Paddle Australia announces six new Discipline Technical Committees and two Discipline Technical Leads ahead of National Paddling Forum

Paddle Australia (PA) is pleased to announce the composition of the newly constituted Discipline Technical Committees (DTCs) ahead of the National Paddling Forum to be held on the Gold Coast on 6-7 May, 2022.

Following an extensive review of the terms of reference, new DTCs have been established for the disciplines of Canoe Sprint, Canoe Slalom, Canoe Wildwater, Canoe Ocean Racing, Canoe Marathon and Canoe Polo, while the discipline of Canoe Freestyle and Stand-Up Paddling (SUP) will each be represented by a Technical Lead.

The six DTCs and the Technical Leads will provide advice, guidance and support to PA in the development and promotion of each discipline, assisting in the administration and management of national-level competitions.

Members of the new DTCs have been offered different terms (either 2 years or 4 years) as part of a transition period which will allow Paddle Australia to renew the composition of up to 50% of each DTC every two years, in even years.  Once the transition is complete, all DTC members will be offered 4-year terms. The intention is to provide a balance between continuity and renewal.

A key change in the composition of each Paddle Australia DTCs is the inclusion of an Athlete Representative, who will act as conduit to the athletes’ most significant issues and be a voice for them to participate in the activities of the committee and the organisation at large.

The introduction of athlete representatives in the committees will also give Paddle Australia the option of collecting additional athlete feedback on significant topics from the united paddling community across all disciplines, adding to the resources already available within the Athlete Commission, where athletes from the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines are already represented.

The Chairs of each of the DTCs (or their representative) and the Technical Leads will also sit on the Paddle Australia Competition Committee, the ‘Board Committee’ established to discuss and make recommendations on all matters related to the development, planning and coordination of competitive paddling and other specific issues. 

The nominated members of the six DTCs and the two Technical Leads for Freestyle and SUP are:

Canoe Sprint Technical Committee

  • Ian Hume (Chair)
  • Lisa Russ (Athlete Rep)
  • Laura White
  • Mark Bulmer
  • Alex Boyd
  • Scott Cunningham

Canoe Slalom Technical Committee

  • Brian Cork (Chair)
  • Georgia Rankin (Athlete Rep)
  • Kate Vyvyan
  • Peter Eckhardt
  • Sue Natoli
  • Rachel Crosbee
  • Robin Jeffery

Canoe Wildwater Technical Committee

  • Karen Janiszewski (Chair)
  • Chris Greed (Athlete Rep)
  • Kris Smith
  • Morgen Masuka
  • Mathew French
  • Chris Warton
  • Lyn Stremeki
  • Tony Misson

Canoe Ocean Racing Technical Committee

  • James Tomkins (Chair)
  • Mackenzie Hynard (Athlete Rep)
  • Steve Dalton
  • Quona Ross Atkinson
  • Robert Jenkinson
  • Anthony Deague
  • Stewart Collingwood
  • Roz Barber
  • Jaime Roberts

Canoe Polo Technical Committee

  • John Moore (Chair)
  • Laura Kleinrahm, (Athlete Rep)
  • Rob Watson
  • DJ Dubose
  • Matt Moore
  • Don Steel
  • Anthea Courtney
  • Donald Leigh

 Canoe Marathon Technical Committee

  • Jerry Dunn (Chair)
  • Naomi Johnson, (Athlete Rep)
  • John Young
  • Doug Hodson
  • Bob Turner

 Canoe Freestyle Technical Lead

  • Peter Newland

 Stand Up Paddling Technical Lead

  • Darren Pratt

Paddle Australia would also like to thank the outgoing Discipline Technical Committees for their service to the sport, many over a long period of time

Canoe Sprint – outgoing members

Greg Kaeding

Dasha Kopecek

Jim Murphy

Andrea Wood

Canoe Polo – outgoing members

Gareth Jones

Donald Leigh

Canoe Wildwater – outgoing members

Jill Bassett

Canoe Slalom – outgoing members

Chris Thompson

Russell Bassett

Chris O’Callaghan 

Canoe Ocean Racing – outgoing members

Mike Mills-Thoms

Julie Jenkinson

Canoe Freestyle – outgoing members

Jez Blanchard

Eileen Callaghan

Gary Finlay

Joshua Singleton

Canoe Marathon – outgoing members

Margi Bohm

Marc Brehin

 

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