The Adventure Activities Licensing Authority ( AALA ) is the licensing authority for outdoor activity centres for young people in Great Britain . Since 2007 it has been part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the government body charged with overseeing health and safety in all workplaces. AALA inspect and issue licences to providers. These licences give an assurance that, so far as is reasonably practicable, participants and employees can be 'safe'.
26-496: The AALA was created following the Lyme Bay canoeing tragedy in March, 1993 which involved a commercial organisation assuming responsibility for children's safety. A group of eight pupils and their teacher were accompanied by two instructors from an outdoor centre on the south coast of England . As a result of a series of errors, four of the teenagers drowned. The subsequent trial resulted in
52-492: A sea kayaking trip from Lyme Regis to Charmouth . The incident led to reforms in the way in which activity centres were accredited in the United Kingdom and the passage of The Activity Centres (Young Persons' Safety) Act 1995 . On 22 March 1993 at around 10 am, a group of eight schoolchildren and their teacher from Southway Community College , Plymouth were accompanied by two instructors from St Albans Outdoor Centre on
78-418: A Land Rover to search the bay from the cliffs. At around 3 pm, when the group were more than three hours overdue, Joe Stoddart informed HM Coastguard of the missing party. At 4:20 pm HM Coastguard Portland tasked Lyme Regis Lifeboat and a Royal Navy helicopter to search for the group of kayakers. Norman Pointer and Tony Mann were rescued by Lyme Regis Lifeboat at 5:11 pm while the remaining members of
104-412: A kayak trip across Lyme Bay from Lyme Regis to Charmouth, a distance of around two miles. The group ran into issues shortly after setting off. One of the students, Dean Sayer, capsized while still close enough to the shore to stand up. Norman Pointer, the group's teacher, also capsized a number of times leading to one of the instructors, Tony Mann, staying behind to assist. While Tony Mann assisted
130-437: A letter to Peter Kite in the months prior to the incident warning of issues at the centre and stating "you might find yourselves trying to explain why someone’s son or daughter will not be coming home". OLL Ltd, formerly Active Learning and Leisure Ltd, was found guilty of corporate manslaughter and subsequently fined £60,000. The conviction of OLL Ltd was the first example of a successful corporate manslaughter prosecution in
156-477: A membership organisation for canoeists (paddlers) resident in England and worked in cooperation with its counterparts in the other home nations: Scotland ( Scottish Canoe Association – SCA), Wales ( Canoe Wales ) and Northern Ireland ( Canoe Association of Northern Ireland – CANI), at first informally and then through a series of agreements reached in 1976 and in 2018. The BCU rebranded as British Canoeing in 2014 and in
182-584: A range of personal performance awards and coaching awards, some of which are recognised by the UK Coaching Certificate . Paddle UK is a membership organisation for canoeists, kayakers and other paddlers resident in England and it also carries out certain UK-wide roles on behalf of itself and the other 3 home nation associations: The Scottish Canoe Association , The Welsh Canoeing Association , and The Canoe Association of Northern Ireland , most particularly
208-469: Is likely to move from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) ..." Lyme Bay canoeing tragedy 50°42′N 2°54′W / 50.700°N 2.900°W / 50.700; -2.900 The Lyme Bay canoeing disaster occurred in Lyme Bay , southern England on 22 March 1993. Four teenagers died after getting into difficulty while on
234-444: Is not strictly voluntary and may not accurately reflect the organisation's popularity. Many waterways in England and Wales are managed for boat traffic by a Navigation Authority. On these waterways all boat traffic, including unpowered craft such as rowing boats and canoes, require a licence. Paddle UK provides its members with a licence to use their canoes, kayaks, and SUPs on most of these managed waterways, including those managed by
260-539: The AALA, was created to bring the act into reality. The activities within the scope of the licensing scheme are: On 15 October 2012, Lord Young of Graffham, recommended that the AALA be abolished and the existing statutory licensing regime be replaced by a code of practice. The January 2016 update from the AALA reported that "... responsibility for the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA)
286-676: The British Canoe Union, Canoe England & GB Canoeing will be known collectively as British Canoeing." With the growing popularity of stand up paddleboarding, further rebranding occurred in 2024, with the organisation changing their name to Paddle UK. Paddle UK is responsible for leading and setting the overall framework for the National Associations; representing canoeing interests such as coaching and competition at UK and international level. It formulates standards for training programmes with certification levels. It administers
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#1733085547561312-501: The British Canoe Union, it federalised in 2000 to become the umbrella organisation for the home nation associations in Scotland ( Scottish Canoe Association ), Wales ( Canoe Wales ) and Northern Ireland ( Canoe Association of Northern Ireland ). In 2015 it took on the name British Canoeing and amalgamated the former British Canoe Union, Canoe England and GB Canoeing. In March 2024, British Canoeing changed their name to Paddle UK. 1887 saw
338-454: The United Kingdom. At trial, the jury failed to reach a verdict on Joe Stoddart and the prosecution decided against a retrial. As such, he was found not guilty of manslaughter at the direction of the judge. St Albans Outdoor Centre continued to operate in the months after the disaster. All water-based activities ended shortly afterwards when West Dorset District Council refused to renew the centre's license to launch boats at Lyme Regis until
