Team Phoenix is competing in the Masters Men classification of the IRF European Rafting Championship this August. Team Phoenix first began in 2017 and continues to introduce new members to the team. Though whitewater kayakers, they have come to love the world of raft racing.
Based at the National Watersports Centre, Nottingham, England the team trains weekly, on the artificial whitewater course and sometimes traveling to Wales to train on some of the rivers there if water levels allow.
Phoenix have also competed in several Euro Cup races, including Romania, Bulgaria, Austria, and Bosnia.
The team competing at the European Rafting Championships in Czechia consists of:
- Peter Wortley – member of the team since its inception in 2017. Competed in the ERC of 2019, and the WRC of 2022.
In real life, an Embedded Software Engineer, he is always glad to get away from the office and out on the water. - Simon Hale – a member of the team since 2018. Also competed in the ERC of 2019, and the WRC of 2022.
In his spare time, Simon runs a local youth group. - Stephen Wood – a member since 2018, competing in the ERC of 2019, and the WRC of 2022.
Stephen has been kayaking for many years. He is also a black belt in Jiu Jitsu. - Stephen Bellamy – a member since 2018, competing in the ERC of 2019, and the WRC of 2022.
Steve has kayaked all over the world, his next trip is to the Himalya later this year. - Patrick McNulty – a member since 2018, competing in the ERC of 2019, and the WRC of 2022.
Paddy has a wealth of experience in all things outdoors, as well as being a qualified Engineer. - Andrew Steel – another founding member of the team, he is also currently chair of British Rafting and an IRF Judge.
- Stephen Butterfield – a recent addition to the team, although has been paddling whitewater in his OC1 for many years.
This is his first time at a rafting championship. - Paul Gill – the newest member of the team, who took up rafting because his son is a member of the U19 GBR team.
Paul is no stranger to competition, having competed in disciplines as diverse as marathon kayak and squirt boating.
