Stegeman was a star turn as Proteus Canoe Club celebrated a 50th anniversary in style

Members of the city’s Proteus Canoe Club achieved seven first-place finishes at their recent 50th Anniversary Ranking Slalom at Orton Mere.

The birthday bash was a Division 3 and Division 4 Whitewater Slalom event and celebrations for home racers were frequent even though the two-day event attracted some top level entrants from around the country.

placeholder image — Al Storer in the Paddle Up race.

Proteus star Mick Stegeman was a fantastic five-time winner.

He took the Male Canoe 1 title on both days and also joined up with club chairman Jason Reid to win the Saturday and Sunday races in the Male Canoe 2 category.

Mick Stegeman in action at the 50th anniversary event on Orton Mere.

Stegeman and Reid backed those slalom successes up with victory in a Male Canoe 2 Wild Water Race.

Salma Hamza was another winner in the Womens Kayak 1 event on Saturday.

Al Storer managed a very creditable second place in the Stand Up Paddle category.

A club spokesman said: “The club has been running a ‘Slalom Start’ program for local youngsters in the lead up to the event and we were proud to see the group competing against paddlers from all over the country, grabbing a few wins along the way.

“They combined the event with the first Wild Water Race held in the region for 10 years, which was a great success and saw GB team paddlers competing on the white water at Orton Mere.

"Even so, the club managed a few wins of their own at this high level.”