Please note that this is entirely separate to the Paddle Scotland General Meeting due to be held the same week, on Wednesday 27 November (details to follow next week). 

The British Canoeing General Meeting will be a fully virtual meeting hosted on Zoom and using the LUMI voting platform.

The General Meeting is a formal meeting for members that has been called by the Board to propose a series of changes to the British Canoeing (T/A Paddle UK) Articles of Association, in response to the views of almost 2,000 respondents following a thorough and robust consultation change programme.

The meeting will start at 7pm and all members from Paddle UK, Paddle Scotland, Paddle Northern Ireland, and Canoe Wales are invited to attend.

British Canoeing is the registered legal name of Paddle UK, hence why the meeting is still referred to as a “British Canoeing General Meeting”.

Proposed Changes to the Articles of Association

The Board of Directors recommends approving several important changes to the Articles of Association to ensure the continued growth and adaptability of British Canoeing, trading as Paddle UK.

These amendments aim to modernise the governance structure, aligning it with our evolving needs and broader membership base.

The proposed changes focus on two primary areas:

1. To amend the way English nominated Directors are elected to the Board to enhance member representation. This change will also include the removal of all references to the now-defunct English Forum. We will establish a new Paddle UK Paddle England Assembly, to ensure key voices across England are represented at Board level.
2. To replace the role of President with a Patron, serving as a lead ambassador to advance the strategic priorities of Paddle UK, thereby elevating the profile of paddlesport for the benefit of all members and the wider paddling community.

The British Canoeing Articles of Association require these changes to be passed by Special Resolution and therefore require a 75% majority of votes cast to be approved.

General Meeting Notice and Papers

The notice for the General Meeting and papers required can be downloaded from the Paddle UK site.

Registration & Proxy Voting

Full information can be found on the Paddle UK site.

Please note that this is entirely separate to the Paddle Scotland General Meeting due to be held the same week, on Wednesday 27 November (details to follow next week).