Stafford and Stone Excellence in 2006

So, the end of another year and as customary there's lots for Stafford and Stone to celebrate!

Thanks to the promotion of Tom Brady (in the process becoming the Division One Champion) and Joe Clarke SSCC have finished the year with 10 ranked premier K1 men, that's more than 12% of the whole division. Added to this are 7 K1 women bolstered by promotions for Claire Kimberley, Natalie Wilson and Emily Woodcock (17%) and 7 C1s with promotions for Rob Downs, Adam Burgess and George Tatchell (28%!).

Rob Neave leads the club in K1 men, having had a memorable year by collecting his first premier victory at Llangollen, the national under 23 title, taking a few notable scalps at the British Open and experiencing international competition both at the Seu World Cup and World University Championships.

Laura Blakeman just pips Lizzie Neave as the clubs top ranked lady, both of them enjoying a full international season on the GB senior team but particularly Laura with an impressive 4th place at the European Championships. Mention should also go to Sarah Chynoweth for making the GB junior team.

In C1, Mark Proctor has had an excellent year to become the clubs top paddler. Mark was crowned the national junior champion and, along site Greg Pit, competed in the European junior championships on home soil at Nottingham where he became bronze medallist. Oz and Bert continue to push the standards in C2 defending their national title.

Just below there remains an excellent pool of developing talent thanks to the exceptionally strong coaching programme in place at the club. Praise must go to all of the club coaches for the many hours that they dedicate to sustaining Stafford and Stone as one of the leading forces in British Slalom. This strength in depth through the divisions was illustrated by the clubs impressive defence of the National Interclubs title despite a significant number of paddlers being unavailable due to international commitments; 15 victories out of 22 championships! Now that's becoming a very impressive statistic!

Finally, of the 50 athletes included on the Olympic Development programme for 2006/07 a staggering 17 are from Stafford and Stone Canoe Club - that's 34% of the total!

Rob Holdway