Paddle Tasmania is hosting two prestigious Paddle Australia paddling events this month. The first is the Paddle Australia 2019 Wildwater National Championships which will be held on the Upper Mersey River from Friday, 4 to Sunday, 6 January 2019.
The Paddle Australia 2019 Canoe Slalom Senior National Championships will follow next week at Brady’s Lake whitewater course from 10 to 13 January 2019.
The Wildwater Nationals kick-off this year’s national paddling season with the weekend split up into three races all held at the Upper Mersey.
- The Pre-Australian Classic Selection run over four kilometres (Friday, 4 January)
- The National Championships, again race run over four kilometres (Saturday, 5 January) and
- The shorter-distance Rapid Sprint Championship over 350 metres (Sunday, 6 January).
“Both events and all three races this weekend are relevant for the national team selection process, so there will be plenty of healthy rivalry with a range of Australia’s best paddlers coming to compete on the Upper Mersey course this week and at Brady’s Lake next week,” Paddle Tasmanian Chairman and Race Director, John Borojević said.
“Although competition will be tight for the elite sportspeople who are vying for national team selection, there will be other events for a wider range of paddlers too. Paddle Tasmania aims to celebrate and acknowledge the best performing athletes in individual, pairs and team events in all age categories. We encourage friendship and fostering competition on a National level and the promotion of healthy competition between individual athletes. Our paddling events provide an environment where athletes can perform to the best of their abilities, be that at the elite, Masters, Junior or Development level,” he said.
“Of course, these events could not take place without the support of our sponsors, and volunteers. We are very grateful for the support offered by Hydro Tasmania, Tasmanian State Government, Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Services and the Tasmanian Institute of Sport,” Borojević added.
Both events are organised in partnership with Paddle Australia (PA).
2019 Wildwater National Championships
Head to the event webpage https://wildwater.paddle.org.au for further event information, event schedule, entries and more.
NB mobile and internet is not available in the Upper Mersey area. We will provide results at the end of each of the three days of racing.
Result links will also be posted on the Paddle Australia Facebook page once they have been published.
2019 Canoe Slalom Senior National Championships
Head to the event webpage https://slalom.paddle.org.au for all the information.
