Dear Wildwater Community
After a difficult year for event organisers, Paddle Australia is pleased to confirm that preparations are underway for the hosting of the 2021 Paddle Australia Wildwater Canoeing Championships in August. PA would like to express its gratitude to Paddle Victoria and its Wildwater Technical Committee for their determination in working to make sure that paddlers have this opportunity. Preliminary details have been posted on the PA and Paddle Vic website and further details will also be posted in due course.
As we are all aware, travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic are by no means a thing of the past. While all efforts will be made to proceed with this event, paddlers are reminded that the safety of participants and the wider community are the number one priority and decisions around the hosting of the event will be made accordingly. Paddlers looking to travel to Victoria are reminded to seek refundable travel bookings wherever possible as no compensation will be possible should the event subsequently be cancelled.
Paddlers may also have some questions regarding the attendance of National Teams at international competitions in 2021. PA has published a position statement regarding travel to international competitions by National Teams in 2021, which is available for review here. If there are paddlers who believe that they may be able to compete overseas at either the ICF World Cup races in Banja Luka or the 2021 ICF Junior and U23 Wildwater Canoeing World Championships in Solkan, please contact PA at wildwater@paddle.org.au.
While it is unlikely that many Australian paddlers will be able to compete in Europe this northern summer, PA recognises that being selected into National Teams or Squads is a recognition of achievement within the sport and can also be important for athletes for other reasons, such as scholarship applications or similar. PA will be selecting squads for the 2021 ICF competitions based on the results of the 2020 Paddle Australia Wildwater Canoeing Championships, held on the Mitta Mitta River. Athletes seeking selection should confirm their expression of interest by emailing wildwater@paddle.org.au by close of business on Wednesday 7 July.
Finally, a note that this email has been sent out to the PA Wildwater database as it currently stands. Emails change, new people get involved in the sport – if you are aware of other email addresses which should be added to this list, please let us know.
Regards,
Paddle Australia Limited
Phone: +61 2 9763 0670
Email: sports.services@paddle.org.au
Website: http://paddle.org.au
