Young Queenslanders star in Hawaii-bound World Championship outrigger sprint team
Meet the young Queenslanders bound for the World Outrigger Championships in Hawaii.
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South-east Queenslanders dominate the rising stars of the sport of outrigger canoeing as the Australian team heads to next month’s 2024 IVF World Sprint Championships in Hilo, Hawaii.
A world champion, a relative of Fletcher Christian of ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ fame and a First Nations sports scholarship holder are Queenslanders among members of the Australian team.
The Va’a outrigger canoe has a rich history which reaches back 4000 years as part of the Polynesian culture.
It has evolved into a competitive sport, related to the canoe and kayak paddling events in the Olympic arena.
Meet some of Queensland’s brightest young stars:
Ada Nebauer, 20, Sunshine Coast
Competition: Open Elite, individual (V1) (Va’a) and team (V6).
How she started in the sport: Ada has been based in Queensland for the past two years after moving from her birthplace and childhood home, Norfolk Island, to pursue her paddling career - study at the Australian Catholic University.
Ada started outrigger because one day her mum Louise’s crew was short of a paddler and Ada was asked to make up numbers in the boat.
“I was on the beach with friends and mum said to jump in and I didn’t want to at first but then I started paddling and kept doing it and I loved it,’’ she said.
Ada was 12-years-old when she started racing. “A lady from the Australian association saw me compete and said I needed to have more races, so I started to race more and more in Australia to get more exposure to competition.’’
Highlight: As a 16-year-old school student, Ada won the 2019 world under-19 16km (marathon) championships, held at Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast. “I wasn’t expecting to win but all the training, doing 90km a week in the water, gave me an advantage.
“At Norfolk Island I was training in all conditions, my dad was taking me outside the reef, into the full ocean, but I was also training inside the tidal lagoon, clocking up the kilometres.’’
Training: Ada trains about 20 hours a week, getting up at 4.20am to paddle on the Sunshine Coast at 4.45am. Ada also plays netball for cross-training.
On the 2024 World Championships: Ada will compete in the individual event (500m) and is a key member of the V6 team (500m and 1500m) in her world championships as an open racer, having represented Australia at junior level in three world championships.
She was unable to compete in last year’s world titles in Samoa because of an injured shoulder. Ada feels it is an advantage having competed before in Hawaii, racing in the Molokai Challenge, transversing the 66km Kaiwi Channel Crossing.
“I was in a crew of six and we raced for seven hours and ten minutes and finished in the top ten, ahead of 100 crews. I’ve never been so exhausted but also so high on adrenalin, and I was also very sunburnt.’’
This year’s world championships will be at Hilo, a protected bay, like the conditions of Redcliffe, where the team trials were held.
Jess Crowe, 18, Sunshine Coast, currently living in Melbourne
Competition: J19 Elite individual (V1).
How she started: “I’ve always been interested in paddling and was inspired by Ada Nebauer winning the world championships.
“I was in Grade Six and I was there at Mooloolaba at the start of the race then I had to go to school (Stella Maris Primary at Maroochydore) but I continued to follow her progress in the
race online, while at school. I was so excited when she won.’’
Highlight: Competing at the world championships sprints in 2022 at Dorney Lake at Eton College, in London. “One day I would love to compete at the Olympics because ideally, I hope outrigger will end up at the Olympics, because it’s already in the Paralympics (para canoe).
“The best part of the sport is the travelling, I’m still in contact with people I met in 2022.’’
Training:
“I’ve been coming up to train at Mooloolaba as much as I can, but I’m currently training on
the beautiful Yarra River which is nothing like training on the open ocean at Mooloolaba.’’ Jess said it was a challenge to fit in training with her university and work commitments as well as struggling through a Melbourne winter.
On 2024 World Championships: The first-year university student moved to Melbourne to study nutrition science at university. She is looking forward to racing in Hawaii for the first time and also competing at the world championships after breaking her hip three weeks from last year’s world championships. “I’m excited to be back and going to another worlds.’’
Jonny Sheridan, 20, Sunshine Coast
Competition: Open Elite, individual (V1) and team (V6)
How he started: Johnny has been living on the Sunshine Coast for the past two years but grew up in Norfolk Island, going to school with Ada, whose mum Louise also trained Jonny, alongside her daughter. The trainee insurance broker said he prefers sprints to marathons. “Outrigging is a good sport, it’s food for my soul, it’s spiritual out in the water, I have a strong connection with the water.
