Spring 2023 Paddleboarding London Events

Spring 2023 Paddleboarding London Events

UPCOMING EVENTS

Spring is nearly here and we’ve got lots of great opportunities for you to get out on the water with us.

 

We’re just over a month away from our weekend away in Amsterdam. This 3-day trip is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the spring-like weather and catch tulip season in full bloom. We’ll be making the most of the urban canals as well as visiting the local city beach. With ample opportunity to tack on extra time before or after our SUP sessions, we have just a FEW spaces leftfind out more and book your place here.

 

Our schedule will expand in April with sessions starting at St Katharine Docks and more days/times available in Camden and Hackney. This year we’re introducing more sessions for non-beginners, or those who have a basic knowledge of paddling. These sessions are an opportunity to be on the water quicker, travel further and also the option to work on specific skills. Look for sessions marked: Speed & Endurance, Skills and our standard Social paddlesSee the full schedule here

Paddle 2 the Pub & Paddle and Prosecco are back! It’s official, social SUPs are back in full swing with our monthly Paddle 2 the Pub kicking off in May. Our first Paddle 2 the Pub is the first Friday in May, which also happens to coincide with the full Flower moon. Book your spot now!

 

We’ve got a fantastic half-day Skills Clinic coming up with GB Sup Champion Emily King.  In this masterclass you will learn how to manage the different stages of your paddle stoke, the tactical paddle strokes and how to improve your efficiency to paddle in different environments.  It’s open to all levels – Sunday 26 March 9.30-12.30pm £50 in Camden.  Find out more here

 

Did you see our SUP Yoga class featured in the beautiful book Dock Life renewed – How London’s Docks are thriving again by Niki Gorick?  Our club members can take advantage of an exclusive £10 discount and secure a signed copy for orders before 4 April. Drop us a message to find out how to claim yours or order your own copy here. 

 

British Canoeing Delivery Partner

You may have heard the news that British Canoeing has become the official governing body for Stand Up Paddleboarding. This is great news for the sport and will lead to more continuity of standards for coaching and centres throughout the UK. As official British Canoeing delivery partners, we’re proud to be now offering two of their key SUP courses
British Canoeing Personal Performance Awards – SUP Safer (half-day) and SUP Sheltered Water (full-day). See more about the awards, dates and how to book here.

 

 

The wonderful Jo Moseley, author of Stand-Up Paddleboarding in Great Britain will be coming to Stanfords Travel Bookshop in Covent Garden on 19 April to talk about her paddle adventures. Tickets are £5 and include a glass of wine or soft drink. Get your tickets here.

 

Upskill Your SUP Skills sessions start in April on Tuesday evenings. Open to club and non club members alike, these sessions tackle different skills every two weeks. The first week is a detailed intro and practice time, with week 2 reinforcing the learning and more practice time. It’s possible to attend one without the other but both are recommended to really solidify the skill. Topics include: paddling faster & straighter, moving around the board, mastering turns, race skills and paddle tricks. See the full schedule here.

 

 

Our SUP & Social Club spring challenge is the Limehouse Loop – scheduled for Sunday 16 April, we’ll be setting off from Hackney early for a full day of paddling around some of East London’s most iconic areas and the oldest parts of Regent’s Canal. We’re opening up the challenge to club members only to start so if you’re keen, join the club! Memberships start from £1 per year – find out more here.

 

Don’t forget us when planning your Birthday Parties, Hen and Stag Dos, Corporate Team Building Events, or just a great gift idea for friends and family. We offer:
• Private lessons
• Paddle 2 the Pub
• Paddle & Prosecco
• Paddle & Pizza
• SUP Yoga
• Urban Safaris
• Bespoke events

See you on the water soon!

– The Paddleboarding London Team

 

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Representation Matters – A Guest Post by People of Colour Paddle Founder Adya Misra

Representation Matters – A Guest Post by People of Colour Paddle Founder Adya Misra

PEOPLE OF COLOUR PADDLE

Normalising the participation of people of colour in paddlesport

A guest post by POC Paddle founder Adya Misra

Hello, I’m Adya Misra, a British Canoeing paddlesports coach. While this is not my day job, paddling has become so much more than a hobby. I volunteer at Liverpool Canoe Club, where I am the lead for all stand up paddleboarding activity and spend most of my time coaching kayaking, canoeing and of course paddleboarding. I spend quite a lot of time on my board, but I’m a sea-kayaker at heart and love going on long expeditions in my boat.

I was a British Canoeing #ShePaddles club champion in 2020-2021 and I am passionate about getting more women involved in paddlesports. My experience during this time helped me realise that our efforts to increase diversity need to be multifaceted and intersectional, as we are more than just one thing. The ShePaddles initiative focusses so much on girls and women, but the wider community doesn’t consider racial or ethnic diversity, neurodiversity, disabilities or diversity in body size. I spent all of 2021 thinking about whether it is enough that I am a paddlesports coach, or is it also important that others who look like me get to that place too? Reflecting on being the change I’d like to see, I felt that being truly inclusive means I cannot stop once I reach my goals.

 

What is People of Colour Paddle?

