Taunton kayaker selected by Team GB to compete in World Championships.
Katie Shattock, from Taunton Canoe Club is selected onto Great Britain’s Canoe & Kayak white water Junior Slalom Teams and will be competing in the World and European Junior Championships this year. For years, Katie has been passionate about the prospect of representing Great Britain. At times, such a dream may have appeared impossible, with the odds being stacked against anyone living so far away from the international white water training centres in Nottingham and London.
White Water Slalom is a sport that requires the athletes to manoeuvre their boat along a river through a series of coloured gates (two hanging poles). Green gates must be paddled down stream and red gates paddled up stream. There are tough time penalties if you miss or hit a gate. There are two main races one for kayak (sit in your boat and using a double ended paddle), and the other for Canoe (kneeling in your boat with a single paddle). A third and relatively new sport is called extreme slalom, where competitors, descend the course together, using their tactical and physical strengths to out-wit their opponents and be first to the finish.
Katie has progressed in the sport, starting out by entering junior competitions (on flat water) moving on to fast flowing white water. Through sheer grit and determination, Katie’s hard work, dedication and training paid off over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, where Katie competed on the Olympic course against top athletes from across the UK. Racing in both kayak and Canoe disciplines, Katie was not phased sitting in the starting pool, chatting with the Olympic medallists, that she would be chasing down the course.
Katie had to be in the top three of her age group (J18) and meet a strict percentage time of the professional athletes, which is a tough ask. After three full days, of full on competition, Katie successfully achieved percentages and was awarded 1st J18 in Kayak, and 3rd J18 in Canoeing. Later that week she received confirmation, from British Canoeing, that she was selected onto the Junior GB team for: Kayaking; Canoeing; and Extreme Slalom and will now spend the summer training in Italy before competing in the European and World Championships.
To top it off Team England Futures programme has invited Katie to meet the Athletes and their support network at the Commonwealth games, this year.
Katie is very appreciative for the fantastic coaching and support she has received from Taunton Canoe Club and British Canoeing coaches. Katie is very grateful for support from Bishop Foxes Education fund, and Backing the Best. Katie hopes that her successes will inspire others to follow their dreams.