Victorian Flatwater Championships
Nagambie
The 2005 Victorian Championships were held over the last weekend in February, and the competition was hot and fast. The weather was fine and temperatures were mild, but the strong wind made conditions a little difficult and times were slower than ideal. Naturally the wind started to abate towards the end of Sunday at the time of the medal ceremony!
There was a pleasing attendance from paddlers in all classes, and we again welcomed some veterans from Lake Burley Griffin Club in Canberra who had a great time with the locals.
There were some outstanding performances, with very strong competition in the Open class highlighted with 6 men earning a spot on the Victorian team. Congratulations to Al Carrie, Piers Christiansen, Sean McGee, Justin Quill, Rod Moseley and Ross McDonald on their selection.
The women were also in great form, with Allison Mitchell and Ella Carrie dominating.
In the juniors we will be sending a strong team of 5 young men and 6 young women which includes 6 athletes who are competing at National level for the first time. The juniors are: Nic Harding, Cameron Abood, Laura Chudleigh, Eve Trickey, Emma Peters, Karine Brown, Mitch Kowarzic, Arthur Alger, Eric Alger, Casey Stone and Emma Crawford.
Senior Athlete of the Year for 2005 was Allison Mitchell, Junior Athlete of the Year for 2005 was Cameron Abood, and the top club was Mitta Mitta, edging out the newly-formed Mercantile by 9 points.
On Sunday the paddling community was saddened to hear the passing of Peter Hosken after a long struggle with illness. The Hosken family have been huge supporters of canoeing in Victoria, and are long-term members of the Sherbrooke-Knox Canoe Club. Our thoughts and wishes go to Katrina, Andrew and Penny at this time. A minuteÕs silence was observed during the medal ceremony in honour of Peter.
