Melksham’s youth canoe club is celebrating the achievements of three young athletes from the town who are now competing on the international stage.
Katie Pocklington, Freddie Brown and Regan Toop, who all trained at the Wiltshire Youth Canoe Club (WYCC) on the River Avon at King George V Park, have progressed to compete at world and European level in various paddle sports disciplines.
Freddie recently took part in the European Canoe Association Wildwater Championships in Italy. Regan has been selected to represent Great Britain in the U23 World Wildwater Racing single canoe event in Slovenia this July, and Katie has been chosen to compete in the European 200m sprint event in Romania.
“Very well done, Team WYCC are very proud of you,” said club chair Paul Whitlock. “All the young people are from Melksham and originally trained here at our club near the King George V Park. They have gone on to be really successful in their disciplines that they trained for.”
Their achievements follow in the footsteps of former WYCC paddler and Freddie’s sister, Hannah Brown (double world champion), who is now head coach for the Great British sprint team.
“Hannah, Katie, Freddie and Regan are all home-grown athletes from Melksham and trained at WYCC by our brilliant coach Kevin Bowerbank,” added Paul.
Youth-focused club
The youth-focused club which offers paddle sports such as canoeing, kayaking and paddle boarding both recreationally and competitively, is proud of its inclusive and supportive atmosphere.
Paul explained, “The club is a small club. I took over as the chairman in March and encourage all our members to support each other, whether you’re a complete novice or seasoned pro competing on the European and World stage, what’s important is retaining the family ethos we have at the club.”
He added, “We have two elements with the club. One that caters for children who just like to come and have fun on sunny days, they go on paddle boards, canoes and kayaks and enjoy paddling up and down river. We often attract new members especially during the warmer weather.”
“The other caters for members who like the competitive element. They train three times a week in their race boats, even throughout the winter months. We often have members competing at different events in and around the county, including national events. Our Saturday sessions run back-to-back, where our competitive members and the recreational members have the opportunity to interact with each other. It’s nice to see our older (teenage) competitive members working with and encouraging our younger members to help improve their skill set, it can really inspire the little ones, you can often see their confidence grow during our sessions.”
Katie’s dad praised the club for providing opportunities to young people locally, saying,
“It is wonderful that these opportunities are available in Melksham, with world class training open to anybody, and I do mean anybody. And you can go far.”
