Following the completion of the Australian domestic flatwater kayaking season, a number of the WAIS canoe group competed at the weekend Australian Surf Life Saving Championships on the Gold Coast.
Reece Baker led the way with an excellent win in the open ski relay along with former WAIS scholarship holder Brendon Sarson and surf specialist Dan Humble.
Baker was unlucky not to add further medals to his collection after narrowly missing out in the single ski (4th) and taplin relay.
Baker combined with fellow WAIS athlete Alana Nicholls in the mixed double final, and led around the bouys, but a costly miss on a crucial wave, saw Olympian Naomi Flood and her partner Blake Ballard over run them, with number of crews also sneaking past the WA pair at the death.
Alana Nicholls had a great paddle in the single ski to finish second behind Manly’s Naomi Flood with both paddlers on the same wave. The pair was teammates at the London Olympics, and are great friends outside of competition.
Junior WAIS paddler Shannon Reynolds had an outstanding event, highlighted by a silver medal in the open women’s double ski final with partner Phoebe George (Mt Lawley), narrowly losing to Manly’s Candice Falzon and Naomi Flood.
Reynolds also picked up silver in the U19 taplin relay and was unlucky not to medal in the U19 single ski when in second place on the way into the beach with the first six catching a wave which broke fiercely claiming four of lead group, including Reynolds.
WAIS athlete Brodie Holmes – who works as a firefighter outside of his paddling – was unlucky not to medal in the double ski final with partner Dan Humble coming in on the winning wave and finishing fourth in a blanket finish.
