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European Canoe Slalom Championships praised by International Federation

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Jessica Whitehorn 02 June 2009

The 2009 European Canoe Slalom Championships, held in Nottingham last weekend, has been praised by the sport’s international federation, for providing a world class sporting event experience for athletes and spectators alike.

The Championship was hosted by the British Canoe Union (BCU), and supported by UK Sport’s Major Events team and National Lottery funded World Class Events Programme and Nottinghamshire County Council.

Albert Woods, President of the European Canoe Association (ECA), attended the Championships and commented: “We were delighted to have both the President and General Secretary of the International Canoe Federation present to witness the competition in Nottingham at the weekend, and they both expressed to me how impressed they were by the organisation and spectacle of this Championship.

“As President of the British Canoe Union as well as the ECA, I was very proud not only of the British team but also the execution and delivery of the event as a whole. I look forward to working with the BCU and our partners to continue to improve towards the home Olympics in 2012.”  

Esther Nicholls, UK Sport’s Event Consultant for the 2009 European Canoe Slalom Championships, said: “It has been fantstic to support the BCU in bringing this Championship to the UK after fifteen years since the sport’s last major international competition here.

“The British athletes responded well to the home crowds and 320 volunteers were given the opportunity to gain experience of a major international canoeing event in preparation for London 2012. The event also attracted over 2500 spectators on the final day of competition, showing the enthusiasm for world class sporting events in the UK.”

Huw Swetnam, who won gold in the men's K1 class team event and achieved a personal best position of 8th in the individual K1, commented: “It's probably been one of the best run events I've ever been to. Thanks to all the volunteers and organisations that have put money and effort into it, it has been absolutely superb. From an athlete’s point of view, everything ran like clockwork; it's far easier to compete when it's like that."

The Great Britain Canoe Slalom team won four medals at the 2009 European Championships; two golds in the men’s and women’s K1 teams (Campbell Walsh, Richard Hounslow and Swetnam and Louise Donington, Laura Blakeman and Lizzie Neave, respectively), one silver in the men’s C2 team (Tim Baillie, Etienne Stott, David Florence, Hounslow, Daniel Goddard and Colin Radmore) and one bronze in the C2 pairing (Baillie and Stott).

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