Our committee and coaches are made up of club members who freely volunteer their time to assist the club in its operation and activities.

BCCC Committee

  • Bill Hansell - Chairman

    Bill has been on the committee for several spells. He is a very fair weather paddler and regards most people (including his own sons) who are willing to do the DW with suspicion and respect in equal measure. When he’s not worrying about the newsletter, Bill can sometimes be seen on stage in Hartley Wintney.

  • Jason Dyer - Treasurer and L1 coach

    Jason has single handedly brought out accounting systems into the 21st century and continues to do an amazing job keeping an eye on our income and outgoings. As a youth Jason was an accomplished race paddler and can still be seen from time to time pushing a kayak along the canal.

  • Ben Hansell - Secretary

    Ben is a division 2 Hasler racer who has been with the club for over 10 years. He also enjoys cycling and playing squash.

  • Sarah Francis - Committee member and L1 coach

    Sarah’s primary kayaking interest is K1 and K2 marathon racing. She also enjoys sea kayaking. If she ever misses a race, it is because whe is competing in an orienteering event.

  • Pina Napolitano - Committee member and L2 coach

    Pin is a sea kayaker mainly and loves to head out to Scotland to find a bit of empty beach, or an island to paddle around. She also enjoys paddling our own Basingstoke Canal, and can often be found in a canoe litter picking along its banks. Pina is a Level 2 Coach with 3* in sea kayak and canoeing, and enjoys helping out with some B3C coaching courses for new club members.

  • Zoe Griffiths - Committee member and L1 coach

    Zoe is a marathon racer and coach. Zoe is committee member responsible for boat storage.

  • Andrew Jeffs - Committee member and L1 coach

    Andrew is a Div 1 racing paddler who joined the club at 5 years old. Gaining his 1* at 6 years old and becoming a L1 coach at 16 years old, kayaking has always been at the forefront of his mind from an early age. With a history of white water, playboating, slalom and polo kayaking, you might also see Andrew in a variety of other boats and competitions.

BCCC Coaches

  • Liz Murnaghan - L3 Coach

    Liz is a Level 3 Coach. She has paddled most types of boat (slalom K1, C1 and C2, WWR K1, marathon K1 and K2, polo, open canoes, sea kayaks, river runners and playboats) with various degrees of success. She is now more often to be found in flat water boats, if only because Surrey is not well endowed with white water gems and time is too short to drive for hours to the good stuff. Lis is also known for bringing Canoe And Kayakers Energy Source (CAKES) to a wider audience.

  • Paul Jeffs - Trip Coordinator and L3 Inland Kayak and L2 Racing Coach

    Paul has served several roles in the club but today he has settled down to encouraging both marathon and white water disciplines – as well as taking part in both. Paul’s enthusiasm for canoeing never lets him down as can be seen from his grin! He holds the Level 3 (Inland Kayak), Level 2 Racing and Level 1 Slalom Coaching awards and isn’t frightened of paddling an open boat either. He is a real proponent of trying every paddlesport discipline from river running through racing and sea kayaking to polo and more.

  • Brian Biffin - L3 Coach

    Brian is a Level 3 Coach. These days he prefers sea trips and Grade 2 inland paddles. He is also a qualified paddleboarder and a very keen skier.

  • Anne Biffin - L2 Coach

    Anne is a UKCC Level 2 Coach. She enjoys sea kayaking, kayak touring, paddleboarding and open boating. She tries, with little success, to keep Brian in check and can often be seen on the water with Calvin, the Border Collie.

  • Richard Somerset - L2 Racing Coach

    Richard was a long serving member of the committee but stepped down to do more paddling. He is still very much involved in club life taking a leading role in coaching white water and flat water racing. He is a very experienced paddler holding British Canoeing 4 Star Kayak, British Canoeing 3 Star Open Canoe and Placid Water as well as being a Level 3 Kayak and Open Canoe and Level 2 Racing Coach

  • Rose Fox - L2 coach

  • Fiona Shipp - L1 coach

BCCC Volunteer Vacancies

The club relies completely on voluntary coaches and helpers. If you are active within the club, then please see if there is a role that you could help out in.

  • Coaches

    We would love more coaches, in everything from racing to touring to whitewater. The more coaches we have, the easier it is to organise sessions and coach multiple disciplines. The Club will support your training.

  • Coaching Coordinator

    This requires a knowledge of the current British Canoeing coaching requirements and the ability to plan the coaching schedule to provide a diverse range of courses.

  • Taster Session Coordinator

    This requires no special paddling skills. Just an ability to publicise and co-ordinate our taster sessions.

  • Race Captain

    The race captain advertises the external races for the year and organises the team before a competition, ensuring paddlers are entered before each race and we can represent the club as best as possible.

  • B3C Hasler Organiser

    This is a job not for the faint of heart. If you fancy a really juicy event management job, this is the one for you. We have up to 30 people helping out at this event held in May.

  • Charles Hicks Challenge Organiser

    Not as big an event as the Hasler but still a significant event. Held in November.

  • Social Events Coordinator

    We need people to organise our summer shindig, and other off-the-water gatherings such as quiz nights etc.

  • Communications, Technical and IT

    It is a shockingly long list of IT and techie bits and pieces that we run as a club these days. We can always do with more help.

  • Newsletter Editor

    ‘BCCC Matters’ is the clubs newsletter. This role involves compiling items for, and circulating, the newsletter to keep everybody in the loop.

  • Facilities Maintenance

    Lots of people have contributed to the amazing advances we’ve with our facilities. But we need to consolidate this with a plethora of maintenance jobs that need to be done. We need people who will co-ordinate this work.

  • Welfare (safeguarding) Officer

    The officer should undertake the Sports Coach UK Safeguarding and Protecting Children workshop or an equivalent programme and be focused on ensuring the welfare of children and juniors who paddle at this club. The officer needs to have a good relationship with the junior development coaches within the club.