It is with great sadness that the Club announces the passing of James Smythe on Monday 18th April 2022 after a short second battle with cancer. 

James started his paddling career in the mid 1980’s at Wey Kayak Club, finishing his first Devizes to Westminster 125 Mile Canoe Race (DW) with them in junior K2 in 1987.  He then went to university and raced for Royal Lemington Spa before moving to Nottingham.  By this time he was a Men’s A sprinter, Div 1 marathon paddler, and represented Great Britain at two World Cups in Hungary in 1994 and South Africa in 1995, as well as competing for GB at other races on the international circuit.  In 1995 he also took the bronze at the National Marathon Championships in Senior K1.

He then took a break and moved to France before returning and joining Leaside in 2001 and latterly Bishops Stortford in 2016.  In his very first race in a Bishops Stortford vest he took silver in Veteran 35-44 K2 at the National Marathon Championships before winning the Bill Sparks trophy for the fastest veteran K2 at the Hasler Finals later that same year.

We are delighted to announce that we have recently been awarded two major grants to help the club introduce more people to the exciting sport of kayak racing. The first grant of £9600 of National Lottery funding comes from Sport England and this has already funded the purchase of five beginner racing kayaks and is supporting three volunteers in taking coaching qualifications.

A further £4400 is to follow from an East Herts Council Community Grant towards the purchase of five more kayaks suitable as follow-on racing boats. Together, these will enable the club to run a programme of beginner training with the aim of tempting people into joining the club and taking up the sport regularly.

Racing requires a particular type of kayak.The grant has enabled us to purchase four extra boats of the most stable kind, suitable for new paddlers. From here, the beginners can gradually progress to lighter and sleeker craft which are harder to balance but can go faster. But the equipment alone is not enough - the magic ingredient is hours of teaching by racing coaches who can pass on the skills and techniques needed to master the sport.  

Thanks to the smart new boats provided by the Sport England National Lottery grant, and with the new trainees already acting as assistants to established coaches, the club is now offering weekend beginner courses for adults and older teens new to the sport, and a programme of four taster sessions on Sundays for youngsters (usually age 10-15).

A two-day Starter course took place in September and there will be another in October - a third may take place in November depending on demand and the weather. More will follow in the spring. See our Join Us page for scheduled dates.

Coaches and other volunteers from BS Canoe Club again staged the annual "Come and Try Canoeing"  event on the River Stort from the towpath between Station Road Bridge and the Causeway/Hockerill Bridge.

The total raised this year was over £570 - all of which goes directly to Grove Cottage (home of Bishops Stortford Mencap). This brings the sum raised over the five years that the event has been running to a grand total of £3600!

Many thanks are due to the club's volunteer coaches Jacque, Dave, Malcolm, Mick, Ken and their assistants Catherine, Will, Connor, Pat, Rod, Cory, Kayleigh and Jack.

For the fourth successive year, BS Canoe club volunteers staged a "Come and Try Canoeing"  event on the Stort between Station Road Bridge and Causeway/Hockerill Bridge.

We were once again blessed with warm sunny weather, so it was no surprise that the event proved as popular as usual. A record number of people took to the water in the club's stable one-person kayaks and in large open canoes operated by coaches and assistants. Most of the 170 participants were junior-school age children, but some mums and dads had a go too.

A long queue had built up before the first timed tickets were issued and continued unabated until the very last one had been sold.

It was sad to have to disappoint some people who arrived half-way through to discover that they had already "missed the boat", but no more could be expected from the coaches and club volunteers. In addition to working non-stop for the three and half hours that the public were on the water, they had also had to bring all the equipment from the club's premises and return it to storage at the end.

A wide range of instructors and clubs were represented, as diverse as belly dancing, yoga, martial arts and vollyball. Some groups held 30-min join-in sessions in the arenas, while others - including BSCC - offered an activity throughout the day on their stands.

The club took a display of racing boats, photos and leaflets, and two paddle machines.

Octavia was assisted by Matt, David, Euan and Adam in putting people on the paddle machines, while Sue, Andrew and Angela were on hand to answer questions about the club and what we can offer.

