Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon

The Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon is a marathon canoe race in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The race is held every Easter

Easter

Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

over a course of 125 miles (201.2 km) from Devizes

Devizes

Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The town is about southeast of Chippenham and about east of Trowbridge.Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week...

in Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

to Westminster

Westminster

Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...

in central London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. It has been run since 1948. Starting at Devizes wharf, the route follows the Kennet and Avon canal

Kennet and Avon Canal

The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is commonly used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section...

for 54 miles to Reading

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

, where it joins the Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

. Another 54 miles later it reaches Teddington Lock, ending 17 miles later at Westminster Bridge.

Personalities to own a DW medal are former leader of the Liberal Democrats, Paddy Ashdown

Paddy Ashdown

Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, GCMG, KBE, PC , usually known as Paddy Ashdown, is a British politician and diplomat....

, explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes

Ranulph Fiennes

Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE , better known as Ranulph Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records. He is also a prolific writer. Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years including a period on counter-insurgency service while...

, double Olympic gold medallist rower James Cracknell

James Cracknell

James Cracknell, OBE is a British rowing champion and double Olympic gold medalist and adventurer. Cracknell is married to TV and radio presenter Beverley Turner; they have three children. In the New Year Honours List, 2004, he was appointed OBE for services to sport...

and Rebecca Stephens

Rebecca Stephens (climber)

Rebecca Stephens MBE is a British journalist, mountaineer, and television presenter. She was the first British woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest....

, the first woman to climb Everest solo.

In 2011, world champion kayakers Ben Brown and Ivan Lawler

Ivan Lawler

Ivan Lawler is a British marathon canoeist who competed from the late 1980s to the late 1990s, winning five gold and two silver medals at the canoe marathon world championships...

attempted to beat the record, but retired after 9 hours and 51 minutes, defeated by wrist injury, exceptionally slow flow on the Thames and a mounting headwind.

Route

The race follows the Kennet and Avon Canal

Kennet and Avon Canal

for 52 miles (83.7 km) from Devizes

Devizes

through Pewsey

Pewsey

Pewsey is a large village, often considered a small town, at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire about west of London. It is well connected to London, the West Country and Wales being close to the M4 motorway and the A303. Also, the village is served by Pewsey railway station on the...

, Hungerford

Hungerford

Hungerford is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, 9 miles west of Newbury. It covers an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 5,559 .- Geography :...

and Newbury

Newbury, Berkshire

Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...

to Reading

Reading, Berkshire

. From Reading the race follows the non-tidal River Thames

River Thames

for 55 miles (88.5 km) through Henley-on-Thames

Henley-on-Thames

Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...

, Marlow

Marlow, Buckinghamshire

Marlow is a town and civil parish within Wycombe district in south Buckinghamshire, England...

, Maidenhead

Maidenhead

Maidenhead is a town and unparished area within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It lies on the River Thames and is situated west of Charing Cross in London.-History:...

, Windsor

Windsor, Berkshire

Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....

, Staines

Staines

Staines is a Thames-side town in the Spelthorne borough of Surrey and Greater London Urban Area, as well as the London Commuter Belt of South East England. It is a suburban development within the western bounds of the M25 motorway and located 17 miles west south-west of Charing Cross in...

and Kingston

Kingston upon Thames

Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...

before reaching the tidal River Thames at Teddington Lock

Teddington Lock

Teddington Lock is a complex of three locks and a weir on the River Thames in England at Ham in the western suburbs of London. The lock is on the southern Surrey side of the river....

. The tidal river is followed for the final 18 miles (29 km) through the western suburbs of London

London

to Westminster

Westminster

Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...

. The 2008 race was the 60th anniversary of the event.

The course requires competitors to portage their boats around 77 locks. Starting from Devizes, there are four locks before the 502 yards (459 m) Bruce tunnel

Bruce Tunnel

The Bruce Tunnel is on the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal between Wootton Top Lock and Crofton Locks in Wiltshire, England.This is the only tunnel on the canal and it is 502 yards long...

