ANNUAL
REPORT
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Presented to Members at the Annual General Meeting
3 July 2004
The Organisation
Queensland Canoeing Incorporated formally began as a result of many paddlers wishing to represent their own state in competitions. It grew from an active, largely recreational base and the ‘Queensland Canoe Club’ that existed in the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s receiving incorporation in 1964.
Vision
Queensland Canoeing wishes to ensure Canoeing and Kayaking is recognised by the wider community as a competitive and recreational activity suitable to all.
Mission Statement
Queensland Canoeing is the state body responsible for the management, coordination, development and promotion of canoeing and kayaking clubs and the Queensland Board of Canoe Education registered instructors.
Objects of the Association
The proposed objects for which Queensland Canoeing Incorporated is established are:
- To advocate and represent the interests of the Association, its members, it affiliated clubs and canoeists
- To coordinate the provision of canoeing activities within Queensland;
- To unite canoeist, canoe clubs and similar organisations; by encouraging them to become affiliated with the Association;
- To promote and develop a knowledge of canoeing amongst canoeists and the general public;
- To promote safety of canoeists through education and awareness programs;
- To provide opportunities for participation at all levels and in all facets of recreational and competitive canoeing and canoe education;
- To seek financial and other assistance from federal, state and local governments, other authorities and commercial enterprises;
- To preserve, control, enhance, improve and develop waters for canoeing, means of access thereto and land adjacent thereto;
- To affiliate with Australian Canoeing Incorporated, and any other association or organisation of which are consistent with the purpose of the Association.
Organisation Structure
Officers
Executive Council
PresidentPeter Beatton
Finance and Management DirectorVacant
Education and Promotions DirectorVacant
Competition and Special Projects DirectorJulian Smith
Executive OfficerDi Bensley
Council Delegates
Board of Canoe EducationSusan Bell
Canoe PoloDonald Leigh
MarathonRowena Coghill
RecreationPeter Eickenloff
SprintGeoff Britten
Slalom & WhtiewaterRod Hammel
Zone Delegates
Northern ZoneVacant
Central ZoneVacant
Southern Zone 1Paul Gardner
Southern Zone 2Vacant
Employees
Executive OfficerDi Bensley
Education OfficerJohn McDonald
Community Development OfficerDenise Cooper
Events CoordinatorJenni Sefton (resigned 21/02/03)
Administration OfficerRachel Thomas
QAS Elite Canoeing Program
Program Coordinator (QAS Canoe Unit)Brian Hopley
Network CoachesAnna Wood
Jimmy Owens
Chris Kelly
Rob Milsom
Standing Committees
Canoe Polo CommitteePosition______
Donald LeighChairperson (AC Delegate)
Maree NorrisSecretary/Treasurer
Claire LordCommittee Member
Jamie Green Committee Member
Michail KowalCommittee Member
Rowan HoltCommittee Member
Marathon CommitteePosition______
Clive ShepherdChairperson
Mark SandersonSecretary/Treasurer
Rowena CoghillCommittee Member
David ProvanCommittee Member
Ian KelkCommittee Member
QBCE CommitteePosition______
Susan BellChairperson (AC Delegate)
Margaret MillerSecretary/Treasurer
Ray YoungCommittee Member
Digby RowlandCommittee Member
Rob WiggintonCommittee Member
Sprint CommitteePosition______
Geoff BrittenChairperson
Steven PageSecretary/Treasurer
Graeme BowerCommittee Member
Larry BuckbyCommittee Member
Garry DaveyCommittee Member
Slalom and Wild Water Committee
Andrew BarkhamChairperson
Rod HammellSecretary/Treasurer
Membership
Queensland Canoeing had 30 Affiliated Canoeing and Kayaking clubs registered for 2003, making approximately 1050 members for 2003 they were:
BarronRiver Canoe Club
Beaudesert Canoe Club
Brisbane Canoeing
Broken Paddle Canoe Club (Boonah)
Centenary Canoeing and Rowing Club
Currumbin Creek Canoe Club
Fitzroy Canoe Club
Gold Coast Kayak and Canoe Club
Greater Logan Canoe Club
Indooroopilly Canoe Club
Ipswich District Canoe Club
Karana District Kayak and Canoe Club
Kawana Waters Canoe Club
LourdesHillCollege Canoe Club
Mackay Canoe Club
Maryborough Canoe Club
NerangRiver Canoe Club
Newport Waters Canoe Club
North West Canoe Club
Queensland Masters Kayak Club
Sandgate Canoe Club
Suncoast Seniors Rec Kayak Club
SunshineCoast Canoe Club
Surfers Paradise Kayak and Canoe Club
Tinaroo Canoe Club
Townsville Canoe Club
University of Qld Canoe Club
WallabyRiver Rats Canoe Club
West End Canoe Club
Wynnum Redlands Canoe Club
Life Members
1981Sally Anne GardnerIndooroopilly Canoe Club – Service to the sport of canoeing in Qld
Gary Gardner OAMIndooroopilly Canoe Club– Service to the sport of canoeing in Qld
Julie RobertsonLogan Canoe Club – Service to the sport of canoeing in Qld
1997Keith BromhamMaryborough Canoe Club – Service to the sport of canoeing in Qld
1998Gary InnesWynnum Redlands CC - Service to canoe education and canoeing in general.
