Welcome

Lower Wharfe Canoe club is a family orientated club, with a base at Tadcaster Community Swimming Pool in the winter, and Bishopthorpe on the River Ouse in the summer. We have a wide range of members aged eight to eighty who enjoy the sports of canoeing and kayaking.

We are a friendly welcoming club that run many water and non-water based events that are well attended. The club has a large number of both adults and children who enjoy the sport and develop their skills onto faster moving water, and into high level competitions through the slalom section, with our most successful paddlers going on to compete for Great Britain at international events.

The club is open to all abilities and it is a great place to come along and have a go at a new activity. To join please select membership when using our contact form

Calendar of Events

See below for our 2024 programme to give you a flavour of our events. It should be noted that events can be added, changed or removed subject to water & weather conditions plus coaches availability, so please make sure you book on our WebCollect booking system to ensure that you are kept up top date on plans or watch our Facebook page for details of these events & any additional events we add through the year.

2024 Programme

Club Sections

We have sections which run events for the particular types of canoeing. If you are interested in any of these specific areas please chat with any of the coaches at the pool or river & they will direct you to the appropriate section leaders. You can also use our contact form

Touring Section

“Does anybody fancy a slightly longer paddle?” was the question posed by one of our club members at the back end of 2006.

We run day trips, long distance camping trips and weekends away with the rest of the club. Our venues are either based on Lakes, canals or flat rivers.

We have six club boats available for hire, and a day’s paddle is usually between 8 and 14 miles. So, do you fancy a slightly longer paddle?

Select Touring when using the contact form

Whitewater

This year the club is aiming to revive our white water section by providing Introduction to White Water paddling sessions.

For those interested in learning trips to Sleningford are a nice grade 2 (Gentle moving water) , Linton Locks & Howsham water Mill are a good introduction…

Rivers such as the Tees & Swale are used for more advanced paddlers. Club trips are open to all members based on ability. Just ask a coach if you are interested in having a go & they will advise the best trips for your ability.

Choose whitewater when using the contact form

Slalom

One of our two competitive areas, slalom is a fast-exhilarating sport where competitors must navigate a river whilst passing through gates along their way!!

Past & present members of Lower Wharfe have represented GB & GB U23 in this Olympic discipline; Currently we don’t provide any regular slalom training for members, but there are opportunities for ad hoc training at various local training centres & competitions. Please contact us and we can help: choose slalom when using the contact form

Canoe Polo

We currently have a dormant polo section, in the past we have played in Yorkshire Division 2. We aim to run ad hoc polo sessions on a Sunday night to provide members with an opportunity to experience this exciting game.

For more information use the contact link above or apply to join our Polo Facebook page. Choose polo when using the contact form

Coaching

The Club offers training & testing for the Paddle UK Awards through its own team of coaches & leaders. Training and assessment up to Explore Personal Performance is available and club coaches can train you for discipline specific awards and arrange assessment. Leadership, Coaching & Paddlesport Safety and Rescue Training and assessments can also be arranged. Would all those interested in training or testing please register with a senior committee member. See Club Documents for more detail on how we implement the Paddle UK Awards.

Equipment

The Club owns a fleet of kayaks and canoes together with ancillary equipment. This equipment is available for use during club paddles only, but must be booked the week prior to the event at the latest – bookings are taken on Webcollect as part of the event.

Social Events

In the winter we always aim for a Christmas & new year paddle, weather & river levels permitting.

Most warmer months we also organise a morning butty paddle which finishes at Bishopthorpe Marina for Chatting, Coffee & Bacon Butties.

We have a celebratory pizza after our last river coaching session in August.

Apart from the larger activities mentioned here the club usually ends up at a pub or tea shop after all of our river trips.

We are always looking for members to organise ad hoc social events, if you would like to help please contact one of our committee.