Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Paddles Ready is your go-to podcast for everything happening in the world of paddle racing.
Hosted by Dougie and Hando, the show brings you inside the sport with race reviews, real-time commentary, and conversations with paddlers from across the globe. Whether it’s breaking down major competitions, sharing behind-the-scenes stories, or hearing directly from the athletes shaping the sport, this podcast keeps you connected to the pulse of paddle racing.
From elite races to grassroots scenes, Paddles Ready covers it all, giving you insight, perspective, and the stories you won’t hear anywhere else.
What you’ll hear:
Honest race reviews and analysis
Conversations with paddlers and industry voices worldwide
Commentary on trends, performances, and competition results
Stories from the front lines of paddle racing
If you follow paddle racing or want to understand it better, this is where you stay informed.
👉 Visit paddlesready.com for more episodes and updates.
What's the biggest thing you see in growth or just excitement that you see for Paddle Sports Queensland- Yeah ... let's just say, over the next five years?
So for us now, it's really about looking at bringing new opportunities, new products that can activate the community and get more people out paddling.
On a scale of one to 10, where is that sit for Paddle Sports Queensland?
15.
Yeah. That's what
I thought. It is, it is an absolutely amazing opportunity that will really elevate paddling in Australia.
Are we at risk of burning out the volunteers? Because geez, from what I see, the volunteers, they work so tirelessly hard.
Burnout equals people leaving. Yeah. Wow. And we don't want people leaving. I wonder if there's a lot of the people that are volunteering that aren't paddlers
Paddles ready
This is Paddles Ready, the global voice of paddle sports. Live commentary, race coverage, athlete stories, and expert analysis from across the world of paddling. From dragon boat racing to ocean ski, this is where the competition, the culture, and the stories come together. Let's get into it
Hando, how are you, boy? Big fella.
Dougie, welcome
back.
You alright?
Welcome back to the studio. Well, we're back in the studio today, and we have another special guest.
Another super guest.
Not so much a paddler, but the brains trust. Or we call a- Brains
trust ...
the brains trust ... we will like that. Yes, the brains trust.
I've been doing a bit of work- Mm ... on this guy. And, uh- Mm ... if you're in paddle sports and you're in Queensland, and if you're in Australia, you would've heard of this name. From Paddle Queensland, Hando, we have-
Scott Sharples.
Welcome. Morning.
Welcome, Scott. How are you, guys? How are you, mate? Great
to be here.
Thank you for the opportunity. Yeah. Absolutely.
Well, I said I did a fair bit of, uh, work on you, but- ... uh, obviously, um, Wikipedia and that can only give me so much. So- Very true ... Hando and I f- thought we'd hand straight over to you, give you the floor.
Nice. On the spot.
What's the Scott Sharples story? How'd you come to Paddle Queensland?
Yeah, um, fantastic. So Scott Sharples story is, uh, uh, been involved with sport all my life, baseball as a kid, and then we moved up to the Gold Coast in early 2000s, got involved with Gold Coast Baseball, the local clubs there.
Nice.
And then that continued my kind of volunteer path and journey, volunteering throughout the clubs, um, and then to the state bo- or, uh, regional bodies and worked in the administration.
And then with my, uh, role in media and marketing, kind of working with, uh, member-based industry organisations- Yeah ... the two skill sets aligned. Mm. And then, uh, got to a stage I wanted to do more and explore, you know, what else is out there in the world from, from that, uh, that side. Um, applied for the role in- Jeez, what are we now?
Late or mid-2019. Yep. And joined Paddle Queensland in, um, November 2019. Mm-hmm.
And been loving it ever since. Ever since? So, uh, yeah, been a great journey. F- Met a huge amount of great people.
Yep.
Yeah. Both locally and nationally. And, um, yeah, really looking forward to, uh, the future, where we are as an organisation, where we are as a sport, um, and the connections that we have with our, with our members- Mm
and our state and our national body. Mm.
Again, we get on here and you don't know what's up here, but Tish reminded me, the reason we got talking was with, when it was, um, ICF and before sort of changed names with Paddle Queensland, Paddle Australia, was because we were... I'd just moved back from Dubai and we were gonna do Paddle for the Planet.
That's right. And we, actually, we, we did a lot. So-
Well, that
would be- You know what's up
here, Dougie ... you just said Paddle Australia. My, um, for people out there who don't know. Oh, yeah. Is Paddle Australia, are they the umbrella, and then there's- Correct ... different, you got s- state by state? Yeah. But you're all governed by- No.
So we're, so our connection is our na- international body is International Canoe Federation, which recently just announced to its rebranding or relaunching of Paddle Worldwide. Yep. And then under that, um, Paddle Australia is the national sporting organization for paddle sports. I think we have 10- Sorry,
go- going back re- to it's called Paddle Worldwide?
Well, it's just, they've just, um, done an announcement this
week. Instead
of ICF. Yeah, so what was the- Right ... yeah, International Canoe Federation. Yes. Um, which, so it's been noted, just launched a rebrand of Paddle Worldwide as all part of more people, more community, more connection, and really going that where the, the sport is transitioning and just f- you know, o- over time new craft like SUPs and, um- Yeah
uh, skis, of how they're kind of emerging through. Um, being become more diverse- Yeah ... in regards and having a greater representation of anybody that's on the water, uh, with a paddle. Um, so yeah, so getting back, so Paddle Australia's our national sporting organization. Yeah. And then there's six, ourselves included, which are one of the, um, state paddle associations.
Mm. Which we have, um, in, in WA, SA, Tassie, New South Wales and Victoria.
Bit cold down in Tassie,
Dougie. Yeah, a bit cold down south at the moment. Well,
where's down there? Um, the ICF, where do they come in? They basically then sit another, you're part of them, obviously. Correct. Once again. And talking about cold, just so I, I've done my homework, they're in Switzerland.
Um, so, and they sit another level and you, you guys come in and you're part of that body of the
ICF. Well, well, you must have some inside knowledge. If they're rebranding Paddle World now and you, you guys re- rebranded Paddle Australia, um, and who, Kim, Kim?
Crane? Yep.
She, she heads up- The executive
officer.
Yep. No, she,
she's been- Awesome.
Hi, Kim ... um, recently she came on board, I think this is her second year, and um, yeah, it's been fantastic. The growth strategy, the development of the Paddle Forward 32 strategy, um, has been a real fresh, uh, breath of fresh air- Yeah ... for
the sport. Oh well, Doug and I were talking about it.
Like- In some, some previous cup. Putting a paddle from kids when they're literally tiny- Yeah ... 'cause we live in the, on the ocean, the rivers, the estuaries. Yeah. We've got it everywhere. Talk about Paddle Australia, Paddle Queensland. Oh, that's right. Yeah. Um, you know, Dougie's probably gonna guide us on a few more strategic questions.
But-
Yeah.
With, with Paddle Queensland Do you see its participation in, in, in schools as well? Or is that something... Obviously we've talked about that-
Well, we- ... with
dragon
boating ... youth's a big, youth's a big thing for us. We want to really promote the youth. Yeah. Yeah. So I guess I could probably throw in the question first, what's the current state of play for Paddle Queensland and the youth, and going forward then on to juniors, seniors, and beyond.
What's the current state of Paddle Queensland?
Our, we... We're, because we are sort of more of a, um, a social recreational paddle community, majority of our members are the masters division, the people sort of getting in it later, later in life.
Right.
Um, we do have a very strong, uh, school community in Queensland.
Yep. Uh, where we have probably over 100 plus, uh, paddlers of about 20 schools that come to our state, uh, school championships for our sprint and marathon disciplines. Um, but that connection is kind of limited from the connection availability through schools. Yep. Um, j- and mostly just down around the craft.
Like it's-
That's the biggest thing. Yeah. We find that. We talk about that here a lot.
Yeah.
We would love to see, you know, a dragon boat, even, you know- Tug-o-war, yeah ... a canoe and outrigger sitting down the back of TSS or over here at All Saints or something like that. Yeah. One is the craft, but then you've got to get 12 to 22-
100%.
Maybe getting bodies in the boat, you're gonna get rowers and that in there, and they're gonna have a crack maybe in the off season. But, but it's the craft. It's all about the craft.
Always the craft. All- is, is the biggest roadblock.
