Classic performance by Kayaking Club

November 05, 2007

Twenty-six paddlers in 15 kayaks from a college club at the University of New England entered this year's Hawkesbury Canoe Classic, and 19 of the paddlers completed the gruelling 111-km course.

The Principal of Duval, Drummond and Smith (DD&S) Colleges, Mrs Edwina Ridgway, said it had been the biggest and most successful Classic contingent from the DD&S Kayaking Club since it first participated in the event – with three kayaks – in 1998.

The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic took paddlers along the Hawkesbury River, from Windsor to Brooklyn, over the night of Saturday 27 October. Mrs Ridgway said the morale of the DD&S competitors had been "extraordinary" – particularly in the face of the fog that had descended on them at Wisemans Ferry.

About 80 people – including the 26 paddlers, the 35-strong support team, and parents and college Fellows – made up the DD&S contingent, which was able to contribute more than $3,000 to the event's designated charity: the Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation.

Srdjan Mijajlovic, Coordinator of the DD&S Kayaking Club, said the Canoe Classic played an important role not only in the overall educational experience of the students involved but also in fostering close bonds between the University and the wider community. He said sponsors included the team's driver Ralph Vaughan (who donated his time to drive the coach for three days), Hardmans of Armidale (for its generous supply of a 4WD vehicle), Scolarest Australia (which has supported all the team's fund-raising activities as well as catering for the Hawkesbury trip), and a range of other Armidale businesses.

Mr Mijajlovic said that the Armidale community as a whole had contributed to the club's Hawkesbury venture by its generous response to fund-raising activities throughout the year.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows Rowan Prangley (front) and Wayne Dillon, the first of the UNE contingent to arrive at the finishing line.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at November 5, 2007 04:04 PM