British Canoe Union

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The British Canoe Union (BCU) is the British canoeing organisation, helping and inspiring people to go canoeing. It formulates standards for training programmes with certification levels and accredits instructors to teach canoeing.

1887 saw the formation of the British Canoe Association, which lasted about thirty years. Revived in 1933, it merged with the Canoe Section of the Camping Club of Great Britain. In March 1936, representatives of the Canoe Section of the Camping Club, Clyde Canoe Club, Manchester Canoe Club and the Royal Canoe Club formed the British Canoe Union.

The BCU has over 30,000 individual members, 625 affiliated clubs and 145 approved centres.

The BCU is a blanket organisation which brings together Britain's separate paddlesport organisations: Canoe England, The Scottish Canoe Association, The Welsh Canoeing Association and The Canoe Association of Northern Ireland. The BCU creates the rules for competitive canoeing used throughout the UK.

The BCU is now approaching its 70th anniversary and is running a photo competition to celebrate. The organisation also recently started a Rivers Access Campaign which tries to raise the public awareness of the problems that Kayakers and Canoeists face in accessing the country's rivers. This campaign ultimately aims to bring about changes in UK law that will open up more rivers to the public.