, and another 31 locks before Newbury wharf, and the end of the first stage, is reached. Stage 2 contains 22 locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal, before the junction with the River Thames is reached, and a further six locks on the Thames, before the stage ends above Marlow lock

Marlow Lock

Marlow Lock is a lock and weir situated on the River Thames in the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England. The first pound lock was built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1773.The weir stretches a long way upstream above the lock.-History:...

. Stage 3 includes 14 locks, ending below Teddington lock

Teddington Lock

Teddington Lock is a complex of three locks and a weir on the River Thames in England at Ham in the western suburbs of London. The lock is on the southern Surrey side of the river....

, while stage 4 contains a single lock at Richmond before the final 18 miles (29 km) on the tideway

Tideway

The Tideway is a name given to the part of the River Thames in England that is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock and is just under long...

. Richmond lock

Richmond Lock and Footbridge

Richmond Lock and Footbridge is a lock and pedestrian bridge, situated on the River Thames in south west London, England and is a Grade II* listed structure. It is the furthest downstream of all the Thames locks and is the only one owned and operated by the Port of London Authority...

is only operational at some states of the tide, and so a portage may be avoided if passage is made during a period of 2 hours either side of high tide.

History

The idea of canoeing from Devizes to Westminster was first suggested by Roy Cooke, who had been part of a team who had attempted to canoe along the River Avon from Pewsey, near Devizes, to the sea at Christchurch in 1947. He then planned to see if it was possible to reach Westminster from Devizes in under 100 hours. At the time, much of the Kennet and Avon Canal was derelict, but still in water. He was unable to attempt the course, but a number of locals offered some money for Scout funds if the Devizes Scouts could succeed in "taking a boat from Devizes to Westminster in under 100 hours, all food and camping kit to be carried in the boats". Four of the scouts, Peter Brown, Laurie Jones, Brian Smith and Brian Walters, all aged 17, attempted the route at Easter 1948. The event generated much interest, with some national press coverage, and a large crowd gathering at Westminster Bridge to see the end of the feat, which was completed in 89 hours 50 minutes.

Chippenham Sea Cadets attempted the route at Whitsun 1948, and managed to reduce the time to 75 hours 50 minutes, but several attempts later in the year were thwarted by the amount of weed in the canal. In 1949, although no race had been organised, nearly 20 boats attempted the course at Easter, and although many failed to complete it, two crews representing Richmond Canoe Club completed it in 49 hours 32 minutes, and a team from Bristol Scouts managed 53 hours 10 minutes. In view of the interest shown, Frank Luzmore, one of the competitors from Richmond Canoe Club, decided to organise the event as an annual contest. Albert Weibel, another member of the Richmond Canoe Club, donated a trophy for the winner, and at Easter 1950, 17 boats took part in the first official race. A team from Richmond Canoe Club won again, by completing the course non-stop in 34 hours 52 minutes, closely followed by a team representing the Royal Marines. Ten of the boats completed the course.

The armed forces saw the race as an opportunity for training, and because they organised the backup support as a military exercise, won the race from 1951 until 1970, with the exception of 1952. Teams from the Paras, Royal Marines, SAS and Special Forces competed, with Dansie and Dry, representing the SAS, completing the course in just over 24 hours in 1951. Officially, every boat had to carry cooking equipment, camping equipment and a host of other standard items, and no assistance from a support team was allowed. Even water could only be obtained from official watering points. As the main race soon became a one-day event, rather than a four-day one, much of the official kit was redundant, and there was widespread breaking of the rules. In 1966, one of the crews who finished the race was disqualified, two crews had time penalties added to the time they actually took, and 49 of the crews who failed to finish were deemed to have broken the rules, and so would have been disqualified if they had finished. The military teams, with their radio networks, were particularly good at offering support, in particular food, to their teams at remote locations, where they were unlikely to be seen by race officials.

