Central Qld paddlers represent Australia at World Distance Championships

Six members of the Rocky and Capricorn Coast Outrigger Canoe Clubs have arrived in Samoa to represent Australia and bring the paddle power to the world distance championships from Monday.

Capricorn Coast Outrigger Canoe Club’s Charlie Rickertt, Samantha Price-Rees and Darren Keily will represent Australia in Samoa.

Alani England is the youngest of a six-strong Central Queensland contingent of paddlers gearing up for the IVF World Distance Championships in Samoa.

England, along with Kyelee Stanley, Kathy Barsby, Charlie Rickertt, Samantha Price-Rees and Darren Keily, will represent Australia at the six-day event starting on Monday.

Teams from 35 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Cook Islands, Fiji, Hawaii, New Caledonia and New Zealand, are taking part.

The Rocky Outriggers’ trio of England, Stanley and Barsby will compete in the under-16, master women and senior master women respectively.

Capricorn Coast Outriggers’ Rickertt and Keily will compete in the master men and clubmate Price-Rees in the Master Women.

The road to Australian selection started with the six paddlers qualifying for national squads at the Sydney Harbour Challenge in February this year followed by a selection camp in Brisbane in March.

Rocky Outrigger Canoe Club members Kyelee Stanley, Alani England and Kathy Barsby will represent Australia at the IVF World Distance Championships.

Each month since, they have taken on rigorous training schedules and attended camps held at centres between Sydney and Cairns.

The five senior members also competed at the Australian National Marathon Titles in Mooloolaba in May, bringing home gold and bronze medals.

This is the second IVF World Distance Championships for Barsby who won gold with the Australian Master Women’s team in Mooloolaba in 2019.

She and her fellow paddlers are primed for this opportunity.

“We have been lucky to have the support of our clubs, members and family and particularly of each other as we have trained together in OC6 and OC1 canoes over the past eight months,” she said.

“We have trained on the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton and at Yeppoon and Emu Park together.

“We are lucky to have such great training opportunities locally and hope that all our efforts will pay off in Samoa.”

Barsby said it had been hard work but the “nerves and excitement” had started to ramp up when the paddlers received their Australian uniforms and prepared to fly out.

“We are all really looking forward to competing at worlds and having the honour of representing Australia,” she said.