2022 Harbour Racing Series

Photos by Geoff Horsnell

The 2022 Harbour Racing Series is here. The series kicked off with the Pittwater Challenge on the 1st of May. This year, Pacific Dragons return to the series with the Iron Cup and we have a new host club, Newy Paddlers, who is hosting the Newy Harbour Classic.

The Harbour Racing Committee has been busy for the last few months reworking the rules and race protocols. Harbour Racing paddlers should take a few minutes to familiarise themselves with the new rules. The key changes include:

  • You can choose between two course options: Long Course and Short Course. The Long Course distance is approximately 14km, and Short Course distance is approximately 9km. SUP’s should only enter the Short Course.
  • There are four race Divisions:

Division 1 – Open Long Course: for paddlers who are able to maintain an overall pace through the long course of 6min 30sec per km or faster  (>~9.5kmh)

Division 2 – Intermediate Long Course: for paddlers who are able to maintain a pace no slower than 8min per km (>~7.5kmh)

Division 3 – Short Course – for all craft other than SUP

Division 4 – Short Course SUP

  • We’ve also standardised the race times:

Race Check-in: 7am to 8:15am

Briefing via email and, COVID permitting, on-site at 7:50am

Race Start:

8:25am  Division 1 – Open Long Course  (Wave 1)

8:27am  Division 2 – Intermediate Long Course  (Wave 2)

8:30am  Divisions 3 & 4 – Short Course (Inc SUP) (Wave 3)

  • Everyone will be issued a new race number this year that you will use for the entire series. It’s important that paddlers attach the race number stickers correctly. They must be affixed, one on each side of your craft, on a vertical face, above the waterline, and where they are clearly visible to Finish Line Officials. It is in your interest to make sure your number can be seen, if you want your time recorded. Other number panels should be removed or covered over to avoid confusion.
  • We’ve also aligned to the same registration timeline as the Marathon Series: early bird entries close at midnight on the Monday before the race, with final entries closing midnight on the Wednesday.
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