The Midlands Short Course Championships 2026

Midlands Short Course Championships 2026

Hosted by

Burton Phoenix Canoe Club

Saturday 18th April 2026

Welcome to the Midlands Short Course Marathon on the gorgeous River Trent.

VENUE:   Newton Park, Newton Road, Burton on Trent DE15 0TU Check-in, refreshments, results and prize giving.  Please bring cash as we do not have a card reader.  Thank you.

PARKING:   On the field as directed by marshals.

TIMETABLE: 

Check in:  From 09:00am to 10:00am.

Heats, briefing 10:30, starts; 11:00

GSA Singles; briefing 12:00, start 12:30pm.

Finals start; 13:00

PRIZEGIVING:  Once all races are finished and results are available.

COURSES:  All paddlers to enter water from Regatta Meadows, there are launching platforms around Ferry Bridge.

Race upstream from start to top turn, down to bottom turn and repeat for 2^nd and 3^rd lap with portage each time.

Classes with have mixed heats, progress to finals based on position.

SINGLES

Classes:

Divs 1-3       Divs 4-6       Divs 7-9       GSA    SUP

Divs 1-6, 3.6km, 3 laps, portages on 2^nd and 3^rd laps.

Div 7-9 and SUP, 3 laps, no portages.

GSA; 1.2 km lap

ENTRIES: Entries open on 1st April 2026 and close on 17^th April 2026, at 12:00 noon.  Late entries can be made on the day, subject to availability, £15 all classes except Geoff Sanders which will remain the same

Seniors: £12           Juniors: £6             U14: £6

Please enter using the Marathon Race Entry system.

Payment, preferably by bank transfer to:

Burton Phoenix Canoe Club

Sort Code:  77 08 11         Acc Num:  44476068

For Non PaddleUK members requiring an single event membership, please follow the link, https://paddleuk.org.uk/purchase-sem/ .

PORTAGE:  The portage is a short walk from the start and paddlers are recommended to inspect the portage before the start.  It is a beach portage on a newly graded piece of riverbank.  Although every effort will be made to clear the route, appropriate footwear is recommended as there may be debris and uneven ground.

HAZARDS: Care should be taken around rowers, anglers and other river users.   All paddlers should be aware of oncoming paddlers and keep to the right of the river even though the Trent is quite wide, this is especially important after the start for paddlers moving down the river as lower divisions may still be on the start line.

SAFETY:  Canoeing and Kayaking is by its nature an unpredictable sport and therefore inherently involves an element of risk.  An entry into the event has taken this into consideration. 

All paddlers in Divs 7-10 and U14's must wear approved buoyancy aids.  Team leaders to decide if paddlers in higher divisions should wear them.

All boats must have buoyancy that is sufficient to keep the boat and paddlers afloat in the event of a capsize.

All boats must have a white number plate provided by the paddler.  SUPs will be issued bibs.

RULES:  The race will be run in accordance with the current marathon racing rules.

PRIZES:  For all races depending on entry.

NOTE: Burton Phoenix Canoe Club reserves the right without prior notice to alter any of these arrangements should the weather or other circumstances warrant.

If you have any access requirements or for any queries or changes to entries, please contact Bill Lawrenson at wjlawro@aol.com.

The Canal and Rivers Trust are fighting a battle against the spread of invasive plant species such as Japanese Knotweed, Himalayan Balsam, Giant Hogweed and Floating Pennywort in the canal and river system in the country.  Pictures on the CRT website show the effect that the spread of these plants can have on our waterways.  To aid them in this will you please wash and dry your boat before coming to the Burton Phoenix race and again at home after the race before going on other waterways. 

In the unfortunate event of cancellation, entry fees will be refunded by the same method paid.

Cancellation details will be posted on all Paddle UK and associated facebook pages.