Oceania Canoe Association activities

In the full summer, Oceania’s National Federations have been holding their National Championships for many disciplines, including Canoe Polo and Canoe Marathon as well as Oceania Olympic qualification events for Canoe Sprint and Canoe Slalom.

Given Oceania's vast geographical expanse, these events offer a unique opportunity for other Oceania NFs. They get to embark on a journey, not just to compete, but to experience the thrill of high-level events in the sporting powerhouses of Australia and New Zealand.

This year the Oceania Canoe Association (OCA) organised a development camp for Oceania athletes in the lead-up to the Olympic Qualification Oceania Sprint Championships. This camp provided coaching for all the athletes, race strategy, exposure to elite competition and team boat experience.

Excluding New Zealand and Australia, 17 athletes from seven NFs attended the camp and eight of those athletes were female. The nations that attended were: Samoa, Guam, Palau, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Tahiti and Cook Islands.

The camp was held for three days with two paddling sessions a day at the Sydney International Regatta Centre.

Shaun Caven was the development coach for the camp, and the objective was to set the coaching to the standard of each of the athletes, providing them with opportunities they don’t get at home with practice in race starts and tactics, and encourage the development of kayak and canoe in the islands.

The OCA would not have been able to run the camp without Paddle Australia's support in sourcing enough boats for the athletes. A big thank you to Kenny Wallace, who oversaw the boats and freely gave his time on the first day of the camp.

Also, a big thank you to Hector from Tahiti and Anne from Samoa, who also assisted in the coaching and competition for the week.

The athletes competed in many events, including the K4, by combining countries.

Everyone had a great time. The development camp provided a wonderful opportunity for Oceania to come together, develop, and compete.

By Danielle Woodward, Secretary General of the Oceania Canoe Association

Pictures by JGRIMAGES