Did you know that there was a canoeing club in Melksham? At the back of the park? Did you know that your local canoe club has had 2 world champions and a host of GB team members over the last 5 years?
Wiltshire Youth Canoe Club does what it says on the can. Its main purpose is training young people to be brilliant canoeists. It is happy for alumni to continue to canoe under its banner as they mature, but its main focus is on helping young people to maximise their potential, or just canoeing for fun – which it is.
The club runs fun sessions for all ages on Saturday afternoons and Wednesday evenings, and is very welcoming to anyone who fancies coming along for a go. All equipment is provided for beginners and it is great fun.
Head Coach, Kevin Bowerbank, is a world champion marathon canoeist and Canoeing GB youth coach. He has dedicated his life to bringing ordinary people on to do extraordinary things. Amongst his achievements he coached Ed McKeever, the Bradford on Avon based 500m sprinter, to Gold in London 2012. He also coached Hannah Brown to a World title in Wild Water Racing in 2016.
In fact, in the last few years, WYCC has had virtually the entire under 18 GB Wild Water Racing team with Hannah and Freddie Brown, Rachel Slade, Spencer Armstrong, Ben Oakley, and Lucy Brown. Most have now gone on to represent GB at the senior or under 23 level, most recently in World Cup events in France and China at the end of 2019.
The club says, “Canoeing is brilliant fun, and doesn’t have to cost much. Come along at 2pm on a Saturday and have a go. If you like it, you can continue to paddle for fun, or if you want to take it a bit more seriously, who knows, you could be another Melksham World Champion of the future!”