Yeah. Right.
Um, the, the... There's plenty of clubs of great people a- across the community, but getting, um, craft available for a group, and most schools will want to come with a class size, so you're looking at 20s and 30s.
Yeah. And most clubs, um, definitely states, national bodies, won't have 30 craft-
Yeah ...
that we can actually put kids on and get them through the water. So that-
And
get
them out there ...
that's our big challenge. And with our school programs that they do come through, they all bring their own craft. So the schools are really good and they'll have good, uh, programs in place and a, and a good fleet.
Yeah. But, um, yeah, from the states and the clubs, they just unfortunately don't have... And the cost associated with the boats as well. Cool.
So going forward and going from there where you were just saying, what's the biggest, uh, what's the biggest thing you see in growth or just excitement that you see for Paddle Sports Queensland, let's just say- Yeah
over the next five years? Where's your structure, business plan? Call it what you want. Yeah. Where do you want to be over the next five years?
I think the key, key thing for us is growth. We, we've had another year of positive growth. Um, we had another 15% growth, um, last year. So for us, that's going. The community members is, is a key thing.
Without members, without clubs, we don't have a sport. Mm. So for us, we're really positive of the work we've done over the last 12 months to continue that growth.
Yeah.
What we want to see now is, is how we can find the right product for the members to activate. For most of our championships we, um, we are small on the, the take-up side of things, so there were 1,500 now in members, and we'll, um- hard pressed to kind of see over 100 or un- definitely under 200 people turn up to state events.
Right.
So for us, you know, it's really about looking at bringing new opportunities, new products that can activate the community and get more people out paddling. You know, it's not so much about you have to be the fastest or the quickest- No ... or just get in the water and come to an event, come profile paddling.
It allows us to then get bigger awareness, bigger audience, uh, more promotion and, you know, give back to the sport and, um, that's, that's our biggest challenge- That's it ... that we're working towards. Um, one of the ways we're looking to overcome that is the Paddlefest model, where it's bringing all our five or six disciplines together over one week- Yeah
with our biggest two events being marathon and ocean racing at the bookend, and then bringing a whole range of, uh, smaller on-water and off-water activities with clinics, trade shows, um, webinars that will all be available on site. Yeah. And hopefully that might bring more people to, uh, one event a year versus a range of events spread out throughout the year.
That's Paddlefest?
That's Paddlefest, yeah.
When, when,
when's, when's the next one? Or when, what's
happening there? So the, the next one is, um, the start of May on the Gold Coast- Yeah ... which we're running out of the Southport Yacht Centre and down at Murrell Henchman Park, and then the National Paddlefest, which is the first one- Might have to
get down there and help commentate
you guys.
100%. Get down. Well, we'd l- love to get some- Bloody oath ... uh, commentary and other bits and pieces there. Yeah, yeah. And then the next one will be, uh, the nat- first national one will be, uh, the 4th to the 13th of June on the Sunny Coast- Yeah ... where we'll be back to Lake Kawana, which we're doing most of our flat water activities.
How good's our facility? Oh, it's amazing. It's the
best.
So good.
Well, that's where we can... You, you- And especially
dragon boats ...
get some dragon boats there. And outriggers.
That's it.
We've got to get the dragon boat. Uh, we were just saying, I was, I was talking s- to, to Scott a second ago because when we were in Brandenburg, I saw they had the ICF Sprint Canoes over in Germany that- Yeah
I said, "Well, you know-" Participation wise there were so many, and he mentioned there was only maybe, did he say eight or-
From
our
high performance, yeah. Our, our team, the, at the very, very pointy end.
Yeah.
Um, our numbers, it's probably s- I think six, six male, six female that make the Australian team. They go representing the Canoe Sprint.
About the same in the, the program for slalom in our two disciplines. Yeah, I didn't know. So. Didn't realise that. Yeah. Look at the
promotion and the media you're getting at the moment on Australian television. Oh, huge. Those Fox girls.
Yeah.
They're worth every bloody gold medal- Are they Queen- Are they Queenslanders?
Uh,
Penrith. They're Penrith. Penrith
based. They're
Sydney girls,
but that's all right. That's okay. We'll claim them.
Yeah. Well, all, all Australians are Queenslanders, so we're perfectly happy there. But
they're all, exactly. But the promotion, the media.
That's it. We've got a bit of Marone there.
That's exactly, got to, we've got to represent the home state.
So although. But they're
doing the sports, so.
Well, we'll have to get, we'll have to get, maybe we'll get the, the Fox, we'll get the Fox sisters on actually.
The, the Fox family, um, are just absolutely amazing. I'll just say her dad, Jess'
mum.
Yeah. They're just, what, what they do is
unbelievable.
They're, they're stalwarts of- So Foxes
of slalom.
We'll get you on soon.
That's exactly right. And yeah, they, they, they're a, they're an amazing team. Um, and actually Richard is, is part on the executive team now in Paddle Australia. And he's, he
commentates as well. I mean, he commentated when I think both of them won gold at the
Olympics. He does.
He did, yeah. And, that's awesome. I'm sure he'll probably do it again. Um, I'm not sure if he's there for L- LA, but um, and hopefully he'll be there working with us for '32.
So how do grassroot clubs, what, I mean, we just touched on it then, what benefits are with the grassroot clubs coming in with Paddle Queensland?
Where do you see?
The, the key thing for clubs now, and especially from a grassroots standpoint. Yeah ... is the governance requirements that are now coming through from the ASC all the way down. Mm. In regards to child safe standards, in regards to operating a club correctly, in regards to providing, you know, a good community benefit and all the, um, requirements that are there in regards to running clubs.
So for us, our, our biggest key thing is our structure.
Yeah.
We- Mm ... um, have such a, a great set of skill sets at the PA office across the states and in our clubs that we can really find that support that if a club needs something.
Yeah
If we can't resolve it internally, we go to PA and they'll resolve it and come back.
Yeah. So it's really that support system is the key thing of why, you know, we You know, we are seen as the home of paddle sports for our community and our members. It's the support we provide It's more the
backup,
yeah. 100%. It's- You,
we've got your back if there's... Yeah.
We've got, we've got plenty. We... And we're very active on water as well.
I think we've just put our, finalized up our financial calendar, and I think we've got about 30, 40 events- Yeah ... through the year of all the d- over the disciplines, which are now becoming more so even multi-sport. So we've got, you know, prones that started reaching out- Yeah, yeah ... and being involved with sup, skis, kayaks.
Well,
there's, I think the, the prone, the Australian guy just won his fifth
Molokai. Yeah, over Molokai, yeah, over the weekend, the last couple
days. Yeah, just, just on the weekend.
Yeah.
So- And, and, and he, he was the, he was big in the news, Dougie, 'cause he was the Bondi lifeguard-
Yeah ...
that was, was it scaring off the shark or doing- I think so.
It was on- Through that ... yeah ... and then, and then he, he's gone from, one, scaring a shark, and then- Yeah ... scaring all the other competitors in Molokai-
Molokai, yeah. He's done
it all ... and winning on the prone.
So the, the prone, the prone community is quite good. So, um, yeah, we're really fortunate and just lucky that we, we have the opportunity to work with so many other users of waterways, regardless of the craft.
You said there was, uh, um- With schools and participation, you guys have obviously got the voice in the schools- Yeah. So what's your approach? ... with Paddle Queensland. If we could supply some people some dragon boats that could fit 20 people, then plus your other little craft- Oh ... then you're really, then you're really collaborating.
Like, to get the bureaucracy, that's getting kids paddling. Correct.
Yeah.
And that's, that's, th- and, and in Queensland our value, our, our mission is more people paddling more of the time.
Well, that was gonna be my question. Yeah. Yeah. What's your approach to the challenge- So- ... of getting more paddlers on the wa- water?
It's constant communication, constant awareness- Mm ... um, and, and working with them. Stuff
like this.
Yeah, exactly right. Yeah. And that's, you know, great for the invite and the opportunity because- Yeah ... it's just getting the voice and our exposure out to new c- new, um, new channels- Yeah ... that aren't aware of what we do and, you know, from all the, um, uh, the past podcasts that we've watched and vice versa.
It's fantastic, so
it'd be great for- Yeah, pe- we want people tuning in and understanding that there is fabulous governing bodies that are literally trying to help people.
