Kaye Laurendet from Sutherland Shire Canoe Club (SSCC) was made a PaddleNSW Life Member in 2022. The recent Woronora Marathon on Saturday the 24th of June was the first chance CEO Peter Tate and Board Chair Kiaran Lomas had to thank Kaye in person for her decades of service, not only to her club but also to marathon racing across NSW.
Kaye has been an active volunteer at SSCC since she and her husband Bert joined the club in the 1970s and has been the club’s head timekeeper for as long as anyone can remember. Legend has it that she was a timekeeper at the Cronulla club before Joan Morison split away to form SSCC. But Kaye is more than a timekeeper at SSCC. She’s a much loved member who has helped a lot of beginner paddlers and she always has words of encouragement for new members.
But as many marathon series paddlers know, Kaye’s contribution goes well beyond SSCC. As we understand it, Kaye timed the very first Marathon event run under NSW Canoeing, however many years ago that was. Kaye has continued to support the Marathon series for as long as we (and Bob Turner) can remember and has always been available to assist with timekeeping whenever asked. Armed with her trusty stopwatch, pen & paper, she regularly produces times and results well in advance of the various forms of ‘technology’ we’ve adopted over the years. If there’s ever a question about a result or time, it’s Kaye’s timesheets that we go to first.
- By Annette Matthews