TRAVIS GRANT CHASING OUTRIGGER SPRINT CROWN AT COOMERA
OUTRIGGER CANOE, February 1: One of the Gold Coast's unsung watermen Travis Grant will be out to add the Australian OC1 sprint crown to his growing list of achievements at this weekend's Australian Outrigger Canoe Racing Association (AOCRA) National Sprint Titles at Coomera Lake, Oxenford on the Gold Coast.
Over 2000 competitors from almost every State in Australia, stretching from the Cradle Coast in Tasmania to Cairns in the north, will converge on the Gold Coast for the three-day event.
The program will feature open, masters and junior events across the V1, OC1, OC2, OC6 and the exciting V12 class.
All proceeds from the three-day event will go towards funding initiatives and programs to kick start the growth of the junior development in Australia.
The OC1 500m sprint, set down for Saturday, is one of the few titles that has eluded the 28-year-old Grant, who is quickly carving a name for himself in Australia and overseas as one of the world's foremost outrigger and Stand Up paddlers.
Grant (Outrigger Australia, Currumbin) returned from Western Australia yesterday after winning the increasingly popular OC1 category in the Doctor Festival of Paddle Sports - a 27.5km race from Rottnest Island to Cottesloe.
He then lined up in the 17.5km Stand Up Paddle race from Prevally Park (Margaret River) to Gracetown on Australia Day, before organisers cancelled last Saturday's Stand Up event at Mandurah because of the threat of Cyclone Bianca.
Last December Grant broke fellow Gold Coaster, former Sydneysider Greg Long's recent stranglehold on the National Marathon OC1 crown, a 25km trek from Coffs Harbour to Woolgoolga.
But it was Coffs Harbour's Daniel Jenkins who edged Grant out in last year's thrilling 500m Sprint final by just 0.80 secs.
With Jenkins not racing at Coomera this weekend, it could well be Mooloolaba's Todd Cohen, second to Grant in the Marathon event in Coffs Harbour who will again prove the man to beat.
"Todd's a great paddler, who is big and strong so I think he could well be the paddler who is best suited to the 500m course," said Grant.
"I am yet to win a sprint title - I am more suited to the longer events but I'll be in there having a crack and there should be some great racing."
Grant will also take his seat in the Outrigger Australia OC6 team over the 500m course on Saturday, alongside fellow internationally acclaimed paddler and steerer, Currumbin Lifeguard Chris Maynard with Long, Currumbin ironman Nathan Henderson, Todd Murray and Lee Wilkinson making up a formidable combination.
Outrigger Australia coach and former champion North Burleigh Australian surf lifesaving champion Mike Murray is yet to determine who will steer his crew.
"We are so lucky to have the likes of Travis and Chris, who are two of the best steerers in Australian outrigging," said Murray.
"They both have great knowhow in the water and will once again form the nucleus of our team as we prepare for the National Marathon OC6 Championships in Mooloolaba, the Hamilton Cup and the Molokai race."
This year's Nationals will also see the inclusion of the inaugural Platinum class, with entries pouring in for 60-plus age group.
AOCRA SQ Zone president Mark Forbes is excited about the Championship program.
"The race format will allow for a mixture of OC1 and OC6 craft to be alternated throughout the program on day two with day three culminating in the ever popular V12 sprints," said Forbes.
"It will be an ideal opportunity to support the junior development of the sport.
"It is so important to look after our youth and to encourage participation across the board in what is one of Australia's most exciting water sports that couples supreme fitness with skills and water awareness.
"It will provide a pathway for some of the finest water-based athletes in the country in a sport that is growing all the time - so we want to ensure they get a taste of what could well be a very exciting future indeed."
WHAT: National Outrigger Sprint Titles, 2011
WHEN: February 4, 5, 6, 2011
WHERE: Coomera Lake Regatta Waters, Oxenford, Gold Coast (UBD Ref Map 6 R13)
HOW TO GET THERE: Heading South - Take Exit 57 onto overpass heading inland. Turn right at the second set of lights onto Old Pacific Highway. Continue along this road heading north and take the first street on the left - Watersport Lane. Heading North - Take Exit 57 onto the Old Pacific Highway. Continue along this road north and take the first street on the left - Watersport Lane.
RACE PROGRAM: Day One - V1 and OC2 in straight 500m format; Day Two: All races in straight 500m format; Day 3: All OC6 races in turn format (on 250m marker); V12 is 500m straight.