Exactly right. Yeah. And, and, and that's the role we do play, and that's the hard message that doesn't normally get out. Yeah. Um, and because unfortunately, like with any, um, SSOs or NSOs or sporting governance bodies- Mm
they're always in the background. They're always working, you know, tirelessly behind to make sure that you can get on the water, that if there's changes in government, that we're here supporting you. We're giving you- Yeah ... more opportunities, working with sheds, working with funding, working with grants. You know, petitioning behind the scenes to say, "Hey, if things happen and things are coming through, we want to make sure there's a slice of the pie cut out for paddle sports."
Yeah. And so then when you do apply, there's, "Hey, there's, there's money there," or there's an importance of ensuring that funding does go to paddle sports in Queensland. Well, that was gonna go
to my next question.
No, no, no, I've just got it. All right. It's the Paddles Queensland, Paddles Ready dragon boat connectivity.
We'll go into our schools ourselves. Love it. 100%.
Yeah.
We'll give up the podcast. We'll just go paddling with, with, with Scott and say, "What school are we at this week?"
Yeah, definitely. Well, that was gonna be my next thing, the pathway that Paddles Queensland. You, from what you're saying, Scott, you sound like the perfect employer for anybody who wants to be a social paddler- 100%
right through to being the next, next Jess Fox. That,
that's exactly right.
That's- And you've got their back- Yeah ... from the time they walk down on the banks- Mm ... until they step on that dais- 100% ... and got a gold medal.
And then, and then follow them out as well. And
that was gonna be my question. And those, those as well.
Yeah. And you've just answered it. What's the pathway to go from social paddler? to professional paddler
Well, that's, that, that's the beauty. We've got so many clubs across, across the co- the, the state and, and the country, that you can start off from a come and try session, or we've just launched our Ready, Set, Paddle program, um, through school terms, just to get people onto the water, focused at kids as well.
Yeah. And then develop that, um, from, you know, never paddled before, to then going to clubs, to then going to club events, club meets, regional meets, then to state champs, to national champs. Mm. And then hopefully that time earning your spot and becoming a categorized athlete in the QAS or in the other states, the State Institute of Sport, or a State Academy of Sport, you know, f- towards that Olympic dream.
Yeah. So. Yeah.
And w- you know what comes to mind straight away, boys? Is what's gone on for the last 20, 25 years in two sports. Well, one in particular that I still play, and Belly plays, our producer. Cricket. Kanga Cricket. Yeah. Our numbers were so down in cricket, we couldn't get mums to go and sit there, let alone my mother 30, 45 years ago.
To sit there for six, eight hours. So Kanga Cricket came in. Out of Kanga Cricket, we started getting these kids, we started getting these young girls. Then, dare I say it, AusKick. Yeah. Look what AusKick has done for AFL. It is
huge.
Massive. Yeah. To the point where someone told me the other day, I think we have more members in AusKick, I may be wrong, but we have more members in AusKick in Queensland than what they have in both, in New South Wales and Victoria.
Wow. Where it
comes from.
And Japan, they're in now. And Japan. We heard that.
I'm in, I'm, I'm in Dubai and they've got AusKick
over there. AusKick there. So what you're saying is, what you're trying to, um, what did you say? Ready, Set, Pedal.
Paddle. Ready, Set, Paddle. Yeah. No. Ready,
set, paddle's ready. Yeah. Stop it.
Stop. Ready, Set, Paddle. Great. This is something we need to promote.
Totally agree.
Yeah. Absolutely. We need to get on it, because I tell you what, if it works for Kanga Cricket, it works for AusKick. It's no reason why it can't work for Paddle Queensland.
Totally agree.
Into the schools and, and- Absolutely ... or just the communities?
No, both. You know, it's, and for us it's just about resourcing and having the, the people there to help drive it and grow it. Yeah. But as, as it grows and progresses, we have all the equipment up at Southport Yacht Center at Oxenford where- Mm ... where we're based. Yep. Um, and that everybody comes there. And then we've got a range of equipment that's to suit anybody from any ability can get in the boat and paddle.
And then as they progress, then we have the elite K1, uh, race craft there as well. So it's, it's an opportunity that we do have trailers and we can set up and we can go remote. Yeah. So if instead of a school coming to us, it, if it's easier for us to go to a school- Mm ... or go to a, a local, um, waterways, then we can do that as well.
That's good. And so that's kind of the big, our, our big, you know, AFL AusKick kind of- Yeah ... program that's in the works. That's come out of the schools program that we do have, uh, Paddle Aus, and just kind of refining it to have more of a pathway than more of a community, um, activity.
Mm. Mm. Do, do you get schools from around Brisbane and Queensland coming to you, or, or, or is it...
Here, here's a, there might be a question. Is it do they- Well, maybe it's a, a question for Paddles Queensland. Do they put a expression of interest in saying, "On this certain date- Yeah ... we, we want four kids from certain different regions, area, all to come together"? And obviously they might have paddled before, but to enhance their paddling.
'Cause, you know, sometimes you, you, you, y- you've got the government- Or is it just an invitation ... so they've got to
be
able
to swim and- Just whoever wants to turn up turns up?
Bit of a, bit of a mix. Like, we've got the Sporting Schools funding- Yeah. Right ... which Paddle Australia and the Paddle Oz program is part of.
So schools can go to that website, apply for funding to run courses. And depending on the location, we have a range of providers, um, you know, a- around the state that can go out and run programs and get you going there as well. Yeah. And then for other ones, I think last year they did a... It was a rowing paddle, and I think there was another.
There was, I think, three paddle sports. So went out regional Queensland and run a demonstration, and they left- That's awesome ... a whole range of craft there as well to continue that journey. Um, so you- Any
C1s?
Probably not any C1s, no. Mm. So, um, yeah, uh, C- C1s are mostly run out of South Australia. Although there is the Kawana Waters Canoe Club, um, had it-
We saw them up there.
Yeah, the Canoe 32.
On the
C1s. Yeah, the Canoe 32 program that Michael Pond, um- Yeah ... has been driving up there- Yeah ... um, is going great. And we saw Or I think for the first time while I've been involved in paddle sports, there, there would've been 20 or 30 sea boats, uh, from Kawana Waters Canoe Club up there- Do something
which was amazing for, at our, at our state champs. We were up at Lake Sam- Samsonvale for that.
Yep.
And, um, you know, hopefully we look forward to seeing them at the school championships as well, but, um, it's definitely driving. They're starting to get that going. Right. So it's no- nothing better seeing C ones and twos on the water in some challenging conditions.
And the skills these kids have already, you know, with probably under, under 12 months under their belt- Yeah. Mm ... on the water and what they can achieve.
So the backup, I mean, you guys and girls at Paddle Sprint, I mean, I see it just with the Dragon Boat Regatta. That's just one with the volunteers and all that.
Yeah. With you guys, your ecos- you know, the ecosystem there, you've got SUPs, canoes, riggers, kayaks, you name it, you've got... I mean, the backup must be huge, like behind the scenes.
It is. We, I think the greatest asset we do have is our members and, and our community sport. So whenever there's an event on, whenever it's crew, we always have key people that come up and- How many members are-
you know, have support ...
in Queensland, uh, Paddle Queensland?
Uh, about 1,500 at the moment. 1,500.
Nice.
Yeah. So, um, and then for most events for, uh, mostly a marathon style event sort of co- a set course, um, is quite good, and we, we can do with about 10 volunteers in regards to it. But a big part for us is, is working with local community as well.
So our, uh, uh, Coast Guard, Volunteer Marine Rescue, um, have been fantastic, and they always help us out. So do our, you know, Maritime Services Queensland, Gold Coast Waterways, and the relative councils are fantastic in helping us get in, you know, activate areas of, um, um, in their region and then also giving us access to those.
And we're very gratefully appreciative for all the support we get.
