NEARLY 100 competitors turned out for the second running of the Tweed 30 Paddle Marathon, which combined prize money with one of the most scenic races on the calendar.<\/p>\n
A total of 50 individual and double paddlers took to the Tweed River, while another 39 people were part of the team event.<\/p>\n
The event was organised by the Currumbin Creek Paddlers Club, with competitors ranging in age from 14 to 79-years-old.<\/p>\n
Tweed paddler John Wilkie was the overall winner in a single kayak, finishing in two hours, 11 minutes and 25 seconds.<\/p>\n
Currumbin Creek Paddlers Club president Peter Hickey was pleased with the growing number of competitors, mix of craft and the spread of age groups participating.<\/p>\n
“It was great to see paddlers from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast support this longer event on the paddle calendar,” he said.<\/p>\n
“And it was pleasing to get support from the outrigger and prone paddling community to broaden and increase the number of craft competing.”<\/p>\n
The first relay team across the line was a mixed age double crew from Currumbin’s Lake Orr facility, including juniors Kaiden Scott and Killian Quigley.<\/p>\n
There was an international flavour with Tomas Cook and Guido Ghirardhi from Argentina joining Gold Coast veterans Tony Brown and Matt Rowland.<\/p>\n
The other winners included Steve Coulter (single ski), Mark Murray and Amanda Kyneur (double ski), Jack Herden (single outrigger), Gavin Jordan and Deb McKean-Nunan (double outrigger), Rowan Liebmann (sea kayak), John Newcombe and John Rysn (double scull) and Mick Di Betta (prone).<\/p>\n
All competitors finished within three hours and 15 minutes and enjoyed complimentary Subway sandwiches and flavoured milk after the race.<\/p>\n
Hickey thanked the Murwillumbah Rowing Club for allowing them to use their facilities and Scott Sharples from Paddle Queensland.<\/p>\n
There was also support from Marine Rescue NSW, which provided crew for water safety, while Twin Towns donated club vouchers.<\/p>\n
The next race of the season on the Tweed River will be the Chinderah Chase on October 6, which is part of the Pacific Coast Marathon Series.<\/p>\n
It offers paddlers the choice of five, 10 or 15km distances of a figure-of-eight course around two small islands in the river.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEARLY 100 competitors turned out for the second running of the Tweed 30 Paddle Marathon, which combined prize money with one of the most scenic races on the calendar. A total of 50 individual and double paddlers took to the Tweed River, while another 39 people were part of the team event. The event was […]<\/p>\n