CEO Blog – April 2022

It was great to see our community back together again as events and competitions continued to return throughout April.

After two years of interruptions and cancellations, Paddle Australia proudly worked with our State Paddle Associations (SPAs) and the Discipline Technical Committees to bring the 2022 PA Canoe Slalom Championships, 2022 PA Canoe Polo Championships and 2022 PA Canoe Marathon Championships to life this month. It was fantastic to see so many new and familiar faces competing across the country and representing their states and clubs in these three national events. Our sincere thanks as always to the many volunteers involved in bring these and other events to life.

The international season is fast approaching, and this month it was exciting to announce the Australian teams for both Canoe Wildwater and Canoe Freestyle. They join athletes selected to represent Australia in forthcoming Canoe Sprint, Canoe Slalom and Paracanoe World Cups and World Championships. It is a tremendous honour to represent your country, and I know that the athletes that have been selected will proudly wear the green and gold throughout the overseas competition season.

Paddle Australia is also excited to be working with the Australian Outrigger Canoe Racing Association to develop a plan that will deliver better outcomes for all paddlers across the country. The plan will leverage existing synergies between the two organisations to realise new opportunities that will achieve genuine value for respective members and clubs in the paddling community.

As we look ahead to May, we are excited to once again be hosting the National Paddling Forum, the first face to face national meetings since November 2019. The Forum provides a much missed opportunity for PA and SPA staff, the PA and SPA Boards and relevant committees to gather in person to discuss the future of paddling in Australia. 

There is a wide range of topics being covered at the Forum in May including current strategic priorities; new developments in community coaching; a new National Volunteer Strategy; and important information on a new policy framework that will be effective from 1 July 2022. All members of our united paddling community are welcome to join in online for the Plenary Session that will cover these and other topics on Saturday 7th May from 9.00am – 1:00pm AEST.   Click here to register for the event.  You will then be sent a link to access the meeting closer to the date. 

As always, stay safe when exploring our beautiful waterways!

Yours in Paddling,

Phil Jones

Paddle Australia CEO