Australian Wildwater Team Announced

Paddle Australia is pleased to announce the athletes selected as part of the Australian Wildwater team travelling to the 2024 ICF Wildwater Canoeing World...

Wildwater Selection Races Mitta Mitta River January 12-14 2024

The selection races for the 2024 Australian Wildwater Team were held at the famous Sharks Tooth rapid on the Mitta Mitta River below the...

2024 Paddle Australia Canoe Wildwater Australian Age Championships

The event attracted some 50 paddlers from across Australia in all types of craft. Racing was on the picturesque Goulburn River from the Eildon Weir...

Canoe Wildwater – 2024 Season ahead – Newsletter 2

PADDLE AUSTRALIA – 2024 CANOE WILDWATER EVENT ENTRIES Paddle Australia in conjunction with Paddle Victoria and the Canoe Wildwater Technical Committees of Paddle Victoria and...
Muotathal Wildwater Championships

Canoe Wildwater – 2024 Season ahead – Newsletter 1

As the 2024 season approaches, the Australian Wildwater canoeing community has much to look forward to. Summarised below are the latest updates on three...

Widwater racing is a competitive canoe/kayak discipline whereby the athlete must manoeuvre a 4.5m long and quite unstable craft down a section of river as fast as possible.  The boats are constructed from composite materials such as carbon, kevlar and fibreglass and must weigh a minimum of 10kg including mandatory airbags fitted in the bow and stern.  Wildwater racing boats are not permitted to have rudders.  Instead, the athlete must tilt the boat to one side, utilising the boat’s curved profile to effect the turn.  The boats must adhere to a minimum width, with the widest part of the boat being on the deck behind the cockpit.  This ‘winged’ profile creates good secondary stability when the boat is on edge for turning.  Wildwater athletes use ‘wing-blade’ paddles to produce more power and efficiency.

 

Wildwater courses vary in difficulty and technicality, ranging from class 2-4 whitewater and no two courses are the same.  Even the same course can differ from day to day (or even during the same day) due to fluctuations in water level.  The athlete must select the fastest route through the rapids whilst avoiding hazards such as rocks, wave trains and powerful river hydraulics which can slow the boat down or even cause a capsize.  Experienced athletes will however use various river features to their advantage to further enhance boat speed beyond physiological limits.  Refined technical skills and ‘river reading’ ability are as important as aerobic capacity, endurance and power.

 

There are two forms of wildwater race; classic and sprint.  Both are time trial whereby the athletes are set off at intervals (usually of one minute).  The classic race ranges from 10-30 minutes and is thus aerobic in nature.  The athlete must learn all the intricacies of a 4-10km section of river and must be familiar with the course at a variety of water levels because variations in flow may create different options for faster lines.  Some courses can be learned in just a few runs however other courses, such as on the Loisach River in Germany, can require 40 runs down the course before the athlete is able to get a ‘clean line’ without hitting any rocks!

 

The sprint race is usually held on a very difficult section of white water and there are a number of heats, with the top 10 athletes making it through to the final.  The race is between 200-600m (45-120 seconds) and the sprint races are either contested on artificial white water courses or on a natural river.  Due to the difficulty of the white water and the short duration there is very little room for error in order to get a good result.  Sometimes 10 athletes can finish within the same second.

 

Competitors are placed in classes based on gender and boat type as follows:

K1 – solo kayak, male

K1W – solo kayak, female

C1 – solo canoe, male

C1W – solo canoe, female

C2 – tandem canoe

 

Wildwater racing is a very ‘free and natural’ competitive sport; there are few rules, no whistles, no boundaries, no umpires and virtually no infrastructure.  Just the athlete and the river, racing against time.  Every training run and every race is a journey.  That is the beauty of wildwater racing.

Below are a series of videos which showcases the incremental phases of Canoe Wildwater.

Mitta Mitta Wildwater Selections

PA Sprint Championships- Goulburn

Thank you to Charlie Collin for producing this content.

Paddle Australia Wildwater Canoeing Technical Committee (PAWCTC)

  • Kris Smith (Acting Chair)
  • Chris Greed (Athlete Rep)
  • Mathew French (Acting Vice Chair)
  • Morgen Masuka
  • Chris Warton
  • Tony Misson

Strategic Plan for Wildwater Canoeing in Australia

2024 Wildwater Selection Event – 13th/14 January. Mitta Mitta, Vic

Medal Winners

2024 Wildwater Age Nationals – 3rd/4th January. Eildon, Vic

Medal Winners

National Sprint Championship Winners

Year Men’s K1 Ladies’ K1   Men’s C1 Ladies’ C1    Men’s C2    Location
1998 Matt Dalziel Goolang Creek, NSW
1999 P.Christianson Mersey River, TAS
2000 P.Christianson Penrith, NSW
2001 G.Singleton Goulburn River, NSW
2002 Andrew Maynard Nymboida River, NSW
2002 Ben Maynard Penrith NSW (Canoe 2002)
2003 P.Christianson Penrith NSW
2004 Ben Maynard Robyn Harris Blackwood River, WA
2005 Dan Hall Carol Hurst Mersey River, TAS
2006 Dan Hall Carol Hurst Mersey River, TAS
2007 Dan Hall Carol Hurst Mitta Mitta River, VIC
2008 Dan Hall Andrea McQuitty King River, VIC
2009 Dan Hall Carol Hurst Mersey River, TAS
2010 Not held due to lack of water
2011 Rob McIntyre Sharon Cahill Nymboida River, NSW
2012 Matthew French Jessica Fox Nathan Kelly Rosalyn Lawrence Mersey River, TAS
2013 Rob McIntyre Kristy Packham Mitta Mitta River, VIC
2014 Rob McIntyre Kristy Packham Snowy River, NSW
2015 Rob McIntyre Kristy Packham Mersey River, TAS
2016 Robert McIntyre Madeleine Batters Mersey River, TAS
2017 Robert McIntyre Madeleine Batters Robert Janiszewski Madison Wilson Bassett/Bassett Goulburn River, VIC
2018 Robert McIntyre Madeleine Batters Robert Janiszewski Madison Wilson Bassett/Bassett Eildon, VIC
2019 Robert McIntyre Georgina Collin Robert Janiszewski Madison Wilson Bassett/Bassett Mersey, TAS
2020 Dan Hall Dita Pahl  Robert Janiszewski Madison Wilson Bassett/Bassett Mitta Mitta, VIC
2022 Steve Bird Nina Mueller Robert Janiszewski Avon River, WA
2023 Kaylen Bassett Georgina Collin Robert Janiszewski Bassett/Bassett Penrith, NSW

