British Open 2014

[PeterC]

Apologies to all but I have been away for the last few weeks.

We have not yet been able to finalise the budget for the British Open in November. This is not I must stress due to any lack of action on the part of the Slalom Committee and in particular our Chair. We are facing significantly increased water costs compared with previous years and are struggling to set a fee which has to cover our costs and yet is realistic.

The outline running programme is currently planned to be as it has been for the last two years with a two run Prem on the Saturday dictating the running order for the Semi Final on the Sunday morning who all will be able to paddle provided at least one successful finish on the Saturday and then A & B finals in the afternoon. This would mean everyone would get four race runs down the course over the weekend. We could reduce the water costs by only running a traditional semi final and final on the Sunday reducing the number of runs on Sunday and thus decrease the entry fees this way however I am loathe to do this as I believe everyone wants to get real race practice on Lee Valley and there are very limited opportunities.

We already have international interest in entries so it should be good high quality competition.

As soon as we have come to a decision it will be publicised, in the meantime please could you bear with me and let anyone else you may know what is happening as entries with an £18.50 cheque are not going to be valid so please hang on.

Apologies once more.

Peter

[Fiona]

Does that mean there a possibility the British Open may change venue or is it definitely going to be held at Lee Valley ?

[PeterC]

I am expecting to have to make the trek down to Lee Valley...

[PeterC]

The British Open will definitely be going ahead as planned as the Slalom Committee (the chair in particular) has managed to secure external sponsorship to meet the greatly increased water costs this year. There will be one entry fee of £45 which will include a best of two run on the Saturday providing Prem points for those eligible and defining the ranking for a semifinal run on the Sunday morning for all those who complete at least one run successfully on the Saturday, followed by A & B finals. All entrants will therefore have the opportunity to have four runs down the course in competition conditions over the weekend. There is a significant international entry this year so competition will be challenging. Only paddlers ranked in Prem will be eligible to enter.

Entries already sent will not be validated until the correct entry fee has been forwarded. Apologies for the time that this has taken to bring to fruition but we were facing either a very significant fee increase or even considering cancellation. Please can you distribute this information to others who may not have seen this.

[PeterC]

Entries are coming in fairly fast so don't delay if you want to take part.

I need volunteers for Demo runs from paddlers able to do this who are not wanting to enter. You will get lots of gratitude and we will provide some sustenance by way of compensation.

[PeterC]

The following have registered entries for the British Open. If there is an RTC against your name there is an issue with your entry and I will have sent you an eMail if you included a valid eMail Address. I must have full and complete payment of £45 entry fee by the 18th October. I will accept entries from anyone who gains promotion to Prem the weekend before if they wish to race i.e. after the closing date for everyone else.

Entries will be limited to 200 and this will apply even if it occurs before the 18th October.

Peter

[PeterC]

Latest Entry List, if you have an RTC beside your name worry not it is just that I am missing details or another minor issue. If you have a £ sign then your entry fees are not correct and if the race becomes oversubscribed as per the rules your entry may be in jeopardy. If you have included an eMail address then I will have used this (if I can read it) to try and get in touch with you, if not then I am not sending out snail mail to chase you. Entries will close at 200 or on the 18th October whichever comes first. Please do let others know in case they do not see this.

[HPPaddle]

Have you included in your list those paddlers who are taking part as officials? There are some Div 1 paddlers listed, however I thought that Paddle Ups were not allowed at the Open. Can you confirm please.

Thanks

[PeterC]

Paddle ups are not accepted for the Open. There were entries from Div 1 not marked as paddle ups that slipped through and have now been caught and there are entries from those expecting to gain promotion to Prem before the Open which are best described as expectant.

[PeterC]

