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Scholarship helps kayaking champion shoot the rapids of sport and study

April 10, 2006

TBedford.thumb.jpgA great white-water talent in Australian kayaking, Tom Bedford, is combining international sport with tertiary education through a scholarship program at The University of New England.

Tom (pictured here) was selected by the peak national canoe/kayak body, Australian Canoeing, to be one of two senior paddlers who will travel as coaches with the Junior Australian team that will tackle the world-renowned rapids of New Zealand over Easter. His selection comes after years at the forefront of junior
white-water kayaking in Australia. After competing in the National White Water Kayaking Championships in Tasmania in January, Tom was declared the National Age Kayaking Champion for 2006. This was the fourth time he has claimed the title.

“For me it's the opportunity to test the waters in elite coaching,” Tom said. “I've got a great deal out of white-water kayaking: I've travelled and represented my home town of Armidale, my State of NSW, and my country. I see this new role in the Junior Development Wildwater Team as a chance to give something back to the sport while still being involved in elite competition.”

“The team will compete in the New Zealand National Titles on the 14th and 15th of April,” he continued. “We then head to the New Zealand National School Titles on the 20th of April. I'll be paddling on this tour as well as coaching; I'll be competing against other international-level paddlers, but it will be a friendly competition. My focus will be on helping our Australian juniors to do their best against the Kiwis.”

“I train ten times a week, at least one hour a session,” Tom explained. “Some of that is on the only water close to Armidale: Dumaresq Dam. I also do a lot of cross-training (weights and running) at Sport UNE. I'm in my first year of a Bachelor of Science Degree at UNE, with a Biomedical major. I'm doing 40 hours a week face-to-face study at the University, so combined with training I'm doing very long days.”

Tom recently received Sport UNE's Clem Jones Scholarship.

“The scholarship has made it possible for me to train and compete at the international level, attend university, and continue to live at home in the country,” he said. “It consists of unlimited use of the facilities at Sport UNE and $3,000, which has helped fund my trip to New Zealand and my studies this year.”

Alongside his studies at UNE, Tom will maintain a gruelling training regime, with his sights set on the World Titles in Europe in mid-2007, which he plans to compete in as a senior for the first time.

The Australian team members on the NZ tour are: Joint team managers, Leon Rumford (WA) and Peter McIntyre (NSW); Senior paddlers and coaches, Tom Bedford (NSW) and Steve Myers (WA); Athletes, Alayne Bonney (TAS), Karryne Brooker (NSW) Jonathon Rumford (WA), Josh Kippin (WA), Alex McIntyre (NSW), Brayden March (NSW) and Jordan Stewart (NSW). They depart on the 12th of April and return to Australia on the 21st of April.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at April 10, 2006 04:03 PM