- Manager: Dave Coulson
- Coaches: Melvin Swallow, Howard Blackman, Dyson Pendle, Ali Bevan
- Team: 21 boys and 9 girls aged 14 to 18.
Logistics
Overnight ferry on Wednesday allowing 3 days to learn the course and prepare. Accommodation and 2 daily meals at hostel in Angers. 3 team buses, 1 trailer.
Weather
Dry and sunny, cold mornings rising to approx. 20-25åm
Event
26km downstream course on River Loire with upstream finish on River Maine. The river was very wide with numerous sandbanks requiring care to follow deep water and strong flow. Two portages, one over 400m long. A single massed start was held for all competitors on the 26km course. Seniors started further upstream. U14's raced 13km with a Le Mans start and the long portage only.
Attendance
Small teams from Ireland, Spain and Netherlands were present. Other countries (Ukraine, Moldova) had entries but did not show. Otherwise, most entries were from clubs with the region. The previous years' event had been much larger as it was the Nationals.
Results ? full details below
All GB boats completed the course without major problems. GB K2's dominated the lead groups with several K1's staying in wash groups in early parts of the race. With over 100 boats on the start most paddlers were in amongst other boats throughout. Notable performances included U18 K2 and the U16 K2's (course records). U16 K1's were strong, finishing well compared to U18's. Hollie Carpenter had a particularly good race as did Andy Daniels, both winning their K1 events comfortably.
Summary
On first sight of the river many paddlers were intimidated by its scale and the complexity of the navigation. All experienced how to learn a course including difficult portages, and prepared themselves and their equipment for a 2 hour race. A weak field meant that GB dominated the field in most classes.
Boys Results
| U18K2 | Sandercock & Simmons | 1st (of 5) | 1:55:45 | (record) |
| U16K2 | Burt & Negus | 1st (of 7) | 1:55:51 | (record) |
| Spencer & Hickman | 3rd | 1:57:47 | ||
| U16C2 | Avery & Avery | 1st | 2:12:26 | (+4 on U18) |
| U18K1 | Collins | 2nd (of 19) | 2:00:03 | (+4 mins) |
| Morton | 3rd | 2:01:12 | ||
| Lawrenson | 4th | 2:02:35 | ||
| Bell | 5th | 2:03:39 | ||
| Scarfe | 6th | 2:05:57 | ||
| Thompson | 7th | 2:07:18 | ||
| Isbell | 8th | 2:07:51 | ||
| Mason | 14th | 2:16:15 | ||
| Astbury | 15th | 2:17:18 | ||
| U16K1 | Sharp | 2nd (of 18) | 2:01:30 | (+4 mins) |
| Slight | 3rd | 2:03:43 | ||
| Etheridge | 5th | 2:07:31 | ||
| U14K1 | Daniels | 1st (of 20) | 1:06:49 |
Girls Results
| U16K2 | Swallow & Dawson | 1st (of 6) | 2:11:06 | (+4 on U18) |
| Hutt & Brown | 2nd | 2:13:12 | ||
| Moran & Moran | 3rd | 2:13:37 | ||
| U18K1 | Carpenter | 1st (of 5) | 2:13:00 | |
| Etheridge | 2nd | 2:16:49 | ||
| Burgess | 4th | 2:23:24 |