I’ve always wanted to live on the Sunshine Coast and there’s a strong paddling community, like at Norfolk Island.’’
Highlight: “I’ve qualified for the worlds each year, since I was 16 years old, but it’s a big commitment, and requires a lot of training. This year I finally made the decision to give it a good go and I’m ready.’’ Jonny finished second at the nationals.
Training: Jonny trains about 20 hours a week, with both morning and afternoons paddling sessions as well as gym work and running.
On 2024 Worlds Championships: “I’m giving it a big crack; I’m giving everything I have for these world championships. I’m feeling excited and it’s doesn’t feel real yet. I’ve been racing for eight years and this is a dream come true.’’
Both Jonny’s parents (Martin and Jindy) passed away “a while ago but they’re still part of me’’ with Jonny carrying a tattoo which honours them.
Kane Munt, 15, Redcliffe
Competition: J16 Elite individual (V1) and J19 Elite team (V6)
How started: “I’ve been paddling since I was eight years old, and I’m determined to do well. I train hard.’’
Highlights: “I went to last year’s world distance championships in Samoa, and it was awesome.’’
This achievement resulted in Kane being awarded a sports scholarship, a 2023 Young, Black and Proud scholarship, with the Queensland Family and Child Commission and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service.
On 2024 World Championships: “As soon as I finished at worlds in Samoa, I enjoyed my time so I much, I knew I wanted to start training for Hawaii, and I did.’’
Zane Seeto, 14, Wynnum
Competition: J16 Elite, individual (V1) and J19 Elite (V6)
Training: Zane is focused on doing well in Hawaii. “I’ve been training hard for several months, doing 50 to 60km a week.’’
On 2024 World Championships: “I’m looking forward to going to Hawaii after missing out on last year’s world championships. I made the team but then got injured so I had to pull out at the last minute which was disappointing, but it has really motivated me for this year.’’
Cameron Christian, 18, Norfolk Island
Competition: J19 Elite, team (V6).
How he started: Cameron started paddling seven years ago because he wanted to hang out with his friends, and it was also linked with his love of surfing waves. “I love the paddling and being close to the water.’’
Training: Cameron trains five days a week, from 6.30am and then heads to his job as a carpentry apprentice. He also trains a couple of days after work and then trains on the weekend, amassing 50 to 60 km a week.
Highlight: Cameron has been runner-up at the national sprint titles for three years (pre-covid, 2018, 2019 and 2020) and is a former national junior champion.
He was selected for the 2021 world championships in Hawaii before the event got cancelled because of COVID. “I would love it if the sport was in the Olympics, it would bring more people to the sport.’’
On 2024 World Championships: “I’m very excited about going to Hawaii and representing Australia and I want to win.
“I like learning different cultures and I’m looking forward to learning about the Hawaiian culture. “It means a lot to be representing Australia and competing at the worlds.
Cameron’s heritage is in the Pacific as a relative of Fletcher Christian, a British sailor who led the mutiny on the Bounty in 1789 following a five-month layover in Tahiti.
“It’s cool to be related to Fletcher Christian, whose relatives are some of the original Norfolk Island residents. It’s a cool thing to have in my family history.’’
ELITE WOMEN JUNIOR SQUAD
J16 (V1): Aeisha Poutu, Phoenix Veve, Tori-Lee Rixon.
J19 (V1): Alani England, Arielle Tuialii, Jessica Crowe and Manawa-Rose Komene
J19 (V6): Aeisha Poutu, Phoenix Veve, Alani England, Arielle Tuialii, Manawa-Rose Komene, Micaiah-Jade Isaacs, Lilliana Pomana.
ELITE MEN JUNIOR SQUAD
J16 (VI): Kane Munt, Zane Seeto, Deon Garcia,
J19 (VI): Nauvoo Teariki, Conan Olive, Kai-Raina Walker,
J19 (V6) Deon Garcia, Kane Munt, Zane Seeto, Cameron Christian, Conan Olive, Kai-Raina Walker, Merlin Grellier-Besancon, Nauvoo Teariki
Originally published as Young Queenslanders star in Hawaii-bound World Championship outrigger sprint team
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