Four young Whanganui Kayak Club athletes have surfaced from a gruelling trial process to represent New Zealand at the inaugural Asia Pacific Sprint Kayak Regatta in Adelaide this weekend.
After a gruel ing process of testing, racing and team boat assessments the four, Sophie Brooke, Lucas Thompson, Liam Lace and Jack Clifton are all excited about an international regatta held in what is effectively their backyard and are looking at testing themselves against athletes from Australia, Japan and Singapore. They make up part of the national junior team.
The regatta has been set up to strengthen high quality international racing opportunities in the Southern Hemisphere and looks set to include the wider Asia and Pacific region, which potentially could include countries such as China, Tahiti and the USA.
"Although sprint kayak is predominantly a Eurocentric sport the past few decades both New Zealand and Australia have had their fair share of international success," Whanganui coach Brian Scott said.
It is expected that those two countries will field strong teams at the regatta, but they should expect fierce competition from Japan and Singapore as they begin to invest more into the sport.