Paddle Australia would like to congratulate the following athletes on their selection to the 2019 Canoe Slalom National Development Squad (NDS).
| George Pankhurst | WA |
| Jayden Hart | WA |
| Jack Choate | WA |
| Sophie Wilson | NSW |
| Declan Ellis | NSW |
| Mark Crosbee | VIC |
| Daniel Shamieh | VIC |
| Keanu Crunkhorn | VIC |
| Brad McLaughlan | VIC |
| Kate Moorhen | VIC |
| Ben Little | VIC |
| Seb Montalto | VIC |
| Abby Collins | VIC |
| Ryan Hughes | VIC |
| Ben Ross | VIC |
| Josh Montalto | VIC |
| Georgie O’Callaghan | VIC |
| Hugh Clements | TAS |
| Hamish Dalziel | TAS |
| Claire Hodgeman | TAS |
| George Lazenby | TAS |
2019 is going to be an exciting year for all NDS athletes with many development opportunities on the horizon.
“Congratulations to the newly selected 2019 National Development Squad. We’ve seen some exciting performances over the last few weeks and we’ve definitely seen an increase both in the numbers and in the quality of the juniors. The under 16 cohort is especially strong this year and really competitive and it’s great to see athletes developing at that point,” Mike Druce, Paddle Australia Lead Pathways Coach Canoe Slalom, congratulated the 2019 NDS team.
“I think it’s a bit of a start of a little bit of an increase in numbers and also the quality of the paddling we are getting in the lower age groups so I’m really excited to see that. And also to see the work that everyone is doing in our hubs and in the states and clubs is starting to show and hopefully we’ll build on that year on year,” Druce said about the development work around the country.
Explaining the selection process he added: “The selection was a two-part process. They had to perform well at the Canoe Slalom Junior Nationals and we included the outcomes of our camp in Penrith last week to make our decisions. The camp included physical testing, training sessions where athletes were assessed on their whitewater skills and slalom skills and we combined those together and picked the top athletes in each age group that are heading toward the Junior national team in the future or are on the junior team this year. The selected athletes will take part in all training camps through the year around Australia and also there will be tour to New Zealand over the Easter period.”
“The ones who didn’t get selected, they are also identified as athletes who are improving and doing well and they will be working in our state development hubs with their coaches there and trying to get up to the level for the next entry point, into the development squad.”
The first training camp will be held at Brady’s, Tasmania in March, followed closely by a tour to New Zealand Tour in April.
See below a selection of the development events for the 2019 NDS Team:
NDS New Zealand Tour- April 2019
Dates: Wednesday 10 – Monday 22 April 2019
Location: Kawerau, North Island
Events: NZ Secondary School Championships and NZ Nationals
NDS Brady’s Lake Camp – March 2019
Dates: Saturday 9 March – 2 pm Monday 11 March 2019
Location: Brady’s Lake, Tasmania
For more NDS 2019 Camp dates see here: http://paddle.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2019-PA-Canoe-Slalom-Calendar-.pdf
