PA Canoe Wildwater Newsletter – February 2022

The 2023 PA Canoe Wildwater Championships are scheduled from 4 – 5 March. Entries can be submitted HERE and close on Monday 27 February. The competition guide is available to view HERE (updated 24 February 2023)

• Sprints will be held on Saturday 4 March at Penrith Whitewater Stadium 
• Classic will be held on Sunday 5 March at Penrith Whitewater Stadium 

If you are only wanting to enter the Sprint OR Classic event, you can do this by selecting the single entry ticket. All boat types are welcome and there are two categories available:

• ICF Wildwater Boats
• Non Wildwater Boats (these are sundries on the entry) 

Training: There will be opportunity for participants to train at Penrith Whitewater Stadium on Thursday 2nd March from 8:45am – 9:45am and on Friday 3rd of March from 8:35am – 9:35am. The price for each training session will be $39.00 per person and will be at the cost of the individual. Bookings and payments MUST be made directly with Penrith Whitewater Stadium by calling 02 4730 4333. There is a minimum of 15 paid places for the session to go ahead, if the venue does not have 15 people booked and paid the day before the session, the session may be cancelled.

Selection: This will be a selection event for the 2023 ICF Wildwater Canoe Championships for the Junior, U23 and Senior Team. 

Scrutineering: This will take place on Friday 3 March. 

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023
The ICF has formalised venues and dates for the 2023 World championships and cups as follows:

We have been asked what an indicative budget for the junior and U23 team may be. The PACWTC is liaising with European venues and hopes to have two training venues with accommodation before locating to Roudnice. On this basis an indicative estimated cost per athlete including food, accommodation, transport in Europe and fees is $3,000 – $4,000. Please note, this does not include for airfares and boats.

2024 PA CANOE WILDWATER CHAMPIONSHIPS
The PACWTC have been asked to nominate dates for the 2024 events. This was based around the Olympic and other Non-Olympic disciplines. The current nominated dates (yet to be confirmed) are listed below:

• 5 – 8 January: Age Championships in Eildon (Confirmed joint event with Slalom and extreme)
• 12 – 14 January: 2024 PA Canoe National Championships at the Mitta
• 27 – 28 January: National Sprints in Penrith (following Slalom)

ELITE ATHLETE – JAMES HUMPHREY

• How long have you been paddling for and what made you begin? I started paddling 7 years ago. I first got into it through one of my school teachers who knew about it. I started paddling as I was looking for a sport to get involved in that would keep me physically fit and active.
•  What Australian Wildwater Teams have you made, and what are some highlights? I represented Australia at the Junior/U23 Wildwater World Championships at Murau, Austria in 2017. This was an awesome experience with many memorable moments. Some that stand out in my mind are the training camp on the beautiful Soca River in slovenia. Also the time spent paddling on the classic and sprint courses in Murau (AUT) which had many exciting and challenging rapids. These were by far the biggest and best rapids I had paddled on up to this point in my paddling career. I competed again 2 years later at the 2019 Junior Wildwater World Championships in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. My favorite highlights from this trip include having the opportunity to be coached by Nejc Znidarcic, the Men’s K1 Wildwater World Champion. This was such a valuable opportunity to learn from the best. I also really enjoyed paddling in Bosnia as the river had great rapids and the river flowed through a huge gorge which was pretty spectacular to paddle down.
•  It’s great to see you back training, how does it feel paddling a course like Penrith? A mixture of excitement and nerves. Penrith is a man-made course and is unlike any other course I have paddled. It is a challenging course that leaves little margin for error but it makes pulling off a clean run down the course all the more satisfying.
•  What goals have you set yourself for the 2023 Paddle Australia Wildwater Championships? My main goal for 2023 is to make a percentage at the Wildwater Nationals at Penrith, and make the U23 Wildwater Team to compete overseas. I also aim to compete at the marathon nationals too.
• What’s your favourite course to race on in Australia, and internationally? My favourite course in Australia is probably the Mersey (TAS), in particular the classic course as it is a fun stretch of river with continuous small to medium size rapids. I always enjoy camping in the Mersey Forest as it’s also a great spot to explore when not paddling. My favourite course overseas is probably Murau (AUT), the classic in particular was great as there was little flatwater between rapids, and the rapids themselves were big and exciting.

2023 WILDWATER CALENDAR 

Western Australia
Training Days:
January – Friday 7^th, 14^th, 21^st, 28^th
February 3^rd and Friday 5^th

Racing
May 21 – WWR1 Buoys Race
June 4 – WWR2 Drain Race
June 25 – WWR3 Upper Race
July 9 – WWR4 Walyunga Race
August 6 – WWR5 Sprint Championships
August 18 – 20 WWR6 Geegelup Cup