Manchester Canoe Club
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| Sport |
Canoeing Kayaking Canoe Slalom Canoe Polo |
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| Founded | 1933 |
| Affiliation | British Canoe Union |
| Affiliation date | 1936 |
| Regional affiliation | North West England |
| Affiliation date | 1933 |
| Chairman | Mark Davies |
| Secretary | Glenn Roberts |
| Coach | Dave Bradshaw |
| Official website | |
| www |
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The Manchester Canoe Club (MCC) is based on the banks of the River Goyt at Marple, in Greater Manchester, England. Since its foundation in 1933, the club has been actively involved in the development of canoe sport, particularly in the competitive disciplines of Canoe Polo and Canoe Slalom.
Manchester Canoe Club was formed at an inaugural meeting in May 1933 following the publication of a letter by Hans Renold to the Times Newspaper to contact people interested in paddling on White Water. It became part of the British Canoe Association, making it one of the oldest canoe clubs in the United Kingdom. MCC founded the British Canoe Union in 1936, along with Clyde Canoe Club, the Royal Canoe Club, and the Canoe section of the Camping Club. In the early years, Manchester Canoe Club was primarily focused on touring and canoe camping. When canoe slalom gained popularity in 1939, MCC became a pioneering club in the sport. During the WW2 years the Club was kept "afloat' by Maurice Rothwell who acted as secretary and with others celebrated the end of the war by paddling on the River Spey. It was his records of Club Tours that helped to confirm access to the River Spey in a later court case.
The Club took part in all aspects of White Water Paddling - Slalom, River Racing and Touring. On one of their trips to the French Alps they came across a French Rivers Competition that was run on Several Rivers and in Age Groups.They found they had members to compete in all the groups and won many of the competitions. The trophies they received were brought home and formed the basis of a Club Competition they called the Quinzaine Series.
Maurice Rothwell had become prominent in the Canoe Slalom hierarchy. As one of the few car owning people at that time he would assist the British Team when traveling abroad, and in his Official capacity officiated at the first Televised Slalom event which was in Doncaster.
During the 60’s and 70’s the Club became very much involved in Canoe Slalom and ran many events each year for the BCU’s Slalom Calendar, not just on their home water in Marple but also as far afield as Easby Abbey in Yorkshire, Langollen in Wales, (this event was known as the Serpent’s Tail), and the Tryweryn also in Wales. In 1981 the Tryweryn was the site of the first World Canoe Championships held in Britain and the Club’s expertise was called on to provide the Results Service for the Slalom event. Over 40 members took part in receiving, checking and recording the competitors results which were then displayed on the main and also 2 remote score boards. It was said that this was the first time at a World Slalom Event that the competitors could see their provisional results as soon as they got off the water. Members attending Nottingham University were, amongst others, instrumental in arranging for Nottingham Council Officials to attend the event which was to pave the way for the first Artificial Slalom Site at Holme Pierrepoint.
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