The new year has started with a bang for the Geographe Outrigger Canoe Club.
Twenty one of their members travelled to Bunbury to compete in the Match Racing event held on Saturday, January 16, 2021.
The day consisted of 500 metre sprints in the six-person canoes (OC6) and 500m sprints in single canoes (V1) in the Open Women, Open Men and Master Men divisions.
Conditions weren't ideal with strong gusty head winds, but that did not stop any of the clubs rising to the challenge and pushing hard throughout the day.
Match racing sprints, like cycling pursuit races, is quite new to many of the paddlers, who needed to learn the skills of race turns and the role of each paddler as you approach and exit a 180 degree turn.
Head coach Laurie Haynes was quick to organise extra training sessions to assist club members in their preparation.
Haynes said he was impressed with all Geographe competitors who stepped out of their comfort zones, challenged themselves, and performed at their best.
The club performances on the day were a testament to all the hard work at training.
Once again, our Under 16 and Under 19 juniors impressed spectators stepping up into the Open age division and showing they've got what it takes to be competitive against older and more experienced paddlers from other clubs.
Overall the club had great success at this event with podium results - second place in the Open Men OC6, second place in the Open Mixed OC6, and first and third places in the Master Men V1 sprint.
A huge thank you to the Bunbury Wavemasters Club for hosting the event and bringing Open and Masters match racing sprints to the WA race calendar this year.
Now Geographe Outriggers will switch gears into marathon preparation for their next event - the Monkeys 20 kilometre relay in February, which is sure to be another thriller.
