Junior & U23 5k Series Recap

What a great event the 2024 series has been, with strong numbers in both the boys and girls racing the event continues to grow. In this the 8th year of the event we saw new personal bests and exciting sprint finishes across all the classes of the series. We saw some fast, exciting and tactical racing by all. The racing across the series took place at Salmon Leap CC on a 2.5km lap repeated twice, and then an individual time trial which took place at Pikes Bridge, Maynooth on the Royal Canal. This course consists of 2.5km straight with a turn around the island at the halfway point the 5k in the harbor in Maynooth and back to Pikes Bridge. With points being earned throughout the series, the paddlers with the most amount of points in U23, U18, U16, U14, U12 and for novices 2.5km classes won the goodies. These are kindly supported by the event sponsors Jantex Paddles and Nelo Kayaks who continue to support the event with amazing prizes. Thank you to Jantex and Nelo for supporting the development of U23 paddling here in Ireland. We must also thank Esmark Finch for their stickers for the event that help make time keeping a lot easier. The event had a 45/55 split of girls/boys racing, this is a credit to the work going in by all clubs to develop girls getting involved in canoe sports. With multiple clubs attending this series – namely Belfast, Celbridge, Malahide, Thomastown and Salmon Leap it really was one of the best yet. Special thank you to everyone who travelled to support the event, the parents around the series that help create an exciting atmosphere to be a part of. Lastly thank you to Salmon Leap CC and Waterways Ireland for allowing the event to take place on your venues. We look forward to seeing you all again next year for some more exciting racing.

U23

Boys 1st Ethan Noud