England Slalom Talent Pathway
The England Canoe Slalom Talent programme has supported English athletes in achieving World and European Championship finals, team World and European championship medals, a European Championship title and ECA Junior Series Cup medals. In the Tokyo Olympic cycle the programme has transitioned a total of 8 athletes to the World Class Programme (WCP).
There are 7 part time and full time coaching staff who work within the England Slalom Talent Programme and are deployed throughout the pathway in various regions throughout England. Our coaches are amongst the highest qualified in the country and engage in a process of continual professional development.
Programme coaching provision is based locally to key white water facilities spread throughout England to ensure that we can maximise athletes’ coaching exposure within these environments.
Development in Canoe Slalom is, in part, dependent on regular and consistent access to moving water. Provision may look very different depending on where individuals are based as a result of what white water access is available.
Key Resources
Squad Structure
The England Slalom Talent Programme is divided into a tiered, progressive squad structure with three clearly defined levels, qualification criteria and aims:
Slalom Schools – Inclusive training and development camps for athletes and club coaches, supporting exposure to various moving and white water venues and developing technical and coaching skills in athletes and club coaches. Primarily aimed at athletes that are J12 in Div 3, J14 in Div 2, or a Junior in Div 1,
Click on the link below for the Slalom Schools Programme Handbook:
England Regional Development Squad (RDS) – Primarily supporting Junior 14-16 athletes, developing and preparing athletes to progress to the England National Talent Squad (ENTS). There are three Regional Development Squads; Southern, Central and Northern, each region supports up to 16 athletes. Each RDS has a full time coach who provides a programme of coaching through weekly and weekend training sessions at various venues throughout the UK. The RDS’s are selected in Winter and reviewed in Spring each year.
England National Talent Squad (ENTS) – Supporting Juniors and U23 athletes to qualify onto GB teams and to make Junior and U23 World Championship finals. Up to 24 athletes from Olympic Classes will be selected with up to 8 places for U23 athletes (up to 4 athletes in LV and up to 4 athletes in HPP).
University Performance Coach - In partnership with the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University provision is available to support their talented student-athletes. Coaching provision is available to student-athletes, with the goal of helping them to achieve their performance potential at British University College Sport (BUCS) events, GB U23 Selection events and World/European age range championships.
For more information about the support available at each institution please click on the links: University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University.
Qualification Criteria
The support that we can provide is finite and we are selective to ensure we offer appropriate programme places and development opportunities. Our philosophy is that by publishing and explaining our pathway, its aims, standards, expectations and associated development, we make it as easy as possible for everyone to understand why and how we make how we make squad qualification decisions.
Slalom School
The England Talent Slalom Schools Programme is an inclusive training and development opportunity for athletes and club coaches, supporting both paddling and coaching at different moving water and white water venues. The intent is to develop technical skills, white water confidence and fundamental habits in paddlers and to advance technical knowledge and coaching ability within club coaches.
2023-24 Slalom School Eligibility Criteria
Slalom School training camp booking page
By booking onto a Slalom School event you confirm that you are eligible to participate within Slalom Schools.
The booking window for each event will close at 23:59pm seven days prior to the event or if capacity has been reached.
If capacity has been reached please click on the appropriate waiting list ticket for the event. You will then be notified if any new spaces become available, subject to coach availability.
If you are seeking to make accommodation bookings relating to this event then we advise you to book on a flex rate to safeguard againist any last minute cancellations.
For anything relating to camp provision (for either paddler or coach) and suitability please contact Will Coney, our Slalom Pathway Coach who is coordinating the Slalom Schools programme. [email protected]
For information on bookings, payments and timetables please contact our Talent Operations Lead. [email protected]
Coach Development
We will be running coach development on the dates highlighted in our published Slalom School calendar.
The England Slalom Talent Programme would like to invite any English based slalom club coaches to the next Slalom School training camp (Saturday 9 December (at Matlock) and Sunday 10 December (at Holme Pierrepont Whitewater Course, Nottingham) where you can work with Alan and possibly coach a Slalom School group on the day under the supervision of Alan and our Slalom School coaches.
Please complete the sign up form HERE by Thursday 30 November to indicate your attendance.
Please contact Alan Edge, our Slalom Coach Developer; [email protected] to request accessing any of these coach development opportunities. Alan can then have a discussion with you to ensure that these coach development opportunities are bespoke to your needs.
What it Takes to Progress
Talent development is not a simple, standard, straight line process; each individual is unique. Coaching at the base of the pathway involves working with broad groups of individuals that all have varied and developing needs and facility access. The WITTP framework offers a reference point for decision making to help coaches create effective and appropriate learning environments suitable to the needs of their paddlers and the constraints of the environment that they operate within.
The WITTP framework identifies the key foundations that underpin long term potential, across genders and classes detailing technical competencies, racing experience, physical measures, psychological characteristics and behaviors. The framework is the foundation that drives our athlete, coach and club development programmes and guides the work of coaches, developers and support staff.
The WITTP will be supported with the release of subsequent learning resources, videos, templates, benchmarks, testing protocols and coach learning groups.
Key Resources
Click here for Canoe Slalom What It Takes To Progress resources
Technical Progression Guide: A Video Resource Tool
Additional Resources
There has been a series of online workshops that have been conducted for the Slalom School programme: