Australian Masters Games – Canoe & Kayak Marathon Report
The 2009 Australian Masters Games were held in Geelong, Victoria over the last week of February with the Canoe and Kayak marathon events hosted by the Geelong Canoe Club.
Situated on the Barwon River in the inner Geelong suburb of Newton the Geelong Canoe Club has a fantastic, rustic, very serviceable facility right on the river bank and a good quality course. More importantly they have a very mobile and committed team of volunteers able to support events like the AMG.
In very good weather conditions on Thursday the 26th of February the marathon singles were held with distances of 18km, 12km, 8km and 6km considered as marathon distance, dependant on age. A strong field took to the water at around 11am ready for the upriver first leg. Staggered starts saw the field contract during the day with very few boats withdrawing despite a potentially exposed lower leg.
Day 2 saw the doubles take to the water in hot conditions, despite an earlier start. Again staggered starts were utilised to manage the diverse field with participation not competition the key note of the day.
You can find results and information on the Games at www.australianmastersgames.com
Results for the marathon doubles and singles can be accessed via the pdf link below.
