Oceania Canoe Association activities

Top accolades 

With summer underway in the Southern Hemisphere, our paddlers are gearing up to enjoy Oceania’s rivers, lakes, and ocean as part of their holiday activities. At the same time, our superb high-performance athletes continue to be celebrated with accolades relating to their Paris 2024 accomplishments still coming thick and fast. 
 
Among those was New Zealand’s Lisa Carrington who was honoured by ANOC with the prestigious Outstanding Sporting Career prize, was named the 2024 Māori Sportsperson of the Year, and has been shortlisted for the 2025 New Zealander of the Year. At the Australian Institute of Sport’s Performance Awards, Paddle Australia received well-earned national recognition being awarded the High-Performance Programme of the Year. Paddle Australia’s outgoing CEO Phil Jones was also celebrated, receiving the Service to Sport Award, and paddler Julie Keillor was recognised as Australian Sports Volunteer of the Year. 

Continental Championships 

Looking ahead to 2025, paddlers from across the continent (as well as international entries from around the globe) will be coming together for the first Oceania Championships of our competitive season in late January, when the Canoe Slalom event will be held on the recently upgraded Penrith course. The Canoe Sprint Oceania Championships will follow on Lake Karapiro in New Zealand in early April, with Canoe Polo scheduled for later in April on the Gold Coast in Australia. 
 
We wish all of the global paddling family a safe and happy festive season and hope to see many of you visiting us to paddle in Oceania in 2025. 

By Maree Burnett, President of the Oceania Canoe Association