Shannon Judge from Stafford and Stone Canoe Club defeated canoeists from across the UK to win the Stafford and Stone Mini Slalom Series.
The Mini Slalom series is a three-day race event spread out across six weeks at the River Trent in Stone. It’s a pre-season warm-up, great preparation for the season ahead, with Stafford and Stone new members using the events as a test for the upcoming Div3/4, on 7th and 8th March. Paddlers ranked from division 3 up to premier division came from all over the UK to test out their winter training.
The mini slalom races have been held since the 1970s and are handicapped to give paddlers of all abilities a chance of winning. Racing was tough from the start, but Stafford and Stone paddlers dominated, with 16 of the top 20 coming from the Stone club at the 1st event, and 14 of top 20 in the 2nd & 3rd minis. The three events culminated with a Grand Final at the end of the 3rd event, where the top 10 paddlers overall from the three events battled it out for overall champion. The top 10 paddlers for the final were all from Stafford and Stone Canoe Club, a fantastic achievement for all 10 paddlers, and for the club.
The final 10 were – Tom Sillence, Arron Godfrey (in both C1 & K1), James Bailey (2014 Champion), Adam Burgess, Jessica Magson, Leah Godfrey, Ocean Davis-Haswell, Ken Lawson and Shannon Judge.
As each paddler completed the course, it became apparent that there was a massive pressure on them as there were a lot of touches, and even a 50! In the end, Shannon Judge came out on top, closely followed by Ken Lawson and Leah Godfrey.
All in all another successful mini series organised by last year’s team of Pete Appleton, Steve Harratt and John Homer, with many S&SCC members supporting. There was a record attendance (again) and the catering team kept everyone fed and watered. All in all, a great start to the 2015 slalom season. Congratulations to Shannon!
[button color=”red” size=”small” link=”https://staffordandstonecc.co.uk/” ]Stafford and Stone Canoe Club website[/button]