And at the races, like for instance, Paddle, when we had Paddle for the Planet, you have the start line. But I would have a, a canoe, a kayak, a SUP, a, a, a prone, a dragger. Do they have those races that start where you've got a, a prone, a surf ski- Yep
an Ironman, surf ski, paddler all, all, and they, they've got their own different classes- Yeah ... and
they finish line, right? Depending on, n- normally we, um, they, they'll have their own classes, correct. Yeah. And d- and age group- groups for each class. Okay. And then depending on numbers and the style of the race, normally they go off in waves- Yeah
um, to try to make things work, or if it's a mass paddle, we're all going down as more of a community. It's like everybody goes together and it's just- I love that ... a great mass. Yeah. Everybody's there of all craft and they all head off. Yeah. Um, which sort of happens in the Tweed 30 that was run last year by the Currumbin Creek Paddlers Club.
Right. And it's, it's great to see just a whole different range of craft on the water all heading off together, and there's nothing better than just seeing- That's awesome ... that together. Yeah. That's
good.
What about that one that was in the canyon the other day? Oh, in
Portland. The,
the, the- No, it wasn't a Portland one.
It was another canyon one, and they're all on the banks SUPs, canoes, outrigger. Yep, I don't think it was Portland, it was another out- Not the Gorge. Not,
not- Yeah,
not the Gorge or-
Not the Gorge ...
might be Gorge. But it was a- But the gun goes. Yeah And it was like Pitt Street- The Mads race ... at 9:00 AM on a Monday
morning.
They're,
they're,
they're running with their
crafts- Yeah, running ... and
they're running with their, yeah. That was crazy.
Yeah, and the Deuce is great for that over in South Africa in bits and pieces, but there are different types of starts you can have as well. You can line everything up, and depending what the event organizers want to do, yeah, it can be, you know, chaos and so much action and ac- activity getting them all on, or-
It, it, it-
a bit more of a protected start ... it, it, it'd be great, not so much like a, like a handicap race, but for certain levels where, you know, your certain craft that know a quicker would start off, so they're all coming- Yeah, together ...
at the
finish together. Yeah. That
sounds like something out of Wacky Races.
Oh, absolutely.
It's all,
yeah. We, we, we're wacky.
A- a- at some way with it, you know, you, you've either got a sh- uh, you know, a extra time at the start or the finish- Yeah ... and that's the most, where most of them are.
Br- bring them all together.
You're seeing a lot of, not breakaways, but their own events, like, like Earl Evans with Shaw and Partners and Dean Garner, they run the Ocean Se- is it the Ocean Series?
Yeah, uh, Ocean, Australian Ocean Racing Series and-
Ocean Racing Series ... WA
Race
Week ... so, so, and that's affiliated with Paddle Australia or not?
No, it's an independent, and you know- Indepen- they're independent ... I think, you know, Dean and, and Earl- 'Cause there's some athletes there ... 100%.
They, they- Can, can those athletes transform into, like, a, an, an, an Olympic or Dean, or I suppose Clint Robinson was, right?
He was, yeah.
Yeah, Clint, Clint was, and there's been a whole range of, um,
surf athletes. Well, you're mate, who's your, who's your- No, Clint, no, Clint was, he was an Olympian. Um, Kenny was- But who's your, who's,
who's your guy here on the Gold Coast? Who's the s- Tred
Andy, Phil Clayton.
Phil Clayton, yeah.
Yeah.
They're all amazing
athletes. So, so the beauty, the beauty is the opportunity's there for them, you know?
And, and that's the great thing, in that we do have a very strong connection at high performance with Surf Life Saving. Yes. Um, and the skill sets that are quite transferable. So yeah, a- anybody that's in a paddle craft has the opportunity. You know, you join or get involved with your local club. You go to a cha- a, a state or national championships, and hey, if you're good enough and you qualify- Yeah
then, you know- Get in there ... that's all you gotta do. Yeah, it's a- Well, that
could be leading to Paddle Games,
right? That's, that's, that's the start, right? Well,
that was gonna be 2030, World Paddle Games. Cool. Here's the scoop. Yeah, have- Belly was asking for a scoop. Have we got
it or what?
Have we got the scoop?
Have we got it? We're live and direct here. It is the 29th. No,
no. Well, what was that? No, no, no. No. Un- unfortunately, no scoops of yet, so, um, the-
But look, it's, it, to me and, and, and, and my circles of influence that aren't very big, but, uh- Oh, yeah ... I, I, I, I think, um- I think we've got to have a good shot, you know?
We
do. Look, a- and I don't think, um-
And they're doing it methodically.
They're branding their- I don't think the team at Paddle a- under Kim's, uh, guidance, uh, would've gone through the process- Gone through the
thing ...
if we didn't have a good shot at it.
Yeah.
Um, and- Gold
Coast are gonna support, haven't they?
The stakeholders, the stakeholders that are all in that project- Yeah ... um, have been amazing to work with and pr- Yeah ... provided so much to make our submission the best, you know, world-class. Yeah. So, um-
From all the different, um-
Yeah. Tourism Events Queensland ... disciplines as well ... City of Gold Coast, um- Yeah,
because I know Kim was actually talking with, um, uh Aussie BF as well.
So-
So from what you've seen, the proposal, if you haven't s- if you have seen it, you haven't seen it, where will they hold it? If we, if we're lucky enough here on the GC- There, there's- ... it's obviously gonna be out the front of your part of it ...
there is a, a, a range and, and that's, let's say we'll be utilizing the key waterways-
Yes.
Mm ... on the Gold Coast to showcase the Gold Coast and paddle sports in its best light.
And, and wherever the Olympics is going, whether it's in that Lawton Burrell site-
Well ...
you never, you never know your lu- We'll get
to the Olympics. We'll get to the Olympics. We'll get
to the Olympics. Forget the Olympics Dougie said.
That was...
We'll get the Olympics at the moment. I've got... I, I'm gonna line Scotty up for that later. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, you gotta set me up for that one, so. I... Look, I, I think the, the 2030 Games would be amazing for us. I was gonna
say, where does that put Paddles Queen- Huge ... like hosting, hosting something- Oh my goodness
like the World Paddle Cup, on a scale of one to 10, where is that sit for Paddles Queensland?
15.
Yeah. That's what I thought.
It is, it is an absolutely amazing opportunity, um, that will really elevate, uh, paddling in Australia. Yeah. You know, um, it really does. Really. And the Oceania and all the other countries leading up to the games.
Yes.
So I think it's actually gonna be one of the first, um, pre-return events of in a ga- of a game, in the games history. So instead of everything being legacy posts and everything else- Mm. And all the outlay- Correct ... this will actually be something that'll be, hey, the outlay's coming, here's already a return before the games kick off.
Yeah. So for us, it would just be absolutely amazing and what it can do from everything from officials, volunteers, prepping
everybody. I was gonna say, what's the lead up looking like now? Oh, gee. I mean, we're only four years away.
Oh, I know, right? We just
had the 60 announcement for the games. Like between now, between your volunteers, um, your, your elite athletes.
Yeah. What's the lead up look- Completely changed ... yeah, lead up look like for Paddles Queensland- 100% ... at the moment?
Oh, um.
Even though we still haven't got it.
At, at, at this stage, yeah, it would def- Allegedly ... it would definitely be, uh, for us, I think such a game changer in how we will elevate the sport, how we will lift all our disciplines up- Mm
and what it's gonna provide because at the moment we do have our two main, um, Olympic disciplines of sprint and slalom, and then we have our community, um, or non-Olympic disciplines, which are more your community, community led. Yeah. But with Paddle Games and what that infrastructure, what that funding, uh, what that work is going to do, um, i- is game changing- Game changing
for the sport. Yeah, it's, um, yeah, m- monumental changes that I, I don't think the sport has probably seen in its history and probably won't see again. So yeah, we're all fingers crossed that- So how
can the broader community, like-
Tommy
Tate'll be behind it, won't he? Yeah. How, how do your broader community, how do, how do you want them to get involved?
You know, what's the-
I think we think getting involved with- The,
the broader paddling community- Yeah ... I should say.
Well, I think just, um, reach out to Paddle Queensland, Paddle Australia. I'm sure at the appropriate time they'll have a whole range of EOYs go out- Mm ... to how you can play a role, how you can bring your skillsets to help elevate and produce the best level of games on the coast.
Um, we'll also have, uh, prelim events, you know, even earlier. Yeah. So there's some, uh, discussions of what could happen in '29 to sort of start testing
and vice versa. Would there be a qualification or is it open country for
paddle games? Well, it's s- it'll still have the same, our understanding at the moment- IOC
Olym- yeah
sa- same process for any world championships, 'cause it is, it will be the 10 or 11 world championships coming. So the same parameters around that for countries will still be there.
