DW prizegiving celebrates successes of 2026 race

With thanks to Lord Wandsworth College for hosting the event, the Devizes to Westminster Organisation Ltd celebrated all class and sub-class winners at the annual prize giving on 13th June.

With 170 people in attendance it was a memorable occasion for all those paddlers collecting trophies and medals. With guest speakers Andrew Jackson (PUK) and Keith Moule (DW record holder in 2 classes), together with the Mayor of Devizes in attendance, it was a special event that marked the end of the 2026 DW year.

In the Senior Doubles class, where crews race 125 miles non-stop from Devizes to Westminster, the winner's  trophy went to Billy Butler and Jon O'Grady of Falcon CC and Runcorn CC in a time of 16 hrs, 46 minutes and 17 seconds, with Magnus Gregory and Alex Lane (Southampton CC and Reading CC) taking the runners up trophy with a time of 17:08:41. Third place went to George Durden and James Walkinton (Elmbridge CC and Chelmsford CC) with a time of 17:28:38.  The first overseas crew was Jouke Witteveen and Floor Zegers from the Netherlands in 18:55:45 - setting a new Dutch record for the DW. The fastest C2 was Shirine Voller and Mike Thornton from Hereford CC with a time of 19:08:20 - fast enough to come 7th in the overall class.

The Stage Races compete over 4 days with 3 overnight stops and finish at Barn Elms - a total distance of 119 miles.  In the Junior Doubles, Tom Barrett and Theo Brown from Kimbolton School CC took the winner's trophy in 17:54:45, second place went to Felix Barr and Henry Hulton (Marlborough College) in a time of 18:53:00, with Grygorii Gaievyi and Torquil Morrison (Churcher's College) coming in third with a time of 19:22:47.

The Senior Singles Class was won by Sean Harte from Banbury and District CC in a time of 15:14:55, Theo Preston-Bell (Bradford on Avon CC) came second in 15:50:31 with Mike Rees-Clark (Lord Wandsworth College) coming third with a time of 15:57:18.

The Veteran-Junior Class was won by Ben Webb and Mary Williams of Wey KC in a time of 17:08:52, and the newly classified Open Endeavour Class trophy was won by Colin Hodgson and Jim Stilling from Duddon CC with a time of 19:05:29.

The Senior Single SUP Class was won by Emily King with a time of 24:36:16.

The Pfeiffer Cup, awarded to the crew that raise the most money for charity went to Richard Meeson and Toby Finch from Basingstoke Canal CC who raised £13,134 for the Rowans Hospice Charity.

Planning for the 2027 Devizes to Westminster is already underway - the race is over the Easter weekend, 26th to 29th March 2027 and the Expression of Interest forms for paddlers who are considering doing the race is now live.