Marathon paddling is a very popular paddlesport due to its accessibility for most paddlers. Almost every type of craft is able to compete, though most paddlers choose faster touring or racing craft. Sea kayaks are also very popular. The emphasis is not necessarily outright speed, but endurance and the ability to set yourself a pace you can paddle at for extended periods of time. All age groups enjoy this sport, and there are a range of events to suit all paddlers.
Some of the major events are listed below:
NSW Marathon Points Ladder
Major paddling events including the Marathon 10 series, the Hawkesbury Classic and Myall Classic, qualify for the paddlers ranking system, known as the ‘Ladder’.
The main focus of this system is to determine your position relative to the best overall paddler in the State.
It’s already proved to be a successful addition to the already keenly contested Marathon 10 series.
The ladder usually takes a few days to revise after any major event.This I how it
works....
Each M10 event is worth 200pts and the Classics (Myall and HCC) are worth
400pts. This gives a total of 2800 pts available during any 12 month period. State
Marathon titles are excluded due to different distance requirements for events.
We
then take a paddler’s best performances up to a total of 2000pts.
Therefore if a paddler had completed all 10 Marathons but not completed the Myall or HCC they would have a maximum of 2000pts available. If someone had completed all 10 x M10 events as well as the Myall and HCC they would have up to 2800pts available however we would drop 4 x M10 events (4 x 200=800) or 2 x M10 events and either the Myall or HCC (2 x 200+400=800) or both the Myall and HCC (2 x 400=800).
This way someone who has not done the Myall or HCC can still be competitive against
someone who has, albeit the pts from either the Myall or HCC will usually be higher
than the paddler would have received in an M10 event, thus they still gain an advantage
for doing these events.
A slightly different format is used for the Northern Series of marathon events. This series of 6 races is designed to allow paddlers from the northern NSW and southern Queensland to find regular competition in Marathon Events.
More information is available on their Northern Series page.
A series of 10 marathon events held around the state by PaddleNSW clubs. Every 4 weeks or so, these events are held over distances of 10km, 15km and 20km, in relatively protected flat water courses, under a divisional system.
There are 6 divisions in the 20km distances, and most paddlers compete at this distance. You will be paddling amongst others of around your speed, and the divisions are based on your pace, and not the type of boat you paddle.
MARATHON
2010 NSW State Marathon Championships Results
A huge thank you to Manly Warringah Kayak Club, for hosting an excellent weekend of racing and providing a well laid out and interesting course. Visiting Victorian Champion Marathon paddlers Michael Leverett and Matt Coulter, commented that it was one of the toughest courses they had paddled, and NSW paddlers did not disgrace themselves with a close third in the Opens Men’s category to Matt Blundell, who was also responsible for designing the course and setting it out on the day!
Placegetters results , Saturday (Junior Singles, Senior Doubles)..download
Placegetters results, Sunday (Junior Doubles, Senior Singles)...download
Please direct all enquiries regarding Marathon to the Marathon Technical Committee: marathon(at)paddleNSW.org.au