Slalom paddlers Kai Stafford and Rhys McRae are destined to represent Australia.

Hunter paddling with one of the new junior slalom paddlers at the weekends slalom. 

It's rare to see C2 paddled nowadays since it was taken out of the Olympic schedule.

WAs Ben Pope in full concentration before the kayak cross event.

43 plastic boats in a Ascot Wednesday Night Race

Back when Canoeing Down Under was in business paddlers that were part of Canoeing Down Under joined forces with Ascot Kayak Club to race on a Wednesday night. To have 43 plastic boats take part was great to see.

Nowadays we get very few plastic boats in our marathon races but back then there were many.

Ascot Kayak Club 

in 1978

The early club rooms had a meeting room, toilets, a back shed for club boats all guarded by a few rats.

The building had open wall areas so easy for animals to have a walk around inside.

It was usual to have a club meeting and watch rats crawl around the tops of the walls.

We had a club meeting every month and we were discussing things for hours especially when some members didn't agree with what was discussed.

Celebrating 50 Years of Paddling

Teaching some of the new AKC members.

Photo Roger Smith.

Teaching at the City of Gosnells.

Darren Pratt

Darren has been involved in the paddling sport at all levels, including kayak paddling at a high level. 

Darren serves on the Paddle Australia SUP Discipline Technical Committee, but still enjoys getting back to the grassroots and seeing the sport grow.

He is a committee member of his local SUP club, and is involved in liaising with Paddle WA about SUP related matters and advocating for the interests of SUP paddlers.

Darren said, one of the most important things about paddling is the joy of being out on the water. One of the fabulous things about SUP is that because you’re standing up, you get to see a lot more and can really appreciate the beautiful environments we have to paddle in.

Darren has won most of the local Perth SUP races over the last few seasons. He’s also the Oceania O/50 Champion in sprint, marathon and tech and has held the race record for paddle craft in the Avon Descent since 1996.

Darren loves to paddle early. This is one of his shots from last week.

Back in 1994 when I published my paddling text book, Canoeing Down Under, Darren was one of our top kayak paddlers. I asked him to write a chapter on kayak training and here is his introduction.

It is important to ask yourself what you want to achieve - to win, be competitive or simply to finish. In doing this the golden rule is BE REALISTIC! It is often a good idea to write your goals down as this will help you to stay focused with your preparation. You may also find it helpful to refer to your list of goals when you don't feel like training as this will remind you of what you are trying to achieve and every training session can be seen as bringing you one step closer to achieving your goal.

The next problem is selecting the equipment to achieve your goal. Expensive does not necessary mean the best. Most of the retail outlets can advise you on what is suitable.

The third decision is what training program to select. In doing this, be honest with yourself as to your time commitments. Sometimes it is worth considering a two year plan. Other aspects continued in the book.................

Photo Darren Pratt.

Kris Adrian

Kris is quite new to paddling kayak and SUP but she hasn't wasted any time. She is part of Ascot Kayak Club for kayak training and SUP Tonic with Marie for SUP training.

A recent trip down south she found some beautiful places.

Kris exploring down south.

All photos Kris.

Deep River near Walpole. 

Magical.

On a small lake near Esperance.

On the Kalgan River near Albany,

Kalgan River near Albany.

AKCs Steph Bedden-Smith enjoying her holiday in the UK. 

Wild Water Canoeing

C2

WWC2 – Wildwater Double Canoe – No rudder

This craft (C2) is paddled by single paddles. To help keep the boat straight a J stroke (steering stroke) in used as well as boat tilt. The paddler is also kneeling and sits higher in the boat than a kayak. It is much more difficult boat to paddle than a kayak. The Wildwater Canoe is mainly used for racing down rapids. Wildwater racing is a World Championship discipline.

Wildwater Canoeing is contested by two types of boat, canoe (C) and kayak (K). Men and women compete in singles in both canoe (C1, C1W) and kayak (K1, K1W), and also doubles in canoe (C2, C2W) with individual and team events held. Teams are made up of three competitors in the same class. Wildwater canoes and kayaks are long and narrow with a rounded hull, which makes them fast but also unstable and hard to turn, so paddlers tilt the boat to one side rather than using wide sweep strokes.

The first Wildwater Canoeing World Championships was held in 1959 in Treignac, France, and have been held every two years ever since (except 1995 and 1996, when there was only a one-year gap as the event switched from odd to even years). They featured only the classic format until 2002 when sprint events were introduced for the first time. In 2011 the first sprint-only World Championships took place, and they are also held every two years, resulting in sprint having a World Championships every year whereas classic remains biannual.

WWC1 – Wild Water Single Canoe – No rudder

Back in the 1980 I took on the Avon Descent in a single canoe (C1).

Birds Along The Way

White Faced Heron.

Little Pied Cormorant.

Eurasian Coot.

At the moment you will see dozens of coots together feeding on the grass areas.

Coots are omnivorous, eating primarily aquatic plants, algae, and small invertebrates. They forage by diving underwater or grazing on land near the water's edge.

Water Dependent

Start Line:           Broome Terrace, Northam

Start Line:           Broome TFinish Line:        Duidgee Park, Toodyay 

Race check in:   08:00am-08:30am

Briefing:              08:30am

Race Start:          08:45am

Course - APPROX 30km

GRIDS WILL BE RELEASED FRIDAY 4TH JULY   

In the event of extreme river levels, competitors will be kept informed of any course changes.

Race Cost:

PWA Members (18+): $35
Non-PWA Members: $57 (includes $22 compulsory insurance coverage) 

 PWA Members (16-18): $25
 Non-PWA Members: $36 (includes $11 compulsory insurance coverage) 

 Clases:

Prizes will be won from a random draw of the bibs, rather than place-finishes within your class, so everybody has a chance to win!

Age: minimum age is 16, on the day of the race

Class constitution: Male: 3 craft to a class | Female: 3 craft to a class

Open class will be constituted first for each class, then refined by age. The race organisers reserve the right to combine craft to form a class.

K2 and K3 competitors must enter individually

SUP's are welcome to participate in this event - however, please note there will be a cut off time at Katrine Bridge (TBA).
 For all entry inquiries contact the office on 08 9285 8501 or admin@paddlewa.asn.au 
 Entries close 11.59pm Thurs 3rd July. Strictly, late entries will NOT be accepted.

Transport:

A car shuffle is required prior to Race Check In.

Due to the distance between the start and finish, your car shuffle must be completed prior to Race Check in at 08:00am.

Safety:

Due to the course being held in wild water conditions, it is compulsory for all paddlers to wear helmets and PFD’s. Each competitor should also have a whistle attached to their PFD for emergency situations.

No helmet or no PFD = NO RACE.

It is also recommended for all paddlers to have grab loops on their boats to assist rescue and for kayaks to have fully inflated air bags inside their boats to ensure boats do not fill with water in the case of a capsize. All kayak paddlers will require cockpit skirts with appropriate grab loop for ease of escape from a capsized boat.

Whilst we welcome paddlers of all skill levels, it is expected that competitors can self assess personal risk based on their own competency and the section of river and it's associated levels. The race organisers and safety officials reserve the right to withdraw any competitor at any stage of the event if deemed necessary to ensure the competitors personal safety.

Seeding Points:  Avon Descent Seeding Points are awarded as per the 2025 rules available at 2025 Paddler Seeding.
All competitors will receive 5 points for participation when starting in this event.