THE Coffs Coast Outrigger Canoe Club has picked up a swag of medals at the recent Outrigger National Championships at Shoal Bay.

The event attracted over 800 competitors and showcased crafts and athletes in both six-person canoes (OC6) and one-person canoes (OC1).

Club coach Andrea Baillie said the conditions were ideal for rowing.

“We got a really beautiful day down there and the courses were quite interesting because they used the natural features of the bay in the races.”

Senior clubman John Vincent was a standout for the Coffs Club, powering through 12 kilometres to win the over 70’s OC1.

Masters competitor Tim Blay also managed a podium for the solo craft, finishing in second for the short course event.

Sixteen-year-old Merlin Grellier-Besacon was also applauded for his efforts in stepping up to the senior divisions, winning two medals in the team events and scoring a $400 voucher.

Other club successes were a gold medal in the novice mixed, silver medals in the senior masters and novice men’s, and bronze medals in the novice women’s and open mixed.

Mrs Baillie said she was incredibly proud of her club members.

“They performed really well across the board.

“We have members of all ages, sexes and ability levels and it was amazing to see how they performed in competition.

“Even the teams that didn’t place only just missed out, and they were competing in very large divisions.”

She said that the extended break between competitions made it hard to gauge the level of competition beforehand, but was pleasantly surprised.

“We came in blind because of the restrictions and the recent weather, a lot of regattas have been cancelled so it was good to see we were still up there.

“We’d really like to use the event as a springboard, hopefully get some new members and then compete at some more regattas across NSW and South-East Queensland.”

By Sam PARKER