Six Australian Canoeing members have been recognised for their achievements and investment in paddlesport in Australia by being nominated for the 2017 World Paddle Awards. Congratulation to Ian Beasley, Dean Gardiner, Jessica Fox, Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, Sue Natoli and Sandy Robson.
The World Paddle Awards (WPA) is held annually, celebrating the most remarkable men and women from the world of paddlesports along with their achievements from the previous calendar year across seven categories.
VOTE for our Australians!
The public can take part in the voting procedures. Head to the World Paddle Awards nominees pages or follow the links below. You can ‘Like’ (Facebook) and ‘Google+’ your selections to win at the bottom of each nominee profile. Public voting closes 19 November 2017.
Australian Nominations
Lifetime Achievement Award
Australian Ocean racer Dean Gardiner has been at the pinnacle of Australian ocean racing for more than twenty years and is nominated for this year’s World Paddle Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. Dean’s career started with a mix of lifesaving, surf ski and Ironman events, before he decided to focus on the longer distance surf ski races. Since he made the move to ocean racing, Dean has won races all over the word, from the US to Tahiti and has won the revered Molokai title nine times. Dean played a big part in the growth of the sport in Australia, with considerable financial investment as the owner and founder of Ocean Paddler and the Ocean Racing Series, which will comprise of 13 events for the 2017/18 season. More here.
Sports Woman of the Year
With Sandy Robson and Jessica Fox two Australians are nominated for the 2017 Sportswoman of the Year Award.
Sandy Robson just received the Olegas Truchanas Award at our Annual Awards dinner and paddled from Germany to Australia, which makes her go down in history as one of the greatest sea kayakers in the world.
Olympic medallist and 2017 K1 Slalom World Champion Jessica Fox is the most decorated female athlete on the international circuit and has written numerous pages in the history book of Canoe Slalom. After winning the Academy Award in 2017, she is once again nominated for the World Paddle Awards Sportswoman of the year category. Vote for Sandy and Jess via links below.
Foundation Award
Another two Australians are nominated for the Foundation Award: Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi and Sue Natoli.
Our Canoe Slalom Coach One Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi is one of the rare female coaches on the Canoe Slalom international circuit and the powerhouse woman behind the reigning K1W World Champion. Her passion for the sport and desire to win has been poured into her athletes and of the four female team events at this year’s U23 and Senior World Championships, Myriam’s athletes won three medals (1 x silver C1W senior, 2 x bronze K1W U23 and Senior). More about Myriam’s nomination here.
Our Life Member Sue Natoli is also nominated for the Foundation Award and has been actively involved in local, national and international Canoe Slalom events for two decades.
Find out more about Sue’s nomination here: http://www.worldpaddleawards.com/nominees/2017-sue-natoli-australia
Media Professional of the Year
Ian Beasley is nominated for the 2017 Media Professional at the World Paddle Awards. Ian’s books, which are read right around the world, give paddlers, coaches and officials a unique insight into the sport and as a result have become a go-to reference tool worldwide. See his World Paddle Awards nomination here.
VOTING: Follow below links to vote – you can vote for multiple people in one category
For more information on the voting procedure see here: http://www.worldpaddleawards.com/news/nomination-and-voting-procedure-for-the-2015-2016-world-paddle-awards
2017 SPORTSWOMAN
Sandy Robson: http://www.worldpaddleawards.com/nominees/2017-sandy-robson-australia
Jessica Fox: http://www.worldpaddleawards.com/nominees/2017-jessica-fox-australia
2017 FOUNDATION AWARD
Sue Natoli : http://www.worldpaddleawards.com/nominees/2017-sue-natoli-australia
Myriam Fox Jerusalmi: http://www.worldpaddleawards.com/nominees/2017-myriam-fox-jerusalmi-australia
2017 MEDIA PROFESSIONAL
Ian Beasley: http://www.worldpaddleawards.com/nominees/2017-ian-beasley-australia
About the World Paddle Awards.
The awards recognise the diversity of people and organisations in our community and honour the hard work they put into our sport. Not only are there awards for the athletes but also for coaches, officials (volunteers), media, event organisers and so on. Here is an overview and explanation of the Awards.
Furthermore the awards also reflect the fact that there are many different paddlesports within our community. Besides the Olympic disciplines, canoe sprint and canoe slalom, the WPA also respects and celebrates non-Olympic paddlesports.
The World Paddle Awards ceremony for the 2017 season will take place in Silkeborg, Denmark on 24 February 2018.
