What Inspired me
Well way back, when we only had four TV channels the BBC commissioned a series called "Paddles Up". Each show consisted of two rounds, a white water rafting leg and a sort of obstacle course leg where they had to barrel roll under gates, tilt their canoe so the end hits a levitating football, that sort of thing. One notable feature was the fact that some contestants competed in standard-design kayaks, while others were kneeling in round canoes. This inevitably meant that the former had the advantage of being lower down in their kayaks and therefore better equipped to duck under the gates, while the latter, being higher up, were able to hit the targets more easily - swings and roundabouts in more ways than one, you might say!
The final element of the course was to throw your paddle over the finishing gate to stop the clock (hence "Paddles... UP!").
Early contests took place on the river at Llangollen, but in later years, the venue was changed to the new, purpose-built watersports centre on the River Trent in Nottingham.
Richard Fox was the winner of most of the men's contests.
The final element of the course was to throw your paddle over the finishing gate to stop the clock (hence "Paddles... UP!").
Early contests took place on the river at Llangollen, but in later years, the venue was changed to the new, purpose-built watersports centre on the River Trent in Nottingham.
Richard Fox was the winner of most of the men's contests.
Richard Fox
Richard Fox (born 6 May 1960) is a British-born, Australian slalom canoeist who competed for Great Britain from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. He won seven medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with six golds (K-1: 1981, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1993; K-1 team: 1993) and a bronze (K-1: 1979).
Fox also finished fourth in the K-1 event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
Fox originally canoed Nomad Canoes and later moved to paddle a Pyranha designed by Graham Mackereth.
He moved to Australia in 1998 to take up a position as the National Head Coach for the Sydney Olympics. From 2001, Richard was also the Australian Institute of Sport and National Team Head Coach leading the slalom team at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Fox was appointed National Performance Director of Australian Canoeing in January 2005 and is now responsible for the Australian Slalom and Sprint High Performance programs through to the 2008 Summer Olympics.
He was a member of the ICF Slalom technical committee from 1996 to 2000 and played an active role in the International Canoe Federation (ICF) campaign to include Slalom in the Sydney 2000 Olympic program. Fox serves as second vice president of the ICF.
His wife, Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, competed as a slalom canoeist for France while his sister Rachel Crosbee competed for Britain in the same event. Fox's daughter Jessica won gold in the girls' K-1 slalom event at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
Fox also finished fourth in the K-1 event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
Fox originally canoed Nomad Canoes and later moved to paddle a Pyranha designed by Graham Mackereth.
He moved to Australia in 1998 to take up a position as the National Head Coach for the Sydney Olympics. From 2001, Richard was also the Australian Institute of Sport and National Team Head Coach leading the slalom team at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Fox was appointed National Performance Director of Australian Canoeing in January 2005 and is now responsible for the Australian Slalom and Sprint High Performance programs through to the 2008 Summer Olympics.
He was a member of the ICF Slalom technical committee from 1996 to 2000 and played an active role in the International Canoe Federation (ICF) campaign to include Slalom in the Sydney 2000 Olympic program. Fox serves as second vice president of the ICF.
His wife, Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, competed as a slalom canoeist for France while his sister Rachel Crosbee competed for Britain in the same event. Fox's daughter Jessica won gold in the girls' K-1 slalom event at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.