Footscray Canoe Club’s first Salty TK-Rec race, held Dec 8th, was a great success. The weather was kind, sunny and not too windy, with great coffee and food available throughout the event.
There were 3 races around a 6km circuit limited to touring and recreational kayaks. Racers took part in men’ singles and doubles, ladies singles and doubles and mixed doubles.
Race 1 (ladies singles and men’s doubles) was hotly contested with a conga line of boats lead by John Young and Dominic Scarfe to the first turn. John and Dom could have tired as the Singos carried them for another 5km, but these master tacticians were too strong for the Singos in the sprint finish. The ladies singles race was spectacular with Andrea Szkibik, fresh from the Massive Murray Paddle, beating the rest of a very strong field.
Race 2 (ladies doubles and men’s singles) was very entertaining with Dom winning the singles, and Andrea and Maya winning the ladies doubles. Neil White spent the race amongst the ladies, enjoying the washride! A notable paddler was young Alex Merlo competing in his first race much to the thrill of the crowd cheering him across the finish line.
Race 3 (the mixed doubles) was the most exciting of all with the first 3 boats all finishing within 2 seconds of each other. Great sprint Dom and Sally.
Hearty congratulations to all participants, in particular, Maya Buckley and Dom Scarfe who each won three gold medals. Everyone agreed the short format and similar craft made for fun and exciting racing. Click here to have a look at the great photos taken on the day. A big thank you to our race volunteers.
The next race to be held at Footscray Canoe Club is the Saltwater Classic on Sunday 2nd February 2020. Hope to see you there.