364-485: The days after the incident, the two instructors were found to hold the lowest level of qualification offered by the British Canoe Union . In December 1994, Peter Kite was convicted to three years in prison for manslaughter through gross negligence. This sentence was reduced on appeal to two years, and Kite was released from prison with remission after 14 months. A previous employee of the outdoor centre had sent
390-674: The formation of the British Canoe Association, which lasted about thirty years. Revived in 1933, it merged with the Canoe Section of the Camping Club of Great Britain. In March 1936, representatives of the Canoe Section of the Camping Club, Clyde Canoe Club , Manchester Canoe Club , and the Royal Canoe Club , formed the British Canoe Union. It was incorporated as a company on 30 October 1980. The British Canoe Union operated as
416-526: The group were rescued by the Royal Navy helicopter between 5:40 pm and 6:40 pm. Four of the group, Dean Sayer, Claire Langley, Simon Dunne and Rachel Walker, died as a result of the incident. The coroner's verdict was that they had drowned. The subsequent investigation resulted in Joe Stoddart and Peter Kite, the owner of the parent company of St Albans Outdoor Centre, being charged with manslaughter. In
442-407: The group's teacher, Karen Gardner, the second instructor, rafted the pupils together. The group quickly drifted away from the shore due to the northerly, offshore, winds. As the group got further away from the wind shadow of the land, the sea state worsened which caused a number of the kayaks to swamp with water and sink, leaving the occupants in the water. The St Albans Outdoor Centre handyman
468-478: The inquest was held. The centre ceased operations on 11 June 1993, with management citing a string of cancelled school bookings and insurance issues as the main causes for its closure. The centre's lease was then acquired by PGL Young Adventure Ltd, who intended to reopen it in 1994. However, after six months' notice, the company surrendered the lease in April 1994, owing to "uncertainties over legal action connected with
494-445: The most recent agreement great care was taken to define each party's responsibility – where British Canoeing was fulfilling its GB role and where it was acting as the delivery body for England. Fulfilling both roles made British Canoeing different from the National Associations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but the agreement ensured mutual understanding and support. In 2014 the organisation started rebranding, "Going forward,
520-572: The prosecution of the parent company and the centre manager. The government initially resisted changing legislation until David Jamieson , the Member of Parliament for Plymouth Devonport, who represented the parents of the children who died, introduced a Private Member's Bill which in January 1995 became the Activity Centres (Young Persons’ Safety) Act 1995. In January 1995 an independent licensing authority,
546-498: The tragedy". The owners, Joseph Allnatt Centres, sold the site in 1998 and it was run as the Woodberry Down Activity and Field Studies Centre into the 2010s. The entire site was demolished in 2016 to make way for housing. This incident accelerated governmental discussions to end self-regulation of outdoor education centres. The Activity Centres (Young Persons’ Safety) Act 1995, introduced by Labour MP David Jamieson ,
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#1733085547561572-647: The training and organisation of international teams which participate in competitions under the control of the International Canoe Federation. It is concerned with all paddlesports, recreational as well as competitive, in open and closed craft, paddled with single and double-bladed paddles, on inland and coastal waters as well as open ocean. Paddle UK is headquartered at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottinghamshire, England, which
598-563: The two largest Navigation Authorities: the Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency . This means the members do not need to buy separate licence from each authority. Paddle UK has been attempting for over fifty years to increase the extremely limited public access to English and Welsh rivers. It recently started a Rivers Access Campaign which aims to raise public awareness of the problems that kayakers and canoeists face in accessing
624-460: Was due to meet the kayaking group at Charmouth. At around 12:30 pm, when the pupils did not arrive, he reported them overdue to the centre's manager, Joe Stoddart. Stoddart did not immediately inform HM Coastguard and instead searched the coast in a rescue boat and then from the shore in his car. At 2:45 pm, a local fisherman found an empty kayak floating about 3 miles (4.8 km) south-west of Lyme Regis. He radioed HM Coastguard Portland who tasked
650-616: Was passed through Parliament in January 1995. The bill mandated an independent licensing authority, the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) be formed under the guidance of the Health and Safety Executive . British Canoeing Paddle UK is a national governing body in the United Kingdom for canoeing , kayaking and other paddlesports such as standup paddleboarding . Established in 1936 as
676-523: Was until recently also the base of Canoe England . Previously they were based in Bingham, Nottinghamshire . The organisation creates the rules for competitive canoeing used throughout the UK and has over 30,000 individual members, 625 affiliated clubs, and 145 approved centres. It is unique among national sporting certifying bodies in requiring continuous membership for qualifications to remain valid; thus its membership
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