Welcome to LBCC
Leighton Buzzard Canoe Club is a friendly and welcoming club established in 1976. We’re based at Tiddenfoot Leisure Centre in the Town of Leighton Buzzard and have around 100 active members. The club has achieved Sport England Club Mark and BCU Top Gold Accreditation, signifying that we are a safe, effective, child-friendly sports club. Canoeing offers a range of disciplines that cater for every taste, from sprint racing to canoe polo, slalom and wild water.
Due to our location on the Grand Union Canal we are focused primarily on ‘Flatwater’ paddling which is divided into two disciplines, Sprint and Marathon.
Canoes
Canoes have an open cockpit paddled with a single bladed paddle. There are various types of canoe, the most commonly used being the touring canoe, marathon canoe and the high kneeler.
We tend to abbreviate the name to C1, being a canoe for one person, C2 for a two man canoe, and TC1 or TC2 for a one or two man touring canoe.
Kayaks
Kayaks have a closed cockpit, and the paddle used will have a blade at each end. There are boats designed for sprinting and boats designed for marathon racing, and are made for one person (a K1), two people (K2) and four people (K4).
The kayaks we use have a rudder which is controlled by a ‘tiller bar’ which is located on the foot plate, this is moved from side to side with your feet to control the direction of the boat.