The Swedish Canoe Federation is forging ahead with plans to create a new long-term strategy to empower paddle sports in the country.
Members of the national governing body unanimously agreed to develop “Swedish Paddling 2030” with the aim of presenting the strategy to its General Assembly next year.
“We have done a good job for many years but we see a potential to do more specific work,” said Dag Johansson, Secretary General of the Swedish Canoe Federation.
“We haven´t had a clear strategy where we specify the needs to achieve something.
“The more specific and clearer we can be about what we believe we need to do the better support we can offer our clubs.
“Our mission is to give support and create possibilities for Swedish paddling to grow.
“We believe that if we have a model to follow we can be more powerful in our leadership of the sport in Sweden.”
The new strategic plan is based on the National Federation´s new vision and core values.
The four core values consists of “Safe”, “Durable”, “Proud” and “In Front”.
Once the strategy has been approved in 2025, the Swedish Canoe Federation plans to work in two-year blocks to ensure it can deliver each of its goals by 2030.
“'In Front means we want to play an active part in different collaborations with for example other organisations,” said Mr Johansson.
“We want to stand in the spot light, be in front of both decision makers and other organisations, highlight our potential and our needs.
“From an athlete perspective in front is about, for example, to be in front before the turning point or being first to the portage.
“We want to have the courage and empowerment to do that.
“For sustainability, we will focus on the wellbeing of our members and the nature.
“The nature is our arena so we need to take care of it.
“We can offer the joys of paddling for your whole life as we can arrange activities in our clubs for the youngest child to the oldest adult and that’s an aspect of being durable as well.
“We cannot fix climate change but we can manage our activities and make more sustainable choices, be a small part of the solution.
“We believe that all four of our core values are connected to every aspect of our federation’s activity, from the recreational side to the national teams in all our different disciplines.”
Visit the Swedish Canoe Federation's website
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