Western Australia is the host of the 2019 Oceania and Paddle Australia Canoe Marathon Championships with racing kicking-off on the Swan River tomorrow, Saturday, 18 May 2019. The event returns to Ascot Kayak Club after the club and Paddle WA already hosted the event in 2013.
It will be a chilly start for the 286 competitors who have made their way to Western Australia from all across Australia and New Zealand, but with light winds and a maximum of 17C forecast the Swan River is expected to present itself with perfect autumn racing conditions.
Racing will take place across all age groups with the youngest competitor nine years of age and the oldest, local Ray Smith (79) and Ann Lloyd-Green from NSW (70), in their 70ies.
Singles will be raced on Saturday, before Sunday will see the doubles take to the river. First up on Saturday will be the 193 master and junior competitors before the under 18, under 23 and open competitors follow in the afternoon.
Host state Western Australia has the biggest contingent of competitors at the event with 130 paddlers contesting the championships, followed by the team from NSW (42) and Victoria (38).
The National Championships are selection relevant for national team selection for the 2019 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships (17-20 October 2019) and ICF Canoe Marathon Masters World Championships (14-15 October 2019), which will both be held in Shaoxing, China.
Results can be followed here: link tbc
Updates can be followed on the following Facebook Pages:
#paddleaustralia #paddlewa #ascotkayakclub #canoemarathon #paddleausmarathon