That's fantastic, Scott. You must be, uh-
Oh, we, we can't wait ...
pre- pretty pumped.
Yeah. Like if, if that, that's really gonna be, uh, yeah, such a, a great roadway for us.
Have
a few more things to talk about. Yeah. Scott, Scott'll have to come on every couple of months- Oh ... and what,
what's the update?
That's exactly
it. That's exactly it. Keep informed of all the, all the key happenings. So yeah, we're, we're really looking forward to what that will, uh, bring, you know, if it's successful.
Awesome.
It's gonna be awesome.
Yeah, it will.
All right. Let's turn the, uh, conversation to dragon boating. This is how we all start, how Nick and I started this. Pacific- specifically dragon boating, where do you see Paddles Queensland, their role, how it fits? We hear a lot of, you know, "There's this organization, this federation."
Yep. You know, a bit like the Olympics for me when I, on the podcast the other day- ... said, "I'm over it. The numbers don't work." Oh, that's- But where specifically- Yeah, the politics side of things ... the, yeah, the politics. Get me out. And that's why I was saying about the workforce of you guys in the back. Yeah. I see what goes on- Yeah
with the background of dragon boating. I'd be pulling my hair out with four disciplines.
I think the, the hard thing or the difference with, with Paddle Queensland and Paddle Australia, and, um, it's the support, it's the paid staff, it's the, the structure behind it- Mm ... that's there versus from being a volunteer based organization.
Yeah. Um, I take my hat off to all the, um, other, um, associations that are volunteer based or very, um, uh, small resourced, 'cause we all are, we all are under-resourced. Yeah. There's no denying that, even all our national bodies. Um, the key thing for us really is about how we can all work together. Like, we wanna try- Yeah
and integrate, uh, multi-paddle sports. We appreciate there are nuances of each sports and I know we've talked about the, the hoodie or the history of sports or the culture of, you know, disciplines. Yeah, we can move
on to outrigger and
that will- You know, and those things. Yeah. But for us really it's, it's not about replacing anything, it's, it's about providing support and helping.
Yep.
And- Yeah ... and providing services. So the things that-
Um, you know, clubs struggle with or, or bodies struggle with, that that's where we- And which a lot of people don't even understand ...
we
have the capacity. Yeah. Dusty, you're actually
right. That's the, that's the thing. Yep. A lot of them actually don't know- Yeah. '
Cause in, in- ...
the mechanics behind it ...
in, in the day-to-day of running your sport, running your organization, running your events, nothing changes.
Yeah. It's, it's all what you've always done and how you've always done it. Mm. We just provide you s- we just give you the support to say, "Hey, I've had this request," or, "We've had a, you know, an, an issue with a member," or, "How do we go through the process and the need for the child safe standards that are coming through?"
We're here to help. You do. And that's where we supply the sport. We'll, we'll go through, do the research, speak with our connections within the, within our, within our- Bit of an unbiased
view too. You just want, you just want to help
That's right, an independent view. As you said, you just want people paddling.
And then, and then pass it through. Yeah. We've opened our doors to, uh, through the Child Safe Standard training that we've just commenced. We had, um, uh, the Dragon Boat Queensland, uh, representative on there on our meeting last week, and we've opened it up to the outriggers. Yeah. And f- for us, we, we all share the waterways.
Yeah. Yeah. We're all connected through the waterways and paddling. It's not an us and them or we want to take over and change your culture. It's about us, you know, being here as a support vehicle, you know, if you, if you want it. If you don't want it, it's not a problem. Smart. You know? You-
Yeah, look, we, we, Doug and I see it, and obviously we've talked about this before, Scott, so, you know, we look forward to, to helping, one, getting the message out- Yeah
uh, for all our people tuning in and listening, but, but two, seeing it- on the water, 'cause- Yeah ... you know, and, and participation events is fantastic, but we love to engage events. Agreed. So we, we really look forward to hopefully getting some, uh, pretty, uh, updated, insightful news from Paddle Queensland or Paddle Australia on what's happening.
Well, if you- There you go ... if you wanna know first- That's funny ... it's, it's, it'll be h- it'll be here.
Will it?
It will be. If there's any offenses here, we'll work with the team at Paddle Australia. There we go. You
heard it here
first. Call it an exclusive, so- You heard
it exclusive ... if
we have
news- Scotty Sharples has given it to us
oh,
g-
The World Paddles Games 2030 If we, if,
if we have news, you'll have news, so. Right. Okay.
There
we go. You know, that's- Soon i- It'll, it'll d- We'll
have it first.
It'll, it'll definitely, it'll definitely c- We're
not, we're not, we're not
clutching
defeat- We're not jumping. We're not jumping ... out
of the
jaws of victory.
No, no, that's all right. I tell you what. But look, I, I think we, we would, we would love the opportunity to, you know, as, uh, the sports evolve, as major milestones are achieved, that we'd come and talk to the community, talk to y- through the platform, and- Mm ... really trying in, um, um, help provide information to the viewers.
Yeah. To help spread the message of what we're doing because the wider we can get that message, the more people we can get engaged, the more people that can ask questions, the greater our whole paddle sports community. Regardless however you paddle, um, it's only gonna get stronger.
So no, cool. The health of Dragon Boat Queensland at this point of time, do you have a view where it sits between social right through to international represent?
To- We had Ben, Ben Livingston on here last week. Unbelievable. Yeah. Um. He was fa- What a, what a gentleman. What a m- What a- What a paddler ...
what, what a reaction from the world.
Yeah. Wow. I mean, we've just been inundated left, right and center- Great. That's amazing ... by Ben's stuff. Yeah. And, uh, on our next podcast, we're gonna talk about just the messages we got.
I think at one stage there I had 10,000 views in What did I tell you, Anne? About two and a half hours. Wow. Yeah, wonderful. We had 10, like, on one of them. That's amasing. Worldwide, people just interacting, and it was all on the costs. I know I'm getting away, but it was all on how cheap or how, um, cost-effective our sport can be.
Yeah. And one gentleman actually put on there, he said, "You can go down to your local club and I can paddle for what I pay. I can paddle for two, for two hours with my mates for $2.10 a session." Wow. "And then if I want to pull out, I can pull out."
Yeah. Yeah,
that's great. And I thought, what about... Granted, another lady came on there, Nick, and you would've seen her, it's all well and good when you're on the water of your local waterways until you have to start traveling, but that's a choice.
Yeah, correct. No one's holding a gun to your head. Y- y- That's your choice. Yeah,
yeah.
But getting back to the grassroots, and I know I'm segueing here a little bit, that gentleman's saying for two bucks 10, like $2.10 for our international, um for $2.10- You could get half a c-
half a coffee for that. More
than that,
yeah
I can go for a paddle for two hours with my mates. That's right. What else do you want to do on a Sunday morning?
Or, or with your, or with your mum and your grandma. Yeah.
Yeah.
So, but getting back to what I was saying, the Hill for Dragon Boat Queensland, where do you see it from social level right through to representative international?
Well, you've just had someone. Who, who'd you have
on?
Oh, I can't remember the lady's name. I think she's the new secretary, um, that came on. Yeah? Oh, great. Uh, L- uh, Leah.
Oh, Leah.
Leah. Yeah, Leah. From, from, I think she was
here. Yeah, she looked after us up at Kawana Waters.
Yeah. Yeah, that'd be... Um, was that w- was fantastic and got some good insight.
So, um-
From
up
north ...
from up north. Yeah, 'cause she's Gladstone, I think. Somewhere up there, yeah. Somewhere that way.
Yeah. Hi, Leah. Good to see you.
In, in relation to, uh, the, of Dragon Boat, I honestly have no, um- Yeah ... no, no, um, idea where they, where they're at as an organization and, and a sport.
Yep. Mm.
Um, r- the Dragon Boat side of things have, um...
From what, from what I've heard and what I've seen from the socials and their events, very thriving community. We have, um, the team at Coomera Dragon Boats at the Southport Yacht Center, uh, shed there. Always a great community, um, out and about on the water. Great to work with, so- Are
they, are they out of your, um, facility there
oh, the shed. So the, yeah, we're, so our office is based at, um, Dame Enid Lyden Park. Yeah. Um, or Lake Coomera there. Got it. So Is, is
that on the left where you- Down at Park Point is where the- ... where, where, where they h- they hold the regatta?