Current entries as of today now total 165 as below. £ sign means you have not yet sent me the correct entry fee. If you included a valid eMail address I will have eMailed you if not then your entry may be at risk if you have not contacted me.
Class Bib Forename Surname Club
C1M 35 Remi Baudot £
C1M 34 Adam Johnstone Peaceful Hooligan
C1M 33 James Coney £
C1M 32 Angus Gibson Strathallan/CR Cats
C1M 29 Patrick Marriot Breakout CC
C1M 27 Aiden Waters CR Cats
C1M 26 Andrew Kettlewell Viking Kayak Club
C1M 25 Will Smith Winchester
C1M 24 Matthew Footit Proteus
C1M 23 William Coney £
C1M 22 Matthew Lister White Rose
C1M 17 Aaron Cruickshank RTC
C1M 15 Robert Harratt Stafford & Stone
C1M 12 Dan Evans HPPCC
C1M 10 Michael Brown CR Cats
C1M 9 Andrew Houston CR Cats/Strathallan
C1M 4 Ryan Westley LWCC
C1M 3 Adam Burgess Stafford & Stone/Nelo
C1M 1 Thomas Quinn Lower Wharfe
C1M Jose Carvalho Portugal £
C1M Martin Riha Czech £
C1M Soren Loos Germany £
C1M Florian Beste Germany £
C1M David Florence £
C1M Thomas Koechlin Switzerland £
C1M Simon Werro Switzerland £
C1M Dennis Söter Germany £
C1M Tobias Antonsson Sweden £
C1M Ludwig Palmcrantz Sweden £
C1M Ben Gibb New Zealand £
C1M Liam Jegou Ireland £
C1W 37 Caoimhe O'Ferrall Ireland
C1W 33 Non Dingle Seren Dwr
C1W 32 Emily Davies Mold/Bala
C1W 18 Megan Bate Stafford & Stone
C1W 17 Victoria Murray Breadalbane
C1W 16 Sophie Ogilvie CR Cats
C1W 15 Isla Kelly Strathallan/CR Cats
C1W 8 Rachel Houston CR Cats/Strathallan
C1W 4 Eilidh Gibson Strathallan/CR Cats
C1W 3 Jasmine Royle Stafford & Stone/Hydrasports
C1W 2 Kimberley Woods Rugby CC/Hydrasports
C1W 1 Mallory Franklin Windsor & District CC
C1W Anna Wider Switzerland £
C1W Birgit Ohmayer Germany £
C1W Kira Kubbe Germany £
C1W Elena Apel Germany £
C2 37 Etienne Stott Mark Proctor PeakUK
C2 17 Adam Burgess Greg Pitt Stafford & Stone/Nelo
C2 16 David Florence Richard Hounslow Independent £
C2 15 Eddie Mcdiarmid Jacob Holmes Breadalbane
C2 14 Noah Hazelwood Piers Oliphant Shepperton
C2 13 Aiden Waters Aidan McAleenan CR Cats
C2 12 Ryan Westley Zachary Franklin Lower Wharfe/Notts Trent Uni RTC
C2 9 Dan Evans Sam Ibbotson HPPCC £
C2 8 James Coney Tom Abbott £
C2 6 Will Smith Robert Harratt Winchester/Stafford & Stone
C2 3 Andrew Houston Michael Brown CR Cats
C2 Janik Hohmann Hendrik Sawukattis Germany £
C2 Florian Beste Soren Loos Germany £
C2 Lukas Werro Simon Werro Switzerland £
C2 Nicolas Scianimanico Hugo Cailhol France £
K1M 81 Caspian Rix Bradford & Bingley
K1M 80 Michael Owen Stafford & Stone/Hydrasports
K1M 79 Jonathan Males Lee valley
K1M 78 Anan Hawkes BBCC
K1M 76 Luke Smyth Lee Valley PC
K1M 75 Duncan Edwards Breadalbane CC
K1M 74 Jonny Dickson CR Cats
K1M 73 Piers Oliphant Shepperton Slalom
K1M 72 Elliot Goddard Seren Dwr
K1M 63 Thomas Walker Mold CC
K1M 62 Noah Hazelwood Shepperton
K1M 61 Brandon Watson Tees Tigers
K1M 59 Oliver Gilbert Viking/HPPCC
K1M 58 Connor Bailey BBCC
K1M 57 Sam Moss HPPCC
K1M 47 Christopher Bowers StSCC
K1M 46 Joe Moorhouse HPPCC
K1M 42 Remi Baudot £
K1M 36 James Cooper Seren Dwr/Squarerock
K1M 33 Jake Silvester Viking
K1M 31 James Dixon HPPCC
K1M 28 Jonathan Atkinson Proteus Canoe Club
K1M 27 Paul Ramsdale HPPCC/Peak UK
K1M 26 Richard Hounslow Independent £
K1M 25 Cameron Revell CR Cats
K1M 24 Johnathan Akinyemi RTC £
K1M 21 Robert Holdway Stafford & Stone
K1M 18 Peter Willett Stafford & Stone
K1M 15 Zachary Allin Tees Tigers
K1M 13 David Bain Stafford & Stone
K1M 12 Stuart Gerrie Aberdeen
K1M 11 Ciaran Lee Edwards Llandysul
K1M 8 Bradley Forbes-Cryans CR Cats/Click-let
K1M 7 Zachary Franklin Notts Trent Uni
K1M 5 Mikey Wilson SeScc
K1M Ben Teasdale Tees Tigers £
K1M Oisin Farrell Ireland RTC
K1M Ivan Gruijs da Silva Portugal £
K1M Vavrinec Hradilek Czech £
K1M Vit Prindis Czech £
K1M Luca Fischer Germany £
K1M Hendrik Sawukaytis Germany £
K1M Janik Hohmann Germany £
K1M Florian von Siegroth Germany £
K1M Samuel Smelty Germany £
K1M David Spulbeck Germany £
K1M Lena Sawukaytis Germany £
K1M Michael Kurt Switzerland £
K1M Lukas Werro Switzerland £
K1M Martin Dougoud Switzerland £
K1M Manuel Munsch Switzerland £
K1M Jeremias Schaefli Switzerland £
K1M Florian Franzl Germany £
K1M Benjamin Travostino Switzerland £
K1M Erik Holmer Sweden £
K1M Fredrik Wahlén Sweden £
K1M Ludwig Andersson Sweden £
K1M Pierre Bourliaud France £
K1M Jakob Mayer Germany £
K1M Noah Hegge Germany £
K1M Andy Laird Copeland/EPD
K1M Hannes Aigner Germany £
K1M Sebastian Schubert Germany £
K1M Jacob Holmes Breadalbane RTC
K1V 4 Bob Grundy Harefield/LVPS £
K1W 47 Kate Dixon HPPCC
K1W 46 Rachel Brown HPCC
K1W 43 Mhairi Callingham Tees Tigers £
K1W 42 Hana Oliphant Shepperton Slalom
K1W 41 Grace Scapelhorn Seren Dwr
K1W 40 Madelaine Jennings Breadalbane
K1W 37 Arian Edwards Seren Dwr
K1W 35 Victoria Murray Breadalbane
K1W 36 Megan Hamer-Evans Seren Dwr
K1W 33 Rebecca Ogilvie CR Cats
K1W 31 Bethan Kelly Tees Tigers
K1W 30 Izzy Bushrod Seren Dwr
K1W 27 Alexandra Ridge Seren Dwr £
K1W 26 Sophie Ogilvie CR Cats
K1W 24 Cara Lee Bala
K1W 23 Emma Kirkbright Bradford & Bingley
K1W 21 Charlotte Cooper Castle CC
K1W 20 Gabrielle Ridge Seren Dwr £
K1W 18 Louise Revell CR Cats
K1W 16 Jade Hollick Manchester Canoe Club
K1W 12 Helen Rogers CR Cats
K1W 11 Amy Hollick Manchester Canoe Club
K1W 10 Emily Woodcock Stafford & Stone
K1W 8 Amber Maslen CR Cats/Pinkston Panthers
K1W 7 Hannah Burgess KKC
K1W 6 Mallory Franklin Windsor & District CC
K1W 5 Kimberley Woods Rugby CC
K1W 4 Beth Latham Bradford & Bingley £
K1W 1 Fiona Pennie CR Cats/ Vajda/G'Power/ Peak UK £
K1W Nikita Setchell Stafford & Stone/JEM Racing
K1W Karolina Galuskova Czech £
K1W Andrea Gratwohl Switzerland £
K1W Selina Jones Germany £
K1W Chiara Jones Germany £
K1W Anne Bernert Germany £
K1W Andrea Friberg Sweden £
K1W Elena Apel Germany £
K1W Paula Malchers Germany £

