Gloucester Short Course Assessment

MARATHON RACING COMMITTEE

SHORT COURSE ASSESSMENT RACE FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

DATE

25^th July 2021

VENUE

Gloucester Canoe Club, Gloucester GL2 5LE. Follow yellow signs for the NHS COVID testing site, which shares an entrance with the club. The NHS centre are aware of the race and will wave cars with boats through.

COVID

Social distancing should be maintained at the venue at all times. If you have any of the symptoms of COVID-19, or are required to self-isolate, or have had a positive test please DO NOT travel to the event.

Face masks must be worn when entering the canoe club building to use changing rooms or toilets. Please try to minimise use of the changing rooms.

RACES

Heats and A/B finals over a 3.6km course for all classes. All entrants will race twice with a gap of roughly 2 hours between races.

The short-course marathon race is now a full ICF World Championship event for senior singles classes. It incorporates three laps of roughly 1.2km each with a portage at the end of the first and second laps. Although there is no World Championship for juniors or U23s over this distance, the MRC are including junior classes in this assessment race and will be taking results into consideration for World Championships selection.

ENTRIES

Entries to be made using the online entry system https://entries.gbcanoemarathon.co.uk/entries

Please bear in mind that the entry system requires a valid BC membership.

Entries will open on the 9th June
Entries will close on the 21st July at 23:59
Late entries or name changes will not be available. Please DO NOT travel to the event unless you have an entry or are accompanying an athlete.

Entries will be capped at 30 per class in each class listed below. Entry will be on a first come first served basis.

FEES

£10 per head, all classes. Payable online in advance via the entry system only.

CHECKING IN & BRIEFING

To minimise personal contact due to COVID there will be no manned check-in desk. All entry details will be published online at canoeracing.org.uk/marathon. Paddlers should collect their race number from the information point (gazebo), and familiarise themselves with the race briefing published online.

CHANGING

Although the race date falls after the potential lifting of lockdown restrictions now scheduled for 19^th July, there is no guarantee that the restrictions will change on the number of people who can gather indoors.

INFORMATION DURING RACING

All paddlers will be given a link to join a WhatsApp group during the day, where details of finals progression and any changes to the timetable will be published. These details will also be written on a whiteboard at the information point (gazebo) during racing.

TIMETABLE

1000 - Junior Men Heat 1

1002 - Junior Men Heat 2

1030 - C1W and C1J final if there are more than 2, otherwise race with Jnr Women

1032 - Junior Women Heat 1

1034 - Junior Women Heat 2

1100 - Senior Men Heat 1
1102 - Senior Men Heat 2

1130 - C1 final if there are more than 2, otherwise race with Snr Women
1132 - Senior Women Heat 1
1134 - Senior Women Heat 2

1200 - Junior Men Final 1

1202 - Junior Men Final 2

1215 – 30 minute break for pleasure boat (may be moved to before junior men’s finals)

1245 - Junior Women Final 1

1247 - Junior Women Final 2

1315 - Senior Men Final 1
1317 - Senior Men Final 2

1345 - Senior Women Final 1
1347 - Senior Women Final 2

COURSE

The start line will be opposite the portage in front of Gloucester CC. Paddlers will line up at a pre-start line and progress slowly to the start line for a stationary start as per marathon racing rules.

Paddlers will continue south (to the right when standing on the landing stage of the club) for around 500m, and anti-clockwise around the far turn near the fork junction in the river. They will return past the club on the right hand bank, turning anti-clockwise around 100m at the near turn, to portage on the club landing stage. This lap will be repeated a second time in full including the portage. On the third lap, the paddlers will return from the far turn and finish in front of the club without doing the near turn and without portaging.

PROGRESSION FROM HEATS TO FINALS

Entries will be split randomly and evenly into two heats per class. The number of boats progressing to Final A in each class will depend on entry numbers – around 2/3 of qualifiers coming from the top placed paddlers with the last few places decided on next fastest finishers. All paddlers will progress to either Final A or Final B and race twice.

Specific qualification quotas will be published online on 22^nd July along with start lists and final race details.

PORTAGE

The portage is under 50m on a mostly concrete surface, with a narrow band of decking on the water’s edge, and around 10m for entry and exit at each end. The portage will be swept before racing but athletes must take personal responsibility for risk to their feet if running barefoot.

WARMING UP

Paddlers may warm up beyond the near turn while other classes are racing. Paddlers will not be allowed to embark from the landing stage when racing competitors are approaching.

RIVER TRAFFIC

A pleasure boat operates to a set timetable on this stretch of canal. Racing will be fitted around this timetable. Starts may be held up at any time if river traffic precludes a safe and fair race.

SAFETY

Safety canoes will be positioned near both turns during racing, to offer support to capsixed paddlers and to direct any other river traffic. All paddlers entering this race are expected to be very competent racers, familiar with intense racing in fast groups on bumpy water and ranked no lower than marathon Div 5. If you or your coach are unsure if you are ready for a race of this type, you should not enter the race.

All boats must be equipped with adequate buoyancy to provide support to a capsized paddler and to ensure the boat does not sink. This should be in the form of additional buoyancy or bulkheads.

A capsized paddler will be no more than 20m away from the towpath at any time during racing. All entrants will be expected to be able to swim to the bank in the event of normal capsize.

A Defibrillator is located in the Canoe Club.

FOOD & REFRESHMENTS

Paddlers should bring along food and drink for the day. Water, squash, fruit and a doughnut will be available to competitors. Please also bring drinks containers as there will be no disposable cups for competitors’ water.

RACING RULES

This race will take place under MRC Racing Rules published at canoeracing.org.uk/marathon. Paddlers should particularly note the rules on starts, and littering.