edmunds.