Burnie DobeTinaroo Canoe Club – Service to canoe education and canoeing in general.
1999Digby HuffamWynnum Redlands Canoe Club – Service to the sport of canoeing in Qld
2000Lenore SolomonIpswich District Canoe Club – Service to the sport of canoe polo in Qld
2001Craig HumbleyFrogs Hollow Canoe Club – Service to the sport of canoeing in Qld
Keith HemmingsService to the sport of canoeing in Qld
Presidents Report 2003
The 2003-year has been one that has presented the organisation with many challenges and opportunities that have enabled us to grow.
Every great organisation has a team led by an exceptional person and we are fortunate to have Di Bensley, who as Executive Officer leads a dedicated team who work tirelessly to administer, promote, coach and educate paddlers throughout our very large state. Our staff has visited clubs to conduct Level 1 Flatwater Coaching Programs and attended meetings to ensure their needs are considered when committees and the Executive make decisions in Brisbane.
The ability of the Di Bensley to liaise with a variety of departments at different levels of government has again given us the ability to gain grants to develop the skills of coaches in regional areas. We were also successful to obtain a Brisbane City Council grant to redevelop our website, giving it a fresh look and opportunity to keep information updated.
Competition and Committees
The strength of our committees continues to grow. This year saw Queensland host the very successful Australian Marathon Canoe Championships at VarsityLakes on the Gold Coast for which we are truly thankful for the support of Delfin-Lend Lease who provided the venue and substantial support services for the event.
Canoe Polo organized and hosted the inaugural Oceania Canoe Polo Championships in October at the Sleeman Sports Centre and we are grateful for the support of an event that had over 400 competitors doing battle in the pool over three days of competition. The event brought together Canoe Polo players from all over Australian along with teams from New Zealand, Japan, and Singapore.
Sprint and Marathon committees ventured north for their State Titles held at Bucca Weir near Bundaberg in December and January. The venue provided by Bundaberg Rowing Club is a magnificent venue and their band of volunteers worked extremely hard during the sprints including keeping weed from floating onto the course. The heat and humidity certainly levelled out competition and took its toll on many paddlers.
Recreation canoeing provides opportunities for any person no matter how young or old to enjoy the tranquillity that water offers as a therapy. I have witnessed this enthusiastic group that have held several skills days, group trips, liaised and advised local councils and are in the midst of developing a Trips Booklet.
To everyone involved in the Committees and Events I thank you for your volunteered time and support for Canoeing and Kayaking in Queensland.
Our paddlers once again have shone through at various levels of competition with Queensland represented at National Level in both Australian Marathon and Sprint Teams. The most personal memorable piece of achievement by a Queensland team was that of David Proven and Erin O’Keeffe in winning the Avon Decent in Western Australia. They showed that as individuals and a team that were the strongest marathon pairing in Australia.
Governance
In last years report I indicated that Queensland Canoeing was to change its current Constitution to bring it into alignment with the Australian Sports Commission and Australian Canoeing. This road to change has been met with many detours and hazards that required many extra meetings and several drafts being submitted to the Office of Fair Trading, who have been very thorough ensuring the document, would meet Queensland Government legislative requirements.
Once again the tireless work of Di Bensley and QC staff and assisted by a equally committed subcommittee will ensure the organization is ready to meet the challenges of change in the sporting administration world. The next phase is for Queensland Canoeing to develop a “Model Club Constitution” and assist clubs in their growth and development in an effort to service their local community.
Where to Now
There are many things that as an organization we are yet to achieve to the highest standard including, our image in the community, club development support/communication, higher event standards and our current office location. To achieve these and the many other items means that we need to be dedicated, pro-active, offer positive and constructive feedback in our approach.
At times we had to question the direction or decision that we were taking, but in all cases the basis for that was it was in the best interest of the paddlers, clubs and for the promotion of Canoeing in Queensland.
Peter Beatton
Queensland Canoeing - President
Qld Board Of Canoe Education 2003
During 2003, a large amount of time was invested, particularly by the Education Officer, to establishing links with the OutdoorRecreationEducationCenters and other providers of Outdoor opportunities. These along with the retail outlets were targeted to ensure that they were and are keen to promote the Australian Canoeing Award Scheme as Industry Best Practice. We now believe that this strategy has worked with an increased awareness of the Award Scheme and the benefits of such a scheme. Many of these organizations now hold Level 1 & 2 Instructor qualified staff on their books.
