On the 6th and 7th of September, 12 Matlock canoe club paddlers made their way down to Bedford to race at one of the best competitions of the year, Interclubs! Inter clubs is a two-day weekend where 12 paddlers from a club, or a few from another club to help complete a team, compete in two races each day to try and get as little points as possible, 1 point for 1st place, 2 points for second place etc. This year there was 11 different teams from across the country. The weekend was enjoyed by everyone, whether they were racing or supporting.
Early Saturday morning, all 12 paddlers got on the water and had their individual practice run to familiarise themselves with the course and talk to the team captain and coach, Pedro, about the different options that they could do on the course.
On Saturday, Kevin Cambell (Vet), Tom Day (Div 2 M) and Lucas Pick (Div 3 M) completed their team run, 3 boats navigating the course at the same time. They did very well and claimed 5th place.
Also on Saturday, Linda Allin (Div 1 W), Laura Wardle (Div 2 W) and Lottie Howe (Div 3) completed their team run and got and amazing 4th place
Finally for the team runs, Daniel Pick (C1M), Laura Wardle (C1W) and Tom O’Hara & Mark Cast (C2), participated in their team run and came a respectable 7th place considering all 4 paddles don’t race in these categories normally.
After these team runs, Steve Briggs (Prem M), Callum Lovatt (Div 1 M) and Sally Cresswell Cast ( Prem W) completed their individuals runs. Steve and Sally both got a very good 6th place and Callum got an amazing 5th place and claimed first senior.
On Sunday, everyone who did their team runs on Saturday, did their individual runs against other people in their division. And anyone who did their individual runs on Saturday competed in their team runs on Saturday.
Kevin Cambell (Vet) got an amazing 4th place, Tom Day (Div 2 M) got a great 7th place and Lucas Pick (Div 3 M) got a good 8th place in a very competitive field.
Linda Allin (Div 1 W) got a great 6th place, Laura Wardle (Div 2 W) got an impressive 7th place and Lottie Howe (Div 3 W) got a good 8th place.
Daniel Pick (C1M) got an impressive 10th place after taking C1 up 5 weeks prior. Laura Wardle (C1W) came 11th after only being in a C1 twice before the event. And Finally Tom O’Hara and Mark Cast (C2) got a great 6th place after never being in a C2 together before the weekend.
After all of these runs, it was time for the last team run of the weekend, Prem woman, Prem man and Div 1 man. Sally Cresswell Cast (Prem W), Steve Briggs (Prem M) and Callum Lovatt (Div 1 M) got an amazing 3rd Place, becoming the best result for Matlock over the weeked
Overall, Matlock came 7th out of 11, with 103 points. This year’s winner was Stafford and Stone A with 28 points followed by Viking KC with 68 points.
Thank you to everyone who helped with training, transport and logistics it was greatly appreciated by all the paddlers.
A massive thank you to Matlock’s own Donna Hawkins for organising the whole event again it was another big success.
Bring on Inter Clubs 2026