[PeterC]

We currently have 192 entries in for the British Open. We cannot accommodate more that 200 slots in the available light and so entries will close as soon as this limit is reached. If your entry has not included the correct £45 entry fee then your race slot may be at jeopardy and you need to correct this very promptly. Those with issue are marked with a £ signing in the lists above. If you gave me a valid eMail address then I will have tried to eMail you if not then please get in touch with me or Anne Hounslow ASAP. If you are expecting to get promoted before the Open e.g. Llandysul or HPP and would want an entry then please get in touch ASAP also.

[PeterC]

We have now reached the 200 entry limit for the British Open so any entries received from now on will not be accepted but put on a waiting list.

[Canadian Paddler]

After much discussion and deliberation we are extending the entry limit for the British Open to 250 to accommodate GB athletes. As we received some entries after we closed, and are aware that some of you may not have entered because the limit was reached and entries closed, we will accept entries received before 15 October up to this increased limit. All entries currently on the waiting list have been accepted.
Entries received after the 15th October will not be accepted, regardless of when they were posted. If the limit is reached before that date entries will also close and a reserve list will be created.

Entries can be made by either emailing Anne Hounslow with detail and payment posted next post (address in year book) or handed with payment to Hannah Burgess at Cardiff. Entries will be taken on a strictly first come first served basis.

The schedule has been extended, entailing some racing under floodlights The finals course will be set up and demonstration runs will take place followed by a change to the qualification course and further demonstration runs before racing begins.

As soon as we close entries a start list will be published.

[CeeBee]

For those on the waiting list, it was good to see the entry limit being increased to accommodate you.

However, the downside is it is now long long days for those involved in running the event and also for some of the competitors (e.g. those doing C1M and C2 as they are racing at 10 am.and don't finish until 7 p.m. on Saturday before coming back on Sunday to race again. )

I would like to suggest that those who benefitted from the decision to extend the entry limit, recognise this concession and the extra work it has incurred and offer to help, even if in only a small way on the days of racing e.g. doing a coffee/tea run for the judges or collecting judges sheets

And shame on those that apparently got a bit bolshy with the organisers when they realised they didn't have an entry. Being an organiser is a thankless job at the best of times.

I think the organisers have done a good job of getting the event to go ahead and scheduling 4 runs for each paddler over the weekend. Some have suggested that the event should have heats, semi finals and finals with 50% of paddlers eliminated after the heats and a further chunk eliminated after the semis. However, for many , this would make the event unattractive to attend. So the current format with B finals , is the best way to run this race.

[SilverSurfer]

Hi

In the last BCU Slalom Committee meeting minutes it stated:

6.1.2 British Open
It is confirmed that this is to be an international open.

There will be no paddling up allowed for division 1 paddlers, although the top ten paddlers in division 1 will be invited to attend.

Will the top ten division 1 paddlers now get invited to attend the race given the last race was held at the weekend at HPP ? I've not seen any update to say this is not the case.