Paul Harrington is “really grateful” for “living and working in such a picturesque town surrounded by water.”

The new Club and Workforce Officer for the Canoe Association for Northern Ireland (CANI) and Erne Paddlers, Paul intends to develop a lot of programmes on the water for people of all ages and abilities.
He is particularly keen to spot potential competitive sprinters and wants to help them develop as athletes.

Paul, who lives in Enniskillen, began a “stressful” path towards Mechanical Engineering but quickly realised he was more suited to life on the water.

He took a trainee outdoor pursuits instructor role at Lough Melvin and began educating himself in the area of coaching. 

He has achieved a Level 5 surf kayak qualification, which is one step above the degree/postgraduate equivalent level four qualification. Such is his expertise as a coach on the water, Paul spent a number of years coaching the Northern Ireland surf kayak squad, leading them to a “very successful” five-year run, including junior and senior world championship wins.

He also worked on a freelance basis, delivering recognised canoe, leadership and coaching education courses across Northern Ireland.
“That experience gave me a good background in coaching a national squad. There’s a lot of that which can be brought into a club,” said Paul.
He was a volunteer with the Erne Paddlers group until this most recent paid posting and he is determined to grow the group even further than its current membership of 200.

“My focus will be to increase opportunity and access and to get people out paddling on the water,” Paul said.

Paul is excited at the fact that CANI and Erne Paddlers have joined the 2018 Paddles–up Programme with partners in Leitrim Sports Partnership and Cavan Sports Partnership.

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The six week Paddles-Up programme provides students with water activity skills in a fun way, building confidence, capacity and enabling them to earn a qualification.
Appealing for local schools to contact him to discuss school canoe programmes, he said: “This is not just a canoe programme, it has the capacity for being great for the overall development of pupils, providing them with increased confidence, resilience and the coaching ethos of striving for excellence.”
He continued: “A lot of canoe clubs operate on a purely recreational basis and don’t necessarily serve the needs of individuals who would enjoy the competitive aspect,” he commented.
A new programme called ‘Starting Block to Sprint’ will be aimed at local members and non-members aged 10-14. Starting in April, the six-week programme will give a taster for kayak racing and feed into the CANI Talent Hub.
Paul will be looking out for “someone who enjoys the rewards of racing well enough that I know they will work hard to improve, striving to always better themselves and getting the benefits of that personal challenge.”
Another new programme for 2018 is Paddlesport for Fitness.
“Each month I will post a range of sessions, from beginner to expert aimed at developing your paddling fitness. We will follow these programmes in coached sessions adapted to meet the needs of the individual and group. It’s great for improving your overall fitness and paddling ability,” Paul explained.

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In addition, the Erne Paddlers run ‘Love to Paddle’ journeys “with a bit of coaching for those that want it and plenty of sightseeing and chat.”
Their range of options also include White Water Kayaking, Stand Up Paddleboarding, courses for new coaches, recreational paddles with members of the Lakeland Special Olympics team and CANI Junior River hubs, where several clubs from the region meet up one Sunday per month to share resources and develop junior river running skills, through fun activities. 

Praising the Erne Paddlers, Paul said: “We grew to 200 members last year. We’ve been fortunate to have a really good committee who had a vision of a community organisation that would grow big enough to employ a development officer who will reach out and serve the needs of youth groups, young parents, people who are retired.
“Fermanagh is the Lake District of Northern Ireland, but getting on the water is not as accessible as walking in a park. As a club, we want to be able to facilitate a safe stepping stone onto the water.”

Describing his most exhilarating moment on the water, Paul said: “Nothing beats an early morning surf. Carving a big turn as the sun comes up and all the other surfers are still in bed is pretty awesome!”
His favourite moment in the day is dusk as the last canoeing session winds up. 

He usually takes “a moment of quiet reflection” and appreciates “the view of the town and castle from the water as the lights come on, which is something special.”
Paul can be contacted on paulharrington@cani.org.uk or 077078086491.