Yes.
Yes.
So the big waterways. Yeah, on the
waterways there.
Did they have the, i- the...
Let me ask you a question. Sorry, Doug. The, the Commonwealth Games, is that where they had the rowing? But where did they have-
It'll be before my time, but yeah, I don't believe there's been any ... 'cause they
had the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Where did they actually have all
of the- Oh, there wasn't, there wasn't, I don't think there was any paddling-
No
um, on the Comm Games on, when we had it 2018.
Ah, right, okay.
Yeah.
If it was, I would've said it was up in Brissie.
Yeah. Yeah, okay.
But
that, um-
So yeah, it wasn't anything. It wasn't in Coomera, so. No,
no ro- rowing there, right.
Well, and I think that's the thing, sort of getting back, like we're, we're, we're seeing now that, a- and even around Australia, Victoria's got one of the greatest multi-sport complexes.
It's got paddling, yacht, rigging, dragon boats, all share the same stretch of water, all in the same facility. Yeah. Are working together.
Well, well come on. That- that's, that's
what we want.
And that's-
Lawnton
to be ... that, that's exactly right, and that's kinda where, well, Moreton would be amazing if, if-
2032.
Uh- The big, the big next carrot after 2030
the first
thing, the first thing that I, uh, want to bring up is our mayor came on the other day, and he was on television down here on Channel Nine, and, uh, we're just, we're, we're attempt- well, not attempting, we will get- Is this,
is this your, your
ex- Tom Tate Is
it Tommy? ... n- ex-neighbor?
Yeah. Tom Tate. So, uh, he came out and he said, by hook or by crook, he's gonna do everything to take it off Rockhampton.
And why would you have it in Rocky when we're having the 2030 Paddle Games here? We'll be set up to an extent, and then we can just bring it home for 2032. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? What's your view? It makes perfect sense. Well, it makes logical sense.
Oh, whether it's here or Lawnton, just have a purpose-built- So...
That's right ...
facility that they can all go to. A- and a proper one- Yeah ... where not only paddle, but the rowers can do it too, because that, that cross training, whether it's the out- oh, we'll get onto it. I, I walk, got, I've, uh- I'll
let you do the OC, but just getting back to The
p- Tom Tate and the Gold Coast No, no,
no, no, no.
What is on the horizon for Queensland- Right ... and the Gus- and South East Queensland with the paddle sport, um, with the pa- with the Paddle Games, with 2032, it seems like a no-brainer. I don't even... I mean, we all know Jarrod Bleijie, he loves his dragon boating. He gets up the Kawana Waters. Uh, and the, I think he's now the Police Minister, Dan, he loves it as well.
I know they've got to be there for the whole state, but it just... I love Rocky. Don't get me wrong. Yeah. I love nothing better than having a schooner at the Criterion.
A crock. Me too.
But I just, worldwide international stage. No. Look what's out the back here, boys, behind us right now. It's, it's a paradise.
We, we do, we are very blessed o- on the Gold Coast with all the waterways and everything that we do have, and especially in Queensland that's there.
The, um, yeah, I don't think anyone's going to completely know where, where the course is. All, all reports are still Fitzroy. Yeah. That, that's where it is. That's where it's going. Um, and we, yeah, I guess just- And it, and- ... wait and see until- Yeah ... we know what, what's there. Um, you know, for us, you, bringing 32 and the infrastructure that's gonna come, especially from a regional location, um, uh, will definitely, it, it'd be great exposure for the region.
It'll be great to promote another waterway in Queensland- Yeah. Let me ask you this ... for paddling and hopefully produce a new, um, hub for paddling.
Yeah.
Um, but yeah, would every- would everybody like it closer? Well, I think everybody can decide themselves where they would like it to be. I would prefer it closer.
Yeah. But that's where we're, um, that's the current plan. That's where we're supportive of it being, and we look forward to- So,
so there's something- ... how
it goes out from there ...
if it did go to somewhere like the Burrell site-
Yeah ...
which doesn't take too long, it's half the price of Rocky that Would the Paddle Games and Paddle Queensland, even though it's Paddle Games on the Gold Coast, or is it the Paddle Games Queensland, would they still look to do some stuff down-
Paddle, Paddle Games Gold Coast.
But l- like anything and- Yeah ... depending what's built, depending what's available
and depending- You could make a training c- you know, that could be a training facility. That's right. Yeah. It could be the litmus test for what's coming
up two years later. That's, that's exactly right. Yeah. So, you know- Without a
doubt
I like, um, y- you never say no. Yeah. You know, you always explore all opportunities and see all things there to, you know, what could be done. Yeah. And what could be presented. Paddle Queensland, the
solution state.
Al- always. 100%. You've always gotta find a solution. Absolutely. The, the, the world's full of problems.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah. Um, and we've got, we've got so many barriers and different things in place- Yeah ... um, that everybody just wants to kind of get on with, with paddling and enjoying the sport that they like.
Yeah.
We, we try to, you know, make it easier for them to do that, and try to overcome a lot of those barriers internally.
And I must admit, we've got a pretty good track record of doing it with the support of PA. Mm. So- Oh, that's awesome ... um, and based on, based on that, I think it's just sells our reputation nationally and internationally as well. So yeah, we've, um- Perfect ... we put a lot of work into, to being solutions-based.
So quickly before we wrap up, I asked you the, uh, you know, I put you on the spot with dragon boating and the health of dragon boating in Queensland.
Always, mate. Your, you know, it's obviously your expertise, the, uh, health and pathways at the moment for OC Queensland. Uh, well, for us- Or IACRA
Or,
or
yeah, what's in the- Yeah. So from the Outrigger standpoint, we, um- Outrigger were always part of the Paddle community.
Mm.
Uh, they were there before I started and were there for a long time. There were some changes of administration and different directions and strategy, uh, which made some changes or, or a realigning, if you like, of clubs.
Yep.
Um, and through, uh, a range of items internally, I'm not privileged to all the, the bits and pieces that happened, that, um, there was expressions of interest and requests from the outrigger community to explore opportunities under Paddle for the whole range of things that we, um, all the services that we provide, and that's continuing.
Um, so we're very happy that we have six clubs that have affiliated over the last couple of months- Mm ... uh, with us. Most are all still drill affiliation because there is still international pathways, and AOCRA does play a very, uh, big part of, um, outrigger paddling in, in Australia. Mm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Um, and by no means wanting to dimiss- diminish their, their position.
They've done an amazing thing to build the sport to where it is and what they represent. And for us it's just a different of different types of paddling, you know, um, more community focused, more, you know, friendly or come out for a weekend and go for a paddle. Yeah. Um, a bit more relaxed in that scenario.
Uh, but then, you know, versus from a racing standpoint. But, uh, it's just a bit of choice really, you know, in that scenario where there's- Mm.
Oh, and, and the, the team that PA have just got on board- Yeah ... they're all ex-AOCRA.
100%. Well, Kim, Kim herself paddled- Yeah ... outriggers. Yeah. So, you know, there's, uh, we definitely don't, you know, put ourselves out there as, you know, the new version of AOCRA- No
or AOCRA, you know, 2.0, and by no means are we looking at replicating AOCRA's kind of position or its processes. That's AOCRA, you know? Yeah. We- we're Paddle, and we provide different opportunities and different types of paddling, different type of events, which would be unique to us. Mm. That, you know, um, outrigger paddlers may, may want to participate in.
We just ran our, uh, first co-event, the Wave Break Island Challenge, on the weekend, well, maybe two weekends ago now, on the 18th, uh, with the Gold Coast Outrigger Canoe Club down at the new paddle shed at Murrell Henchman Park, and we had 11 OC6s on the water.
Nice.
Uh- That's good ... had very challenging- Great
conditions. Uh, it was blowing a storm. It
was blowing a gale.
But, um, it was an amazing event. Yeah. And w- we, you know, we loved having everybody there. From all reports, everybody had a great time. Uh, we had good support. And
that was his first, that was your first time?
