After a superb BUCS season last year, our University of Nottingham canoe and kayak athletes headed north for the first event of the new season. Taking to the Grand Tully course in Scotland on the weekend of the 18th and 19th November, our athletes were looking to achieve similar success to that at the same course one year ago and retain our place amongst the elite in university racing. Entering athletes across multiple disciplines, the #GreenandGold would be regular podium occupiers across the weekend, racking up a fantastic haul of 12 medals across the two days of competition.
The most success came in the sprints with Katie Pocklington and Edward Dickinson claiming brilliant gold's in the women's and men's K1 races respectively, with Dickinson finishing ahead of Nottingham team mate Finn Johnson who just missed out on a medal in fourth. Pocklington, a GB team member, is back from competing in senior sprint wild water worlds and senior European championships and said of her sprint performance - "I am extremely happy with my sprint result as it shows that the hard work over the last few years has paid off." Dickinson would then also double his tally of gold's, taking first place in the men's C1 to cement his position as the top male sprinter in BUCS competition, before teaming with under-23 GB squad member Elliott Massey to add a silver to the collection as the pair put in great runs on the course finishing second in the C2 event to round out a fantastic Saturday.
The pair of Dickinson and Massey would then also match this result in the classic the next day, with another well-earned silver in the C2, narrowly missing out on going one better with gold by less than one second. Dickinson would also continue his weekend residency on the podium, taking to the second step in the men's C1 classic, and the third in the men's K1 classic - adding another silver and bronze. Ed reflected on his performances at the championships by saying "wild water is always an interesting one, as someone from a canoe slalom background, I always appreciate the unique challenge that comes with wild water, the good company and beautiful views help."
Once again, Nottingham's Johnson would push Dickinson close, but cruelly missed out on a medal again with another fourth place finish in the K1 classic. In the women's events, current under-23 World bronze medallist Lucy Guest returned to UK competition as she took to the water in the K1 and finished in the top two taking home a BUCS silver to add to her growing collection.
With the depth of talent amongst the Nottingham travelling contingent clear from the individual events, the team events would firmly establish Nottingham at the top of the table for another year. With Dickinson, Massey and Johnson all featuring prominently at the top of the standing individually, the trip combined for gold in the Open Team category. When taking to the top step of the podium, the group were also joined by Edward McDonald, Ben Brown and Leo Timlin who finished in a fantastic third place to win Open Team bronze for Nottingham. To round out the weekend of success, the Mixed Team category also saw three of the top four positions represented by Nottingham, with the silver and bronze medals won by #GreenandGold teams. Katie Pocklington and Lucy Guest added to their individual gold and silver by winning Mixed Team silver with team mate Elise Montagna, with fellow Nottingham athletes Macy Kang, Rachel Ellis and Tazmin Brown coming away with the the Mixed Team bronze.
This would take the overall medal tally for the University to twelve medals across the weekend, with four golds, five silvers, and three bronze. You can see all results from the championships here.
We would like to congratulate our athletes on another Wild Water BUCS Championships filled with success, which is even more impressive as a high proportion of the team combined from different kayaking disciplines. Everyone is looking forward to further BUCS events next year to continue our successes.
As well as a reputation for academic excellence, we have a history of sporting success and are passionate about supporting promising athletes during their time at the University of Nottingham. To find out more about our Sports Scholarship, please click here. You can find out more about our Performance Canoe programme here.
Posted on Wednesday 22nd November 2023