From the Chair’s Chair – March2018

What a cracker of a start to the year !!

By the time you are reading this there will have been 2 x Marathon Series events already run by Gary Rake and the Marathon Committee; 2 x Harbour Series events run by Tony Haines and the Open Water Committee; the PNSW State Sprint Championships and GP2; high-level slalom invitation events plus freestyle and the regular Tuesday night polo competition. Events galore already in 2018.

Parra-paddleFest was run again, with outstanding success, and huge thanks must go to Chris Thomson for his efforts this year in coordinating this event.

Thanks also to Tony Hystek, Anjie Lees, Lyn Parker, and Nicole Bartels for their efforts, along with all the paddlers and volunteers from our Polo, Slalom & Recreational paddlesports, who helped to bring it all together.

Do you notice anything familiar in these first few lines ?………

It’s the same names appearing again, and again, and again.

The same few people who seem to end up responsible for delivering these events, again, and again.

We can’t continue to call on the good graces of just a few people to continue to deliver these events.

We need to see more people putting their hands up, and having a go, bringing fresh ideas and blood to the committees and the events they run.

Many hands make light work……an old saying, but one that still rings true today.

You don’t have to commit to working the ungodly hours that people like Tony and Lyn have been giving, but if you can see your way to putting in a couple of hours, that’s a couple of hours that they won’t have to.

Seize the opportunity, and talk with one of your PaddleSport Committee members this week, and see what you can do to help to relive some of the burden, and keep the PaddleSports and the events moving forward and growing.

Once again, as paddlers we’re simply spoilt for choice when it comes to getting out there and enjoying our chosen sport, and that’s not a bad thing at all.

Well done, and thank you, to all the organising committees, the Club members, and especially the Volunteers who give their time and make these events possible, and give us all those opportunities.

Talking of opportunities, Paddle Australia is giving us all an opportunity to have our say, offer our thoughts, and contribute to the development and future direction of our sport, through a Strategic Workshop and Information Sharing Session, which is open to all PNSW member Club Executives, to be held immediately after the Woronora Marathon race on Saturday 17th March 2018.

This is one of a series of Paddle Australia workshops being held with all Member Associations and Member Clubs throughout Australia, and I encourage ALL Club Executives, from ALL Clubs, from ALL paddlesports, to attend, to contribute, and to take advantage of this opportunity.

Paddle Australia is very keen to get as broad a cross section of the paddling community as possible involved in these workshops……so let’s not let the opportunity pass. Make sure your Club and your paddlesport is represented.

Bob Turner –