DW to trial Relay event in 2024
Credit: Dan Marett
The Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race will trial a Relay event for the 2024 edition, with the view to adding the class to the race bill in the future.
Agreed at the DW AGM in November, the trial event will take place alongside the Senior Doubles race over Easter Saturday and Sunday, and the trial edition will be limited to 10-12 relay teams.
The trial is being undertaken to establish whether a Relay would work as a viable class in the future.
The Relay event will be open to Senior paddlers who have met the Senior Doubles requirements, and only doubles boats (K2 or C2) can be used.
The race will be run in conjunction with the Senior Doubles class due to the fact that all of the infrastructure is already in place, but there will be a slight amendment to the use of GPS trackers.
Credit: Guy Dresser
The GPS trackers will be used as the baton, with DW’s tracking partner Open Tracking working on a solution that will provide a quick, simple, yet firmly attached system allowing the tracker to be transferred from one boat to the other.
More details will be released in due course regarding the rules of the race, but the DW organisation is looking for additional assistance with this aspect of the race, specifically a co-ordinator who can oversee the trial.
Speaking about the new addition, DW’s chairman of Directors James Treadgold said: “We are not seeing the numbers of paddlers we used to see in Senior Doubles. We are not sure why but we need to generate more entries to keep DW financially viable.
“The introduction of a Relay as a trial for 2024 will test the water (pun intended) and see if it works and if there is interest from the paddling community.”
“We know some of the DW community will see this as a dilution of the Senior Doubles race, and we’ve thought long and hard about it as there are differing views in the organising team. But the Relay is different from Senior Doubles in the same way Senior Singles is different. And I am sure the same concerns were raised when Singles was introduced in 1985.
“I did singles in 1986 and it was a stepping stone to my first Senior Doubles race in 1987. I’m hopeful the Relay will be the same for others. Race relay one year then come back for the main event the next.”
Next year’s DW canoe race takes place on 29th March - 1st April 2024.