Vine-Nealon and Dean are making their mark for club

More than 200 paddlers from around the country took to the Oxford Canal on Sunday, racing over distances from two to 12 miles and with up to 14 locks to carry their boat around.

BDCC paddlers made the most of the home advantage for the host club.

There were medallists at all divisions and the club dropped just one point from a maximum of 240, beating neighbours Falcon Oxford into second place and Reading Canoe Club in third.

Cian Vine-Nealon won division seven K1 after only a year of paddling, while Lee Dean – paddling with Rachel Temple-Fry to win division six K2 – is also new to the sport but is powering through the divisions with multiple wins along the way.

Other BDCC paddlers to top the podium were Max Davison and Andy Flack in division four, William Hartley and Keith Lobban in division five and Tamsen Flack and Kim Davison division eight.

In the under-12 classes, Lizzie Harte won the K1 ahead of team-mates Isabella Murphy and Catherine Beck. Harte and Murphy also doubled up to take the K2 race.

Making the second step on the podium were Joe Petersen in division one, Harry Critchfield in division four, Will Larner in division seven and Jenny Ballinger in her first ever race with Abi Beck in division nine K2.

There were third places for Shaun Harte in division two, Neil McAra in division three, Michael Phillips in division five, John-Carlo Dimaculangan in division six, Greg Oleksy in division eight, and Penny Higham and Jacqui Smith in division eight K2.

Jack Civico and George Urquhart had the busiest weekend for the club.

On Saturday, they raced at the Welsh Open Wildwater Championships in Llangollen, winning the under-23 and under-18 classic classes respectively.

The following day they took second place in the 12 mile division three K2 race in Banbury.

Rob Jefferies also raced in Wales, coming second in the competitive senior men’s class.