That was the f- uh, the new- That was the inaugural
type, yeah
in
the, in the, that was the relaunch if you like. The Queensland one. The Queensland relaunch. Um, which was fantastic. So that took that event to, you know, almost 150 participants, um, with the inclusion of outrigger. Yeah. We had a, a, a, I think we had seven- Disciplines represented from prone, skis, uh, SUPs, uh, small craft OCs, skis, clubbies, and OCs, and then they made a V12 up as well- Yep
um, uh, to help get more people on the water. Mm-hmm. So a huge wrap to Lee Payne and the Gold Coast Outrigger Canoe Club for it. Oh, well
done. Perfect. You have to, you have to do a relay. Yeah. Starting off with a prone, over to a surf ski- To the next one, yep. Over to a SUP, in- into an O- a, a, an OC6, and finish off with a dragon.
Imagine that lined up.
That'd be great, yeah. And, and-
Come home with a windsurfer.
Yeah. Well-
Well, even
the- What would windsurfing come under? Yeah. 'Cause a mate of mine went to the Olympics in windsurfing. Uh,
I, I would say that'd be a
whole- Shark bait. Yeah. No, no, no, but I'm dead serious. So I've always, I've, I've- Air, air baits
I've needed someone to answer the question, because a good mate of mine- Mm ... he went to the Olympics on wind- I
would say it'd be a wave surfing association under that. Right. I don't think that would all under surfing. No, sailing. Yeah, it would come
under sailing. It's under, it's under sailing. Yeah. Hong Kong Sailing Federation is, is windsurfing.
Yep.
Hong Kong had that, uh, when you and I had just left, the female windsurfer. Remember, she- Won the Olympics. She was bigger than Princess Kate-
Oh,
me and you ... when we were in Hong Kong. Me,
you and I.
I know.
She was there. Lee,
Lee-
Windsurfer
Lindsay.
Oh, what was her... Yeah, yeah, Ada, Ada- Anyway ...
Ada Stanley in Hong Kong.
Yeah, I remember that. But imagine that.
Funnily- Like, you're talking at, at a, at a two thou- or it can even be a turn.
Yeah.
Like, talk about that for a spectacle.
Well, that's
everywhere. You're, you're, you're commentating. Yeah. The- then, then you've got-
Well, then we've got the next thing too, SUP foils, you know, that, that are becoming a big thing.
Uh,
yeah. No, no,
no. No, no, no. No, we'll draw the line at SUP foils.
Yeah, the surfing foils, the SUP foils. Okay.
SUP foils look good.
Yeah, they're good, but- They fly ... not, not in, not- That,
that is your Formula One.
Well, that's what Ben was tell- telling me about. Yeah, that's Formula One. 'Cause you, you couldn't, you couldn't have a SUP...
I suppose it... Okay, yeah, SUP foil's good, but you couldn't have a paddling SUP, 'cause you'd be paddling in the air, 'cause it'd be that, up that
high. Well, no, most of the, most of the s- well, some of the SUP foils, or the, the longer boards, it's, they start off with the, uh, like a paddle. Or, or is
it how the Americans cut where
the- And what, do you just hold onto it?
Yeah,
just hold onto it, yeah. Or drop it. Or, or where the, the SUP foil's i- is not literally, it's only up out of the water a little bit, so you could still possibly get your paddle.
Well, once, once it- And then- Once you're on the foil itself, yeah, the paddle is just kind of- Yeah ... they hold onto it, but if they have to get up- Yeah
or vice versa or other things. Yeah. But we, I think the first time we had SUP foils, I think we did the, it was the first of the 14 beaches, and we ran, it was a, it was a howling northerly, and we went from Uh, surfers to Bilinga, and by the time we'd surfed the last wave- Yeah ... we could already see the first boat and the first foil going, "This is crazy."
And he did it in- Whole other side ... 15 Ks in, like, 45 minutes. Really? And he was flying, and even the coast guards were going, "He's doing 16, 17 knots." Just absolutely fine. So, um-
Yeah. I suppose then, then, then you're talking about, with those, you're, you're talking about watermen and waterwomen, and how to- Yeah
how to get on the runs and where to go. Oh,
that's right. When the conditions are right, it's just, uh, it's amazing to see. Um, and there's a good community out there. Different points for-
That's why
we- ... going back and doing big Rios on waves ... that's why
I put on my, uh, we had Mitch Sandra in here, and actually, by the time we go to air, his one would've shown.
And Mitch is just, you know, wonderful bloke from New Zealand. And, uh- Oh, wow. Yeah ... he showed us to Portland. He was off to Portland that day. Wow.
Yeah.
And that's on the, I said to Hando, "That's on my bucket list." I'm, I'm not commentating, I'm actually- You're gonna go there for a- I'm going to get myself ready to go and surf.
Well, Doug,
Doug was a, bet- he was a, a Ironman surf ski.
Oh, okay. Yep.
Yeah, back in the day. Back in the day. Back
in the day.
Long time ago. But anyway, well, listen, let's wrap it up. This has been great.
This has been good, Scott.
Been amazing.
Scott- Great show ... thank you so much for coming down.
My pleasure.
It's, um-
Well, you got Scott Paddles Queensland and, and Paddle Australia, a- a- and we really look forward to the, uh-
I
really want to-
the insi- inside scoop. You, you, as you, as you heard, he's gonna let us know. That's right. Exactly. Let me know. Is
the
World Paddle Games coming to- Yes, but one thing you and I need to get out, and this is like for me personally on a personal level, and I know for you, uh, ready, steady, ready s- Ready, Set, Paddle
Ready, Set, Paddle.
Ready, Set, Paddle. Love to help
you promote that. That'd be great. We need to promote that here- Yeah ... and get these kids in the bloody boat and out from behind the devices. Well, you know
what we can do. We, we- So ... you know, and we'll, we'll, um, I'll, I'll allow you to, Scott. Yeah. When, when there's some events coming up on the Gold Coast or Gold Coast or Brisbane, there's your Paddles Ready.
That's
right, Paddles Ready.
Um, but, you know, we can put our tent and gauge and start interviewing some of these young people. And then when they're starting to see their friends on the TVs on, on, on, at the events, you know. That's right. Well, I was saying
to Hando the other day, we- I've got someone lined up who is in a disability.
Um, now I can't say it was a young gentleman or a young lady, but was just struggling. Blind. Yeah. Legally blind.
Wow. Yeah. Yeah.
Mum and dad were absolutely beside themselves, "Where do we go?" What do we do? And I'm not gonna tell their story 'cause I don't know their full story.
Yeah.
But got into dragon boating and now has just, he or her have come out of their skin.
And so we're- That's amazing, isn't it ... going to be having a chat with them. Wow. And to see it on another- Do you have it- On another spectrum. Yeah,
we, we- The adaptive paddlers ... the adaptive paddlers- Mm ... are huge and the para that's, that's expanding and moving down into the other disciplines as well. There's a big push for that now in marathon.
Mm. Yeah. Um, one of our, um, our regular adaptive paddlers, his name's, uh, affectionately called Lobby, Steven Lobb, out of the Varney Lakes, uh, Canoe Club. That, um, he's a double amputee and hearing, very hearing impaired. Wow. And he completed the Wayward Island Challenge, um, in those conditions with his, um, support paddler, Andrea Wood, his coach.
Um, and there's some great photos of him finishing, and there's just the, the stoke, the excitement- Oh, wow ... all of the things that he's been able to achieve through paddling, um, has been amazing. I've know stories of the Currumbin Creek, uh, Paddlers Club, also based out of Varney Lakes on the flat water. Mm.
That they've, um, modified through, uh, with C- Chris Hurley, their club coach, to put the steering in the back. Yeah. And they can bring, you know, disabled people or people with other abilities. Mm. And they had a blind paddler- Yeah ... on the front as well. Yeah. Um, and could hear, so they were just talking through, you know, "Stroke, stroke," you know, or, "Paddle, paddle, paddle."
Yeah, perfect. And going through that. But they could do it in a safe environment and get them on the water, which was just amazing.
Of course. I think there's any, any, any reason to get on the water. Well, there's some collaborations with some dragon boating as well with the
paddlers. Yeah,
exactly. But, uh, Ready, Ready, Set, Paddle.
We're on that. I love that.
