AN 8-year-old girl from Comberbach is getting ready to take her slalom kayaking to the next level after being promoted to national division two last weekend.

Chloe Holmes, who attends Comberbach Primary School, has been competing in canoe slalom for just over a year. She is a member of Manchester Canoe Club and trains at their site in Marple once a week.

Slalom is unusual in that all age groups compete together in a divisional system nationally, there are no age group or local league competitions.

Chloe’s dad and coach, Steve, said: “We could not be prouder of Chloe. She works really hard to improve and loves the sport.

“More important is the attitude and resilience she demonstrates when things don’t go her way.

“Last September she had a scary swim at Marple in the dark, and I thought we’d struggle to get her back in a boat. But she competed just two days later, paddling better than ever.”

Last May, aged seven, she became youngest ranked paddler in the country when she gained promotion at Wagon Lane Slalom in Bingley, West Yorkshire.

Exactly a year to the day later she was racing at Wagon Lane again, this time in division 3. Promotion is based on five good races or three wins.

She already had 4 good results behind her and was determined to paddle well and she won the competition by nearly 10 seconds, a huge margin in the sport.

Katie, Chloe’s mum, said: “Slalom is about so much more than the sport. There’s such a friendly, supportive atmosphere and its teaching Chloe so much.

“If she gets beaten the first thing she does is hug the girl that wins and congratulate her, even though she’s really disappointed.

“She bounces back from disappointing runs with renewed determination.

“On Sunday most people at Wagon Lane, except maybe her closest competitor, were willing her to win and it’s this that makes the sport so special for Chloe.”

Chloe is now the youngest paddler in division 2, and the youngest female competitor by two years. She is top of the national under 10 ranking list and in the top 10 of girls under the age of 12.

Paddling in division two will be a step up both in terms of the competition she will face and in the difficulty of the course.

Chloe said: “I just like making new friends, seeing all my friends from different clubs and having fun on the water.”