We are delighted to revisit Windermere and be racing on this iconic piece of water again. For those that have never been to Windermere, its reputation is well and truly deserved as a stunning location and beautiful body of water. We are working with our hosts, Windermere Canoe & Kayak, for this event, who have been busy coordinating the logistics. With their event, the summer solstice race, also taking part, it's set to be a real spectacle of paddlers on different crafts taking on this famous lake.
So what can you expect from our 2 days in Windermere?
We are planning events on both days, so there is plenty of water time for everyone and both days are included in your event ticket. During the weekend, we have our National Series race, Juniors, Sprints and Challenge Tour all taking place. We still have some finer details and logistics to confirm, but here are our plans for both days.
Saturday 24th June
On Saturday, we will join the Summer Solstice race to take on the full length of Windermere. Over the full distance of roughly 17km, you can expect lots of different crafts taking on the challenge from our SUP and prone paddlers, canoes and plenty of different kayaks. The Summer Solstice race will form our distance event for the Flatwater National Series, and all paddlers entering our Race Fleets will be able to compete across the full length of Windermere. Conditions and location restrictions will determine how the event runs, and we will update you with further information as we receive it.
We have a separate Challenge Tour event planned on Sunday (more on that shortly), but we hope our Challenge Tour paddlers can also complete the full Windermere distance with the other paddlers should they wish. We will confirm what restrictions on time we have to complete the distance and let you know what's possible ASAP.
Sunday 25th June
Sunday brings us an action-packed day with our Challenge Tour, Sprints, and Junior activities planned. The Challenge Tour will take place over a 6km distance, with a course set to take in the spirit of Windermere and the location. The course may be a single loop or a couple of laps; we will confirm details on this ASAP. Our Race Fleet paddlers from Saturday are also invited to support our Challenge Tour paddlers and get out on the water on Sunday.
While the Challenge Tour is underway, we will also run a Junior event for paddlers between 12 & 16 years old. We will have a sprint and mini-tech race lined up, and if we can, we will also run a Water Skills Academy sponsored Junior clinic hosted by one of the WSA trainers. Our junior event is free of charge, and a separate entry will be set up for this event which we will share with you here.
For our adult paddlers, we will wrap up the weekend with fun sprints, including individual and team relay events. This will be over a short 100m blast with a gated turn so paddlers can choose their best turning side. We will organise competitions and teams on the day, but it should be great fun and a great way to wrap up the weekend.
Locations & Logistics
Our host, Daz from Windermere Canoe & Kayak, is currently working on the logistics around the event, such as car parking, venues and course start and finish points. We will update our blog and email all competitors when we confirm the exact locations and times.
In the meantime, please expect Saturday to run all day and Sunday from 9 am until around midday.
Windermere Canoe & Kayak Website - Click the image above
Questions on where to stay
We understand there have been questions about where to stay and how long. Your event ticket includes entry to both days, as detailed above. Ambleside and Windermere offer plenty of options for accommodation and camping, and we will send out any further details on locations and logistics as we receive them so you can make suitable plans.
We will send a full paddler information pack in the week leading up to the event, and keep an eye out for updates to this blog. Email notifications will go out to all registered competitors, and social media posts will accompany updates. We look forward to a fabulous weekend at Windermere.
