Following the weekend’s Sprint Canoe National Championships in Sydney, WAIS has had eight athletes named onto 2015 Australian representative teams.
The squad announcements were highlighted by four-time national champion Alana Nicholls who has earned selection in the women’s 200m pool, where she has been joined by training partner Jaime Roberts.
Nicholls won individual titles in the K1 200m and 500m as well as composite victories as a member of the K2 200m and K4 500m.
In the men’s 200m pool, Steve Bird is joined by Brodie Holmes and Jesse Phillips. Bird is currently ranked as the fastest K1 200m paddler having won the national title in Penrith on Thursday. He and Phillips however, missed out on a sixth straight K2 200m title when they were defeated 2-1 in a best of three selection series by Ken Wallace and Lachlan Tame.
With Wallace and Tame also in the 1000m pool, it is possible that Bird and Phillips will still be tasked with representing Australia in the K2 event at the World Cup series later in the year.
The pair had won the first selection event at GP2 before being defeated at the national championships and subsequently in Sunday’s third and final race-off.
Gold Coast based WAIS athlete Daniel Bowker has earned selection for the men’s 1000m pool after an encouraging weekend of results that included a national title in the men’s K2 500m with NSW’s David Smith. Bowker is in line to represent Australia at senior level for the first time, having previously worn the green and gold at U23 level.
Shannon Reynolds has earned selection in the U23 squad following good form at nationals, with the WAIS athlete the single Western Australian in the squad of 14.
Three-time national champion Brock Ingram was included in the senior Paracanoe team in the LTA class. Ingram won the men’s K1 200m, 500m and 1000m titles in Penrith.
The Australian team for the 2015 ICF World Championships in Milan (19-23 August) will announced following the World Cup series.