People of Colour Paddle is a nationwide community initiative to increase participation of people of colour in paddlesports within the UK with the view of connecting often urbanised communities back to nature. I often use the word “normalise” participation instead of “inspire” on social media because I don’t want people to be like me, I want them to have a much better experience and a range of opportunities that I didn’t have. I would like to see a future where it is normal for women of colour to participate in paddlesports and are encouraged by their families, their wider community.

My coaching philosophy revolves around empowerment and confidence building; these principles firmly underpin this project.

Through this work, I hope to be able to get new people trying paddling, falling in love with it like I did and helping them progress to leadership roles within paddlesports. When I qualified as a paddleboarding coach I said to my assessor, “I’d like to build a mentoring program for historically marginalised communities”. In order to get there, we need to build our communities within paddlesport and reach those who have never thought about trying paddleboarding, kayaking, canoeing.

 

Why is this needed?

At current count, there are very few people of colour who retain prominent leadership/coaching roles within the paddlesports community. This lack of representation from Asian, South Asian, Afro-Carribean diaspora in turn reduces likelihood of people from these backgrounds attempting to try paddlesports because they don’t see faces that look like them represented. As an example, it’s hard to find people of colour represented on Instagram pages that belong to paddling brands or paddlesport organisations. I don’t know how many look at these pages and maybe think, paddlesport is just for white folks.

We also have issues within our communities that may hinder us. Lack of generational wealth or not as much free time means that our parents didn’t always have the opportunity to introduce us to outdoor activities. There are also huge barriers in our communities when it comes to learning how to swim. So many women of colour tell me they taught themselves how to swim in their 30s or 40s or even later. There is such a big focus on being financially stable and staying academically focussed to get good jobs, paddlesports doesn’t feature in conversation. Going back to what I said earlier, no one that looks like us does any paddlesports, so why should we?

Practically, this means that people of colour remain disconnected from our blue spaces, and have reduced opportunities to become involved in larger conversations around environmental issues that affect paddlers. Climate change affects all of us, yet many of us are not part of the conversation or action. I believe we need to bring more folks from our historically marginalised communities in these important conversations, so we can bring about change in a more meaningful way. Apart from these serious issues, people of colour remain completely bereft of the joy of being on the water- whether it is after a day’s work, or on the weekend with the family or trying to make it to Team GB.

Through this project I am trying to reach the people of colour in the UK who wouldn’t consider paddlesports as a leisure activity, maybe never even heard of it. I am hoping lots of people will try it and enjoy paddling, and maybe able to make it part of their life. Confidence building, partnership and sustainability form the founding principles of this project as I hope to create long lasting change for our communities. If you are willing to support us in person or on social media, please email me at pocpaddle@gmail.com or connect with us on social media (@peopleofcolourpaddle on Instagram and @pocpaddle on Twitter).

Look out for POC Paddles coming up in 2022 at Paddleboarding London!

 

 

 

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Why You Need to Go Paddle boarding in London

Why You Need to Go Paddle boarding in London

Why You Need Try Paddle boarding in London

Think you know London? Think again – even life-long Londoners are surprised how different things look on board

The Pirate Castle in Camden, home to paddleboarding London

Thinking of visiting London? Chances are paddleboarding might not be top of your list of things to do in such a busy city – but we’re here to change that!

Paddleboarding London offers tours and lessons to suit all abilities. From our centrally located base in Camden we offer SUP tours for beginners/competent paddles which head west through Primrose Hill, past the London Zoo and Regent’s Park. Competent paddlers can also join our occasional trips heading east towards Kings Cross.

Urban paddling is a far different experience than paddling in crystal clear waters of the sea, but it’s a fantastic way to get a feel for the city, see some amazing street art and experience life like a local.

Paddle boarding Camden to Regent’s Park – What You’ll See

The Pirate Castle, Camden Town
The Pirate Castle is nothing if not recognisable. Perfectly at home in ‘anything goes’ Camden, you might be surprised to learn that it was in fact designed by famous architect Richard Seifert. Seifert, best known for iconic buildings like Centre Point on New Oxford Street and Tower 42, built more London buildings than Sir Christopher Wren.

With a clear penchant to modern, even futuristic, design, it might seem a bit at odds that he would design our quirky castle home, complete with rounded turret on top.

The oddities of the building are equally matched by the eccentricities of the charity it houses. The Pirate Castle centre for children’s watersports was founded in the 1960s by Jestyn Reginald Austine Plantagenet Phillips (say that two times fast…) also known as Viscount St Davids, son of Baroness Strange of Knowkin, Hungerford and De Moleys. The Viscount adopted the name ‘Peg-Leg’ late in life after fracturing his leg in a fall between the club’s original narrowboat home and the pontoon.

The charity originally ran from the old narrow boat and the original ‘pirates’ earned their name by ‘requesting’ donations from the canal boats as they passed through the nearby Camden lock, hence being nicknamed little Pirates. Their fundraising efforts were eventually boosted when they detained the Lord Mayor of London in the club’s dungeon while requesting ransom.

In 2008, an extension updated the facilities to make it fully accessible to those with physical disabilities. The Pirate Prince, a fully disabled-accessible wide-beam canal boat runs trips all year round to help make the canal accessible to all.

Paddleboarding London is proud to be supporting The Pirate Castle through lessons and donations. We donate a portion of each booking back to the charity to help with its fantastic work.

Check back for our next instalment on one of London’s rare floating restaurants!

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Paddleboarding London