Canoe Wales () is the national governing body for paddlesport in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It covers all branches of the sport from recreational

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

ing,

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

ing, Standup paddleboarding, stand up paddleboarding and

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

to whitewater racing, slalom racing and wildwater racing; flatwater sprint racing and marathon racing; canoe sailing;

canoe polo Canoe polo, also known as kayak polo or polo (to players and fans), is one of the competitive disciplines of kayaking. It incorporates ball-handling skills into a contact team game, wherein group tactics and positional play are as important as in ...

; surf kayaking and canoeing; and extreme racing. The organisation has over 2,700 members including individual paddlers as well as affiliated club members. Full adult members of Canoe Wales are also by default Welsh members of Paddle UK.

History

Formerly known as the Welsh Canoeing Association, it was in the past responsible for the formal access agreements on the

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy ...

, Glaslyn, Llwyd,

Ogwr The Borough status in the United Kingdom, Borough of Ogwr was one of six districts of Wales, districts of Mid Glamorgan in Wales, which existed from 1974 to 1996. History It was formed under the Local Government Act 1972 from the Urban district ...

Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

, Tawe,

Tryweryn Afon Tryweryn is a river in the north of Wales which starts at Llyn Tryweryn in the Snowdonia National Park and after joins the river Dee at Bala. One of the main tributaries of the Dee, it was dammed in 1965 to form Llyn Celyn. The Tryweryn ...

, Twrch,

Usk Usk () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks the ancient cr ...

and Wye and informal agreements on rivers and managed still waters. However, following conflicts of interest, it has disavowed access agreements and begun to seek a legislative solution to access problems hoping for a parallel to the

Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which establishes statutory public rights of access to land and makes provisions under which bodies representing rural and crofting communities may buy land. Provisions ...

. It is also responsible for the rights of navigation agreements on sections of the Lugg, Severn and Wye. Canoe Wales organises competition at national and international level in all the canoeing and kayaking disciplines in Wales: freestyle; slalom; wild water racing; marathon racing; sprint racing; surf kayaking; and canoe polo.

Responsibilities

Canoe Wales manages

Canolfan Tryweryn Canolfan Tryweryn is the National White Water Centre for Wales, and is based near Bala in north Wales. In 1986, it developed the first commercial white water rafting operation in the UK. The centre is home to paddlesport National Governing ...

, the National Whitewater Centre near

Bala, Gwynedd Bala () is a town and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, Wales. Formerly an Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district, Bala lies in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merionethshire, at the north end of Bal ...

, where the organisation is based. The

Afon Tryweryn Afon Tryweryn is a river in the north of Wales which starts at Llyn Tryweryn in the Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contain ...

is a dam released river, allowing water to flow when other rivers are running dry, providing a year-round white water venue.

References

{{Canoeing and kayaking Canoeing in Wales Sports governing bodies in Wales Canoeing organizations