We had a sunny August day, and the event was just as popular as ever, with over 160 paddlers taking part and having fun on the river.

The Club's coaches and volunteers worked tirelessly all afternoon and raised a whopping £835 for Grove Cottage.

This year's "Come and Try Canoeing" on the Stort in the town centre attracted even more youngsters than last year's successful event. At least 160 were given the chance to have fun on the river in stable PolyPippin kayaks or (for the younger ones) in open canoes escorted by our coaches.

The event is an annual fundraiser for Grove Cottage (home of Bishop's Stortford Mencap), and the great response enabled us to raise a total of over £850 for the charity this year.

Grove Cottage runs a range of clubs which provide social and educational activities for people of all ages with learning disability. Over 120 members benefit each week from the experiences Grove Cottage can offer, developing potential, avoiding social isolation and bringing respite to families and carers.

The queue for tickets began to form over an hour before the advertised start time and all the available places had been booked long before it drew to a close. The majority of the participants were aged 8-14, but at least 30 adults took the opportunity to have a go as well.

Our dedicated coaches (Malcolm, Jacque, Dave, Ken, Wayne and Gary) worked non-stop all afternoon in the August sunshine, ably assisted from the bank by committee members Andrew and Angela, plus one of the club's youngest paddlers, Ryewin. Special thanks are due to club juniors Kaitie and Julius who patiently kitted everyone up and kept the queue in order throughout the event, and also to Matt, John, and Kaitie who helped the six coaches tow all the boats from the clubhouse into town, and then back again afterwards.

If you took part and are interested in finding more about canoeing by attending a longer taster at the club on a Sunday, or if you missed this session but think canoeing might be for you, have a look around the rest of our website to find out what we do. If you like what you see, go to the JOIN US page to find out how you can book a trial session at the club on a Sunday.

Following the Sponsored Row in December, Maldon Little Ships Club invited BSCC to a special lunch at their clubhouse in Maldon so that MLSC could present club member Chris Sze with the Panther "Crown" Cup, for the largest donation raised by an individual - a spectacular £1360!

BSCC chairman Joe Fitzpatrick also took the opportunity to present the treasurer of the RNLI with an additional cheque raised by the club's bellboat crew, which we understand brings the total funds raised by the event to around £11,000. Jacque Cayford received the participation certificates on behalf of the BSCC team.

A group from BSCC joined in with the annual Row & Gig race at Maldon run in aid of the RNLI by the Maldon Little Ships Club. Most of the BSCC folk were in a bellboat: Ant Wright, Joe Fitzpatrick, Wayne Stephens, Angela Aldam, and Deborah, Dave and Jacque Cayford - with lots of extra muscle provided by Maurice Zoppellini of HYMB and his son Dan. Chris Sze and Steve Whipp also took part in kayaks.

As usual, there was a wide diversity amongst the 52 boats taking part. The event is increasingly popular amongst rowing gigs, who now have their own 6km course. Everyone else (including many types of rowing boats, inflatable dingies, canoes, kayaks and even at least one stand-up-paddleboard) was on the 4km course.

There was an excellent atmosphere, with most crews making a spectacular effort with the fancy dress. Quite a lot of spectators turned out to watch from the quay.

All the boats gathered off Maldon Prom to wait for their respective starting hooters. Jacque got everyone on the bellboat warmed up with her sing-along (captured on this video by Chris!)  Once the boat was under way, Jacque also proved to be a very able helm and the boat was soon flying along. Despite having had no opportunity to practice, the bellboat crew managed a pretty tight turn at the buoy and were heading back towards the start when a closed-cockpit kayaker capsized directly beside. The RNLI were only yards away but being well-trained in race etiquette there really was no option but for the BSCC crew to stop and sort the chap out.  Despite a very efficient rescue, valuable time had been lost and a monumental effort was then needed to make it up. After a final 200 yard battle with a C2, the Stortford bellboat was pronounced the winner of the fastest mixed crew class.

There's nothing like a good healthy bit of canoe training on an autumn morning to get your appetite up for a slice of cake.