John Gregory | Sportscene | Lee Valley Wednesday 20th February 2013 -  The first youngsters from a broad spectrum of canoe clubs were welcomed to the new GB Canoeing Canoe Slalom club sessions on the Legacy Channel of Lee Valley White Water Centre. The Olympic Legacy project seeks youngsters from the local communities from which it is hoped future champions will emerge.

If you want evidence of why you should start young? What do the paddlers Paul Ratcliffe, Alexander Grimm, Jessica Fox, Lizzie Neave, Helen Reeves, Jasmin Schornberg, Sideris Tasiadis, Michal Martikan, Gareth Marriott and many others have in common? They each won medals at World’s level as Juniors and there is a strong correlation between Junior champions and future Olympic medallists.

The GB Canoeing club session coaching was supplied by Shaun Pearce, himself World K1M Champion in 1991, Mike Chandler and I. Etienne Stott, Olympic C2 Champion, dropped in to provide some personal direction and spectators included Sydney Olympic K1M silver medallist, Paul Ratcliffe and John Anderson MBE, Performance Director at GB Canoeing.

Elaine Skilton, Project Implementation Manager at GB Canoeing shared, "We are looking to help talented individuals achieve their goals in canoe slalom. This is the best opportunity we have ever had to promote the sport and these sessions will provide the chance for more youngsters to take part in canoe slalom. The Legacy Project Team consulted with local clubs on the best way to provide this coaching and sessions are open for both clubs and individuals to book onto."

On Wednesday, 12 paddlers braved the cold to participate in the first GB Canoeing Legacy project session and they came from clubs far and wide including Herts Young Mariners Cops, Herts Canoe Club, Viking Kayak Club, Southend Canoe Club, Laburnum Boat Club and EYOT Henley.

Skilton continued, 

We hope the coaching sessions will inspire paddlers and also encourage potential new coaches. The project will ensure we have a greater number of athletes progressing through the performance pathway and continued future success for the GB Canoeing team.

The sessions are aimed at 9-16 year olds interested in Canoe Slalom training. The sessions are offered on Wednesdays at 6pm or Saturdays at 9am on the Lee Valley Legacy Channel and will be able to be booked individually or in 5 week blocks. From next week, bookings open up via the Lee Valley White Water Centre website. The project also encourages those interested in coaching or volunteering to support the development of our new generation of GB talent. Paddlers, coaches and interested others can register their details at http://bit.ly/leevalleyslalom.

The real legacy of London 2012 Canoe Slalom has officially begun. See you there!