The 2018 ICF Canoe Polo World Championships (31 July – 5 August 2018) kick off in Welland, Ontario tonight with teams from all over the planet assembling in the Canadian city for what is certain to be a hotly contested affair.
26 Nations will fight for senior men’s and women’s as well as U21 titles, with Australia represented in both the Open Men and Open Women events.
Paddle Australia’s team of 15 athletes will be keen to make an impact against the powerful Europeans in Welland with Germany heading the all-time overall medal tally, with eight gold medals since the first World Championships were staged in Sheffield, UK, in 1994. Great Britain has seven gold medals and France and Australia five each.
Australia’s women’s team will re-enter the world stage of canoe polo for the first time since 2012, while Australia’s men are ranked 15th going into this year’s World Championships.
23 teams will contest the men’s competition, including squads from Namibia, Iran, Argentina and Singapore, while China and Sweden are among the 19 women’s teams competing.
Teams in all competitions will be split into groups and play a round-robin format, with the finals set down for next Sunday (4 August).
Australia’s men have Italy, Japan and Argentina in their Group Men A, while the women’s team will play France, Great Britain and Denmark in their Group Women C.
The first matches will begin in Welland on Tuesday, with a full day of U21 competition.
Australia will join the action on Wednesday, 1 August 2018 with the men playing Italy and Argentina and the women Great Britain and France.
It’s the second time the World Championships have been held in Canada, after Edmonton hosted the event in 2008.
Follow the event live on www.canoeicf.com
Follow results here https://www.canoeicf.com/canoe-polo-world-championships/welland-2018/rankings-results
See the draw and schedule here
2018 Paddle Australia Canoe Polo TeamÂ
Athlete profiles can be found here or click hyperlinked athlete name for more info.
Women’s Team | ||
Carley Goodwin | NSW | Rivers Canoe Club |
Stacey Goodwin | SA | Adelaide Canoe Club |
Jennifer Stevens | VIC / QLD | Fairfield Canoe Club, and Patterson Lakes Canoe Club |
Brigit Doyle | VIC | Fairfield Canoe Club |
Anna Thompson | QLD | Brothers Canoe Club |
Alana Pacholke | QLD | Springfield Centenary Canoe Club and Brothers Canoe Club |
Laura Kleinrahm | SA / ACT | Burley Griffin Canoe Club |
Men’s Team | ||
Matthew Perrin | VIC | Fairfield Canoe Club |
Adam Hofmeyer | SA | Adelaide Canoe Club |
Luke Holmes | SA | Adelaide Canoe Club |
Nathan Rosaguti | NSW | PaddleNSW |
Mark Huang | NSW | Lane Cove River Kayakers |
Stephen Hubbard | SA | Adelaide Canoe Club |
Jay Burgess | VIC | Fairfield Canoe Club |
Ben Stark | SA | Northern Districts Canoe Club |
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