Coracle World Championships

Story
Published: 05 June 2025

On one day every year, the calm waters of the River Severn in Shrewsbury play host to a unique and iconic event which sees people frantically splashing and paddling in little circular boats, all hoping to be crowned world champions.

This is the Coracle World Championships.

Two women wearing Macmillan bibs paddling their coracles

This hugely fun event attracts around 46 teams of four every year who race each other in coracles from one side of the River to the other and back to see which team is the fastest. 

Coracles are small, roundish shaped, lightweight boats traditionally used for fishing and transport on rivers in Wales. They are notoriously hard to balance and even harder to move forward in a straight line, resulting in many racers falling into the River.

The event is organised by the Coracle Committee for Macmillan Cancer Support and has raised over £440,000 over the 18 years it has been running. Money is raised through an entry price for teams, as well as fundraising by the teams taking part too.

 

'It’s a super day, with lots of thrills and spills'

 

Man in a Dino onesie paddling a coracle Current Coracle Committee Chair, Jayney Davies is full of pride about the success of the event: “Everyone in the Committee puts in so much effort to deliver a brilliant event every year. The Coracle World Championships are very well-known around Shropshire, and we attract quite a crowd on the far side of the River of spectators watching the madness! But we do also attract teams for further afield, keen to give it a go.

 

It’s a super day, with lots of thrills and spills and where fancy dress very much encouraged! We’re absolutely delighted this event has raised so much money to support Macmillan and hope this continues for many years to come.”

People paddling their coracles The fact that we have a Coracle Race at all is largely down to Richard Bayliss, from Minsterley, a village a few miles outside Shrewsbury. It was typical of Richard, with his sense of fun closely coupled to his generosity and determination to help others, that he persuaded a collection of Shrewsbury companies to paddle unstable crafts across the River Severn back in 2007.

Deciding that this was a unique event, the Coracle World Championships, for that is what they are, were born with the intention of a fun day out of the office and a generous cheque for Macmillan Cancer Support at the end of it. 

Sadly, Richard himself died of cancer in 2015, cruelly cut down by the disease he fought against, but the Coracle Committee continue to deliver the race in his memory to continue supporting Macmillan to give people affected by cancer the best chance and standard of care possible.

In memory of Richard, the team who raises the most sponsorship from each year's event is awarded the Richard Bayliss Cup.

Find out more and register a team for this year's Coracle Race