Having cheered on his wife Carol in her first paddling regatta, Tony believed his competitive spirit, drive to “be his best” and his “love of racing” were a perfect match to this newly discovered sport.

Advertise with News of The Area today.
It’s worth it for your business.
Message us.
Phone us – (02) 4981 8882.
Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au

In 2023, Tony won two world titles in Samoa, representing Australia in the International Va’a Federation (IVF) World Distance Championships, one for the individual (V1) 12 kilometre (km) event and one for the six-man (V6) 16 km event.

Seventy-year-old Tony is currently priming himself for the upcoming IVF World Sprint Championships which are being held in Hilo, Hawai’i in August.

Tony will be racing in V1, V6 and V12 events over a 500m sprint course and hopes to add more precious metal to his collection.

Often seen training at Roy Wood Reserve, Tony expertly paddles his Tahitian designed rudderless va’a canoe with the swift and deft slice of his hybrid carbon fibre blade through glassy water, whilst dodging bobbing boats and yellow buoys.

If Tony errs outside of the buoy lane markings during competition, disqualification is imminent.

Being rudderless, the va’a canoes are “so much more challenging to keep in a straight line”, Tony said.

Having played rugby union and touch footy, Tony has always thrived in teams, citing that “it feels great to be training with fellow paddlers, creating friendships and bonds locally and internationally”.

Training also gives Tony the opportunity to “test himself against other international paddlers”.

Winning his first gold medal was “a big moment” and a welcome surprise to Tony who said he was “pretty rapt”, especially in the V1 event, “being new to racing the va’a, and still learning the technique to keep the canoe gliding straight”.

Besides the obvious health benefits both physically and mentally, Tony asserts that paddling is a relatively “a joint friendly sport, being non-impact which allows older athletes to compete at their optimal, even though they may have some wear and tear from contact sports in their earlier years”.

Tony encourages anyone wanting to give paddling a test drive to contact the Port Stephens Outrigger Club where both recreational and competing paddlers train together off local shorelines at Corlette and Shoal Bay up to six times a week.

Details can be found at www.portstephensoutriggers.com.

By Jacie WHITFIELD