Yeah. Ready.
We're into
that. Well, look, it, we- we'll- we'll see how good you are- ...'cause if, if, if you got the sign off. Um, I'm Hando. I'm Dougie. I'm Dougie.
I'm Scotty.
And we are Paddle Ready.
Paddle
Ready. With Paddle Queensland. Yeah. There we go.
Okay, I'm here with Jude and we're doing another episode of 60 Seconds with Dougie. Jude, what club are you from?
We're from
Manila, Philippines. Worst excuse you've heard for
missing training? Worst excuse, I didn't wake up.
Downwind or grind?
Downwind.
Early morning training or sleep-ins?
Early morning.
What's more important, fitness or technique?
Technique.
Carbon fibre or wooden paddle?
Of course carbon.
Coffee before or after training?
Before.
Biggest talker on your boat?
Biggest talker, Bacal. Ronald Bacal.
Sprint or distance?
Sprint.
Beers or lemonade after a regatta?
Lemonade.
Favorite regatta you have attended?
Uh, Hong Kong, So Ek Wai.
One tip that makes someone a better paddler?
Discipline.
Complete this sentence, Jude: if I wasn't a paddler, I'd be... I'd still be an athlete. There we go. That's Jude.
How are you, Hando? Dougie, Dougie, Dougie, do not tell me it is that time again. Hot
takes. It's the hot
takes. Woo. Hando's hot takes. Hope you're enjoying the hot takes.
And this is, uh, we're gonna actually be talking about this, uh, on one of our main, um, stories coming up in the future Are we, um Are we at risk of burning out the volunteers?
Because geez, from what I see, the volunteers, they work so tirelessly hard 12 hours, we go up to Kawana Waters. Uh, you got Blair up there. He's not, he's there pretty much 4:30
in the morning. Wow. You mean the vol- Leaving at 6:00 ... you mean the volunteers that are running the regattas globally?
But yeah, I really-
Wow, that's a good
question
I don't know. I do have a soft spot for them because without the volunteers... But I, and then I know everyone has an opinion. It's like a boat. But I watch, you know, there's a couple times- Like Clint Eastwood ... and I know someone, you know, some volunt- you know, they're tired. A- and when people are tired, they're a bit cranky, and I've seen that in person.
Are we at risk of burning them out and losing volunteers because it's just, the workload's out of control? Burning out
because of bureaucracy?
100... Well, there you go. Yeah.
Burning out because they have to follow so many rules- These- ... before they're allowed to-
It's your hot
take ... to be, to, to, to, to be
a volunteer.
Yep. It's your hot take. You let go. You know- 'Cause I wanted to get your... 'Cause I think we're at risk Well, we
see, we see the, we see the volunteers globally, and it's not just volunteers of your local regatta. But- You're talking volunteers of your club ... 100%. Someone's got to get down to the club. They've got to open up the shed.
They've got to get the paddles, uh, get everything ready. You've got trailers. You've got car, fuel, gas. Yep. I suppose that all comes back to, to community and building clubs, which we've talked about before. But you did. You, like, when, when you look at the, say, the local regattas, say a... Well, well, even, even, even a, a local Sydney or Brisbane regatta-
Yep
you have to have the people to put out the buoy lines, the race course, set the race course, the timing, uh, do the starts and the finishes.
Yep.
Prepare the boat. So it takes- Timekeepers.
Oh, you said timing.
Ti- ti- ti- Timekeep- ... timekeepers ...
individual timekeepers for the
lanes. Individual. The commenta- you know what, in Australia, you can use us as co- You can, you can chuck us in anywhere around the world- Anywhere in the world
which people are doing now to commentate- Yes ... which is great. But yeah, that's a good question about burnout because you do see a lot of these people. And a lot of them, they do it for the love of the sport.
Yep.
And they're there wading in water like, like, i- i- i- Yeah ... some, s- some, some people have the luxury of having pontoons, so they're not getting wet.
But then some people are in lakes where they're wading up, holding boats because of the wind and this- Yep ... and, and- Freezing
cold ...
freezing cold. Goodness, imagine being in-
Imagine being a volunteer at the Ice Dragons.
Ooh.
Jeepers.
You'd need to be rugged up. Well, they are
rugged up. Like, like, like, like y- y- the workplace and like anywhere, uh, burnout equals people leaving.
Yeah. Wow.
And we don't want people
leaving. No. We don't want them leaving the sport. Um, so
I guess- Well, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's growing, but let's take it to a step above
But the bureaucracy, you're right. The, some of the crap that goes on, come on
I- but in every sport
I know it's every sport. Oh yeah, okay, that's probably too hard You know,
whether it's outrigging or, or surf ski, you've probably got volunteers that do...
Life saving?
Yeah.
They're all volunteers.
Yeah, 100%.
But does that mean that they're right?
No, it doesn't, and you know-
But they're following guidelines. That's, that's where the IDBF have done it very, very well.
Yeah.
You stipulate guidelines and then they follow the federations a- and they get rewarded- Well, remember it-
you know, by, by the ability to go to places like the Club Crew World Championships where they're volunteers. The international, um, well it's not volunteers, the IROs, you know.
Remember Berlin. Mm. We had the luxury, I mean, we had big days. I was exhausted. It was five days, 11, 12 hour days.
Mm-hmm.
You and I had the luxury, we can go and have a beer, we can go have dinner, and then we could go to bed.
But the IDBF, they were still holding their accreditation courses.
Oh,
me- So the volunteers- ...
meetings, courses,
upgrading It was crazy. I remember that first morning we were waiting for the bus, "Oh, what's, what, what are they doing in that classroom?" And you said, "They're doing their accreditation course." Yeah, they're learning, yeah.
And they'd been in there for an hour or two- Three or four hours sometimes, yeah ... yeah, whatever it was. And then there was one night they were in that r- room in the... And I went, "Are you kidding me?
Were you?" But, but, but then the prep- But like you said- ... the preparation-
Yeah ...
for that, and they're all volunteers, and they've earned the right to be there.
Yes.
So that is why we need our volunteers because they learn at the club level. Club level. Then at the state or provincial level-
Yep ...
where they learn it, and then s- so look, it's a great, it's a great pathway. It's a whole, yeah. Talk about a stepping pathway for not only dragon boaters-
Yeah ...
because I wonder That's a question that we pose to the viewers, and I'd love this question.
This is a, a hot take. I wonder if there's a lot of the people that are volunteering that aren't paddlers, but they may be-
They want to be part of some- ...
partners of paddlers or friends of paddlers But, but
they want to be part of something.
Part of something. And they were
good at it. They want to be part of something.
Yeah. Imagine that. And that comes back to what we were talking about earlier today, leadership. You don't have to be a paddler to be a leader.
No.
So anyway- That was a good one ... well, I just don't w- our clubs, our, at our sport, it is so heavenly, heavily reliant and on the volunteers, and I hate to see someone being burnt out.
Um, so that's why I wanted to ask the hot take if we're in- Yeah ... fear of that happening because, as I said, burnout
equals- I, and, and, and everyone's got their thoughts on that one, I can guarantee you- Yeah ... from all around the
world. But from Hando and I, all the volunteers, thank you so much. Um-
Great hot take.
Thank you, Hando.
Bye for now.
See ya.
And viewers, as they say on the old podcast world, that one was for the money because Douglas- Yes ... Dougie.
Yes.
I love that one, and I'm really proud of signing off on this one.
Well, mate, that was good. There was some really, really good stuff there, and I think people... If you're in the car, if you're watching-
Yeah.
We, we don't,
we
don't
even- Or
if you're just passing a... Yeah. We don't even need to say anything for that
one ... if you don't want to see our ugly heads, put your earpo- Oh, easy ... put your earphones in and, um, we hope you liked that one because that was a lot- Go on the
Instagram ...
that
was
a lot of fun to bring.
On, on the Apple Play. Pe- pe- Yeah ... people please say thank you so much- Thank you for your support ... for helping us in, in, in all the podcast world ...
socials, you know what to do. Um, but Hando, let's get ready for next week.
Go on the websites, email. You got new stuff happening.
It's all happening here, isn't it?
That's it. Paddles ready.
I'm Dougie. I'm Hando. We're paddles ready
This podcast is brought to you by PodPro Australia