Norwich Canoe Club are British Canoeing Club of the Year 2018, winning the award ahead of 625 clubs in Britain.

It is a remarkable achievement for the Norwich flat water racing club who are 2018 National Sprint Kayak Team Champions, and were runners up in the National Kayak Marathon Championships by the slenderest of margins.

The club also boasts many junior, senior and veteran individual National Champions including Tim Pendle, the fastest senior man in marathon, a group of talented juniors who were selected for the Olympic Hopes regatta in Poland, the current National Schools Champions from Langley School as well as the Active Norfolk Coach of the Year and Active Norfolk Winner of Winners Tim Scott.

None of these high profile successes would have been possible however, without their team of volunteers, helpers and dedicated parents who work tirelessly to ensure that the club is friendly, welcoming and inclusive to anyone who wishes to have a go on the water.

At a typical training session there are groups of kayakers of many different ages and abilities and the coaches strive to support each individual to reach their personal goals whatever they may be.

'This club's ambition is to not just to develop kayakers or all round athletes but human beings who can go through life confident they have the skills to take on anything the world throws at them,' says coach Tim Scott. 'So the breadth of opportunities open to club members is astonishing, from cross country skiing, training camps abroad, a sophisticated gym program, open water swimming, celebrations of women in the sport, to attending races all over Europe.'

The story of some of the club's paddle-ability paddlers was recently highlighted in the BBC One program A Matter Of Life and Debt.

'We are incredibly proud and honoured to have been recognised by British Canoeing in this way and we want to thank them as well as Active Norfolk for all their support,' said chair Siobhan Rowe. 'In 2019 we are hosting the National Marathon Championships which will be live streamed and we are inviting local businesses to sponsor one of the biggest sporting spectacles in Norfolk in 2019.'

Contact chair@norwichcanoeclub.co.uk if you wish to be a part of it.