Paddlers take to the water in Outrigger Challenge
THE silky blue waters of Pioneer Bay welcomed those who took on the annual Outrigger Challenge on Saturday.
Six teams of five paddlers all hit the water to vie for the title of best novice OC6 paddlers in the Whitsundays.
Crossfit 4802 was well represented in the challenge and were defending 2016 champions.
Again this year the Crossfit team of Joleen Tirendi, Amy Van Der Vlist, Kia Taylor, Grant Restieaux and Malcolm Briody took home the trophy.
Nick Bellinger, president of club to host the challenge, Outrigger Whitsunday said the team numbers were slightly down on last year as a number of teams pulled out at the last minute.
"But it was still a successful day and everyone had a lot of fun.” he said.
"It's good exposure for the sport and for Outrigger Whitsunday.”
Bellinger said Crossfit entered four teams in the challenge this year and the two clubs had discussed the possibility of cross-training with each other.
Five paddlers with a steerer provided by Outrigger Whitsunday took to the water in an OC6 canoe to paddle a series of 250 meter sprints.
Bellinger said the challenge offered the Outrigger Whitsunday club a great chance to recruit new members to one of the fastest growing sports in North Queensland.
