Paddle Australia (PA) and Australian Outrigger Canoe Racing Association (AOCRA) are pleased to announce an ocean racing collaboration for 2021. Under this collaboration AOCRA, the national sporting organisation for outrigger ocean racing, will host this year’s 2021 Paddle Australia Canoe Ocean Racing Championships. These championships will be held in conjunction with AOCRA’s Ocean Downwind Series 2021 Race 4 on 1 December 2021 in Perth, Western Australia.
Both national sporting organisations offer ocean racing competition pathways for their respective canoe disciplines being; outrigger canoes and ocean skis. We collectively see the value in offering a quality event for both canoe disciplines to compete in the one ocean racing competition.
The 2021 Paddle Australia Canoe Ocean Racing Championships is open to all Ocean Ski age categories as per the ICF (International Canoe Federation) rules. Both the ICF racing rules and the AOCRA rules will be applied respectively to the outrigger canoe and ocean ski disciplines. This event will also serve as the backup selection race for the 2022 ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships, to be held in Takapuna, New Zealand.
Phil Jones, CEO of PA said that: “Inviting outriggers and ocean skis to participate together in the same ocean racing competition is the beginning of a new direction to deliver more ocean racing pathways and opportunities to outriggers and ocean skis communities”.
Katherine Cole, President of AOCRA said the: “Leveraging both sports requirements for world class ocean racing competition ultimately benefits our respective paddling members in offering a fantastic 27 kms downwind course with certainty. AOCRA is delighted to offer our expertise in ocean racing paddling events, and with our strong capability in risk management practices we are well positioned to run a successful event in partnership with Paddle Australia”.