National Classic Championship Winners

Year Men’s K1 Ladies K1   Men’s C1 Women’s C1    Men’s C2    Location
1970 P.Egger E.Egger …….. ………..
1971 A.Julian J.Farrance D.Hallam Fuller/Mason
1972/3 B Gulliver J Farrance D Hallam Griffiths/Hewitt
1974 B Gulliver S Whitebrooke A Julian Nelson/Neil
1975 J Rogers K Purdy A Julian Cox/Cox
1976 M Wilson S Elliott M Hewitt David/Ford Nymboida NSW
1977 J Sumegi S Elliott R Phillips Ungar/ Gemmell Murrumbidgee R
1978 K Vidler K Salaris T Preen Stevens/Mansfield
1979 R Baxter W Balding T Preen Stevens/Mansfield Mersey TAS
1980 P Genders E Blencowe P Eckhardt Stevens/Mansfield Barron Gorge N QLD
1981 I Gardner E Blencowe G Gaynor Stevens/Mansfield Nymboida NSW
1982 I Gardner E Blencowe R Phillips Crick/Butler King River Vic
1983 T Doyle V Golding K Kruyssen Formentin/Fry Sterling River WA
1984 P Genders A McQuitty G Gaynor Pearse/Wright Tasmania
1985 I Gardner A McQuitty G Donovan Pearse/ Wright Burrenjuck NSW
1986 T Doyle V Golding P Eckhardt Smidt/ Bullock Tinaroo Nth QLD
1987 I Gardner S Cahill G Donovan Mansfield/Plant Howqua R Vic
1988 D Worthy A McQuitty G Donovan Forsyth/ Atkins Sterling R WA
1989 R Housden A McQuitty G Donovan Wilde/Newton Mersey R Tas
1990 S Muir L Muir B Wright Minns/ Minns Nymboida NSW
1991 S Muir G Pickersgill B Wright Pinder/Heard Tully Qld
1992 S Muir A McQuitty B Wright Smidt/Muir King R Vic
1993 P Goodman M Rodgers R Fry O’Leary/Empy Harvey WA
1994 S Muir A McQuitty Mersey TAS
1995 P Goodman A McQuitty P Pritchard Miller/Worthy Eildon Vic
1996 M Dalziel A McQuitty B Wright Smidt/ Muir Nymboida NSW
1997 M Dalziel Leila Muir K Miller no class Thompson R Vic
1998 M Dalziel Leila Muir C Smidt Smidt/ Muir Nymboida NSW
1999 M Dalziel A McQuitty Mersey R Tas
2000 G Singleton A McQuitty Barrington R NSW
2001 Piers Christiansen – A McQuitty Mitta Mitta R Vic
2002 Piers Christiansen S Humfrey Smidt/Cole Nymboida R NSW
2003 Piers Christiansen A McQuitty Mersey R Tas
2004 Dan Hall Carol Hurst Blackwood R
2005 Dan Hall Carol Hurst Mersey R Tas
2006 Dan Hall Carol Hurst Mersey R Tas
2007 Dan Hall Carol Hurst Mitta Mitta R Vic
2008 Dan Hall Carol Hurst King R Vic
2009 Dan Hall C Hurst Mersey R Tas
2010 Not held due to lack of water Nymboida NSW
2011 Rob McIntyre Sharon Cahill C Smidt Smidt/Muir Nymboida NSW
2012 Stewart Bennett Jessica Fox Nathan Kelly Rosalyn Lawrence Mersey, TAS
2013 Matthew French Kristy Packham Mitta Mitta, VIC
2014 Matthew French Kristy Packham Snowy, NSW
2015 Matthew French Kristy Packham Mersey, TAS
2016 Matt Dalziel Madeleine Batters Mersey, TAS
2017 Robert McIntyre Madeleine Batters Robert Janiszewski Madison Wilson Bassett/Bassett  Goulburn River, VIC
2018 Robert McIntyre Georgina Collin Robert Janiszewski Madison Wilson Bassett/Bassett Eildon, VIC
2019 Dan Hall Georgina Collin Robert Janiszewski Madison Wilson Bassett/Bassett Mersey, TAS
2020 Dan Hall Dita Pahl Robert Janiszewski Madison Wilson Bassett/Bassett Mitta Mitta, VIC
2022 Josh Kippin Nina Mueller Robert Janiszewski Avon River, WA
2023 Richard McMinn Georgina Collin Robert Janiszewski Bassett/Bassett Penrith, NSW

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Competition guide is available to view HERE.

Competition schedule is available to view HERE.

Start list is available to view HERE for Sprint and HERE for Classic.

Event images (credit to JGRimages) are available to view HERE.

Sprint results are available to view HERE.

Classic results are available to view C1M, C2M, K1W & K1M