The nation’s top K1 women will commence their pursuit for a place in the 2016 Olympic team at the Australian Open at Penrith Whitewater Stadium from the 5 to 7 February.

Jessica Fox, Rosalyn Lawrence and Alison Borrows will be the main contenders for the women’s K1 berth but will face some strong opposition from the talented teenage pair of Kate Eckhardt and Noemie Fox.

The Australian Open will be the first of two selection events, with the Oceania Championships to follow from the 19 to 21 February.

Currently ranked number one in the women’s K1 world rankings, Fox enters the event as Australia’s leading contender and as the defending Australian Open champion.

The 21-year-old will be chasing a second Olympic Games berth after winning a silver medal on debut in London.

Fox will need to produce her best if she is to take out the first of three selection trials with Lawrence proving that she is an equally strong contender after winning the Australian Slalom Championships final in Tasmania last month.

Her quest for back-to-back Australian Open titles will be a tough challenge with a world class field of 50 paddlers assembled for the event.

2015 world champion Katerina Kudejova of the Czech Republic, German pair Ricarda Funk and Jasmin Schornberg and Austrian Corinna Kuhnle join Fox as top 10 world ranked K1 women in the field.

The forever improving Ana Satila of Brazil and New Zealand’s Luuka Jones are others set to be in the mix.

The women’s K1 qualification runs will commence on Friday. The semifinals and finals runs will follow on Saturday.

The Australian Open will act as the first of three selection trials for the Australian athletes, with selection trials two and three to follow at the Oceania Championships.

For a greater explanation of the selection process please click here.

A smaller field of 17 women from six countries will contest the C1 event with most athletes electing to focus on the K1 discipline in the Olympic year.

Lawrence enters as the defending champion but will face some stiff competition from Fox, Borrows, Satila and Austrian Viktoria Wolffhardt.

The C1 qualification runs will commence on Friday with the semifinals and finals to be held on Sunday.
 
WA junior women in pole for selection
The Australian Open will be the final selection event for athletes looking to secure a place on the national junior team this year.

At the opening selection event, the Australian Slalom Championships in Tasmania, Western Australian duo Nina Mueller and Kira Wall were the standout junior K1 women.

Mueller and Wall won the first and second selection trials respectively to put themselves in pole position to secure themselves a place on the national junior team with two selection trials to come this week.

Fellow Western Australian Alexandria Choate (pictured) was the top performer in the C1 event, winning both selection trials to put herself in a very strong position to be selected on the national team this year.

Friday’s qualification runs for both disciplines will act as the third selection trial. The fourth and final selection trial will be based on the results achieved in the semifinal/invitation runs.