Meet the Development & Participation Sub-committee

Neil Kinnerly • 1 December 2021

Canoe Wales has recently launched its new sub-committee framework, which aims to increase engagement with its membership and develop its decision making in the functional areas of the 2019-23 strategy.


Last time, we introduced you to the members of the Coaching, Leadership & Safety Sub-committee. This week, we are introducing you to the newly formed Development & Participation Sub-committee.


This committee will work to provide advice and guidance to the staff and Board about the Canoe Wales development programme, including club development, equity, safeguarding, engagement with underrepresented groups, and promotion and associated engagement with the Paddle Awards. 


So, let’s meet the sub-committee members…

Tavi Murray (Chair)


Tavi is a keen sea kayaker and slalom paddler (she is currently ranked in Division 2 of the UK rankings). She is also secretary of the Seren Dŵr slalom club based at Cardiff International White Water and is a Professor at the College of Science at Swansea University. Tavi has a particular interest in the health and environmental aspects of kayaking, the safety issues pertaining to paddling on the sea and related to white-water paddling. During the most recent COVID lockdown, her awareness of the mental health impacts that the lockdown (and associated restrictions) were having on paddlers around Wales led her to organise a petition to the Welsh Government to ask them to remove the particular reference to watersports within the restrictions. Tavi would like to utilise her position on the committee to support Canoe Wales to further promote the positive health and environmental aspects of paddling to people who may be interested in getting involved in paddling.

Jon Gamon


Jon is an active coach, tutor and teacher at the Conway Centre on Anglesey, North Wales. He has a particular interest and experience in increasing opportunities for people with disabilities to access the outdoors, and his hard work in this area has led to a number of nominations and awards, including winner of the RYA #MoreThanSailing Sailability Award in 2019, and finalist of the Disability Sport Wales “Insport Organisation of the Year” in 2021. He is well aware of the therapeutic and physical fitness benefits paddlesports provide and is looking for Canoe Wales to further capitalise on these opportunities within its development activities going forward.

Stephen Bird


Stephen is an active paddlesport coach, instructor and educator working with a range of young paddlers, abilities and aspirant instructors. He is highly motivated by social action and serving people and, in 2008, he took over leading the Youth Development Team in a charity called World Horizons. While running youth camps, school work and alternative curriculums, he also led multicultural teams out on expeditions, delivering short-term overseas trips to countries such as Turkey, Morocco, India and France. In 2011 he completed a Youth and Community Development Postgraduate degree while also gaining a professional qualification as an informal educator in citizenship, participation and exclusion. Stephen intends to utilise his position on the sub-committee to further support the progression of paddling to open up access to exploration, adventure and healthy social connection.

Steve Rayner


Steve is well known to Canoe Wales, having led Brecon Canoe Club since 2006, chaired the Canoe Wales Slalom Committee from 2014-2019, and acted as the Canoe Wales Waterways and Environment Officer from 2016-2019. He is currently a part-time freelance outdoor instructor and paddlesport coach, and also the part-time co-ordinator for the South Wales Outdoor Activity Providers Group, with responsibility for promoting and negotiating access on land and water for activity professionals and groups in South Wales. Steve would like to utilise his extensive experience of paddling and access to support the work of the committee in developing opportunities for paddlers around Wales.

Stephen Bean


Stephen is a highly experienced outdoor practitioner and educator who has experience of coaching and participating across pretty much all of the paddling disciplines. He’s currently Senior Instructor at the Pendine Outdoor Education Centre in Carmarthenshire, where he is responsible for the day to day running of activities and the effective implementation of safe systems at work and risk assessments. Stephen is becoming an active SUP paddler and Coastal SUP Leader, which he believes will also enable him to advise on this rapidly growing aspect of our sport. Having recently navigated the re-opening of a local authority centre post-COVID, he understands the challenges of negotiating with third party groups who can often restrict participation and development. Stephen would like to utilise his position on the committee to further advise and support Canoe Wales with strategic development and integration with the coaching scheme.

So, those are your representatives on the sub-committee, and they would all like to hear your views and feedback – so please feel free to give it to them! You can contact the sub-committee by emailing admin@canoewales.com and we will then forward this to the Chair. The sub-committee intends to meet around 6 to 8 times a year, and we will undoubtedly be in touch to update you around some of its work.


Canoe Wales has identified that representatives of affiliated clubs are under-represented on this sub-committee - and as a result, we will run another recruitment process in the new year to even things up. If you are a club committee member or volunteer, and feel you could contribute to the work of this (or other) sub-committee(s), then please get in touch.


We’ll be introducing some of our other sub-committees over the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled for further introductions.


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