Recognising that the military had an unfair advantage, the rules were changed in 1971, so that boats did not have to carry "all food and camping kit", and the use of support teams to supply food and drink was allowed. Peter Lawler and Chris Baker, both from Richmond Canoe Club, and who had canoed for Britain at international level, took up the challenge, and succeeded in beating Paganelli and Evans, who had won the race for the Paras in 1968, 1969 and 1970. The current course record is also held by a non-military crew; it stands at 15 hours 34 minutes and was set it 1979 by Brian Greenham and Tim Cornish, one from Richmond Canoe Club and one from Reading Canoe Club. Military crews still dominate the team event.

Junior and Ladies Classes

Junior teams were originally banned from the race on safety grounds, but the pressure to allow them to compete resulted in the introduction of stages in 1953, originally two, but soon changed to three, with compulsory overnight stops at Newbury, Marlow and Ham, just below Teddington lock. There were two crews in the junior category in 1953, but this had risen to over 50 by 1961, and in 1970 there were 100 junior crews. Numbers after that gradually declined, but a schools trophy was set up in 1975, and school teams now account for most of the junior entries. Women were barred from the race at first, and it was not until 1971 that Sheila Burnett from Cambridge Canoe Club finished the race with Colin Dickens, only to be disqualified when it was discovered that she was a woman. In 1973, Anne-Marie Evans entered the race under a false name, in partnership with Jonathan Hutt, and was awarded a certificate for finishing, but the official policy was still that women should not enter the race. By the late 1970s attitudes had changed, and the first all-female crew finished the race in 31 hours 6 minutes in 1976. Trophies for ladies and mixed doubles classes were introduced in 1980. In 1995, Danielle Sellwood and Sandra Troop set the women’s record at 18 hours 47 minutes, and in 1997 Danielle Sellwood was placed third overall, becoming the first woman to hold the civilian trophy. A class for junior ladies was introduced in 1976, and a junior mixed doubles class in 1981.

Classes

There are five classes of event, each with its own set of rules.

Senior Doubles: This is a non-stop race, timed continuously from the moment they start, until either they reach Westminster, or they admit defeat (which accounts for one third of the entries, rising to half in 1998).

Junior Doubles: Two crew members, completing the course in four stages with overnight stops.

Junior/Veteran: Two crew members, one who must be a junior, and one who must be over 35, completing the course in four stages with overnight stops. This class was introduced in 1989 to encourage parents to canoe with their children, but most crews which have entered are not related.

Senior Singles: One person kayaks or canoes, over the same four stages.

Endeavour: A doubles class held over four stages which is non-competitive.

The stages are as follows:

Stage 1: Devizes to Newbury (34.5 miles)

Stage 2: Newbury to Marlow (35.5 miles)

Stage 3: Marlow to Teddington (37.5 miles)

Stage 4: Teddington to Westminster (17.5 miles)

Similar races

In the months leading up to the races, there are two series of races, the Thameside Series

Thameside Series

The Thameside Series are two canoe and kayak races organised by Reading Canoe Club, that coincide with the Waterside Series races, organised by Newbury Canoe Club...

and Waterside Series

Waterside Series

The Waterside Series is a series of four marathon canoe races held on the Kennet and Avon Canal and finishing at the Newbury Waterside Centre.The race series is held in the Spring each year in the 8 weeks leading up to Easter...

, that are deemed good practice for crews competing in the main Devizes to Westminster race. The Thameside Series is based around Reading, with two races, going from Aldermaston

Aldermaston

Aldermaston is a rural village, civil parish and electoral ward in Berkshire, South-East England. In the 2001 United Kingdom Census, the parish had a population of 927. The village is on the southern edge of the River Kennet flood plain, near the Hampshire county boundary...

to Reading

Reading, Berkshire

and Reading to Marlow

Marlow, Buckinghamshire

Marlow is a town and civil parish within Wycombe district in south Buckinghamshire, England...

respectively. The Waterside Series is a series of four races based around Newbury

Newbury, Berkshire

, Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

, of lengths 14 miles, 17.5 miles, 23 miles and 34 miles - it is often competed as a series on its own.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Route

History

Junior and Ladies Classes

Classes

Similar races

See also

External links