An attempt was also made to try and reduce the wastage of instructors previously registered in the Old Award Scheme and not seeing a benefit in transferring to the New System. A number of large Mail-outs have occurred in an attempt to capture the interest of the Out of Date Instructor and entice them to complete the transfer process. A key aspect of this process is to point out some of the virtues of the new award scheme. Aspects such as every instructor being able to conduct Basic Skills Courses and issue Basic Skills Certificates has attracted some back to the instructor arena.
The number of new Instructors being registered in 2003 is still a concern. However it has stabilized somewhat from the poor figures of last year. I believe that we need to accept that with the new award scheme comes greater enthuses on planning the canoeing activity and documenting such things as Risk Management Strategies etc. This seems to be an aspect of the Instructor qualification that many are slow to take on. Many are happy to attend an assessment but slow to submit a planning assignment required before the qualification can be bestowed.
During 2003 a number of courses and assessment were conducted around the state including Programs in Mackay, Townsville, Theodore, Moura and the gold & Sunshine Coast. Some programs resulted in some mutual support opportunities between clubs and local schools that was totally unexpected. This was not the intention of the program but we have now seen how they can effectively be linked and it is desirable that this trend be continued.
During 2003 the ground-work was also commenced to establishing a number of Third Party Agreements with organizations to deliver the Australian Canoeing Award Scheme on their behalf. This strategy is now starting to show an amount of success with a number of GovernmentRecreationCenters and TAFEs approaching Queensland Canoeing with requests for this to occur.
We are also seeing an increasing number of Instructor Candidates coming from Registered Training Organizations such as TAFE studying Certificates III & IV in Outdoor Recreation but coming to Queensland Canoeing to bolster their qualification.
The major concerns that are facing the QBCE into 2004 iarethe introductory of the changes in the re write of the Outdoor Recreation Package that underpins the Australian Canoeing Award Scheme. The package will move from SRO 99 to SRO 03. It is not clear at this stage how much effect if any this will have on the current operation. Another area of concern is the lack of available and qualified Trainers and Assessors to allow the Award Scheme to be operated freely. 2003 has seen Board members Margaret Miller and Rob Wigginton taking an active role in weekend long assessments. This was not done because of an absence of others available to for fill the role but on those given weekends others were not available. This is partly due to the newness of the scheme and the requirement to be a qualified Work Place Trainer and Assessor having also attended the Australian Canoeing Assessor Module and Hold the Qualification you seek to issue yourself. People who meet this requirement are in short supply across the Outdoor Recreation community. It is here that we need to work do develop a strong Cadre of Assessors to reduce the shortfall in the numbers required to fill this role.
Education Officer
Queensland Canoeing Inc
Slalom & Wild Water Standing Committee Report 2003
This year has seen further development in the sport of canoe slalom in Queensland, albeit not as quick as the slalom committee would have wished. Regular training has continued in Brisbane throughout the year and numbers have increased up to the limit of available equipment.
Queensland Slalom received development funding from the National Slalom Committee and it was decided that it should be spent on the construction of slalom gates to be used in competition. These gates should be finalised in the near future which will then allow the Committee to organise local competitions. They are also portable enough to be transported to other locations throughout Queensland should the need arise. It is hoped that as slalom continues to grow in the Brisbane area, then it will be taken up in other regions of Queensland.
During the last year the Slalom Committee undertook to send a questionnaire to every affiliated club in Queensland. This audit was to try and ascertain the level of interest and equipment available throughout the State. It was also designed to see what the slalom committee could do in the way of assistance in developing the sport. Unfortunately, very few questionnaires were actually returned and little information was provided or requested.
The highlight of the year was being able to field a team from Queensland at the National slalom championships in Victoria at the beginning of 2004. This was the first time for many years that anyone from Queensland has been to the Nationals. Successes were varied but generally the results were promising considering the small exposure to competition that the majority of the paddlers had. Many of the younger paddlers returned from this event keen to further their skills and attend the 2005 Nationals on the Olympic course in Sydney. On the subject of Olympics, the Queensland Slalom Committee would like to wish extend its best wishes to the Australian Slalom Team who will compete at Athens later this year. Although no Queenslanders are in the team at present, I know for a fact there are a few locals who are already thinking about Beijing in 2008.
As Chair of the slalom committee I would also once again like to invite any club or individual who would like to develop an interest in slalom to contact me via the Queensland Canoeing office, where I would be only too happy to offer whatever assistance I can.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Queensland Canoeing staff for their assistance and advice in furthering the sport of slalom in the state.
Andrew Barkham – Chair, Queensland Canoeing Slalom Committee
Queensland Sprint Team 2003
NAME
/ AGE /CLUB
Andrew Hurley / 14 / Indooroopilly Canoe ClubBen Cooper / 14 / Indooroopilly Canoe Club
Daniel Hanson / 14 / Indooroopilly Canoe Club
Dominic Gallagher / 12 / Indooroopilly Canoe Club
Dylan Nagle / 14 / Indooroopilly Canoe Club
Harry Waller / 12 / Indooroopilly Canoe Club
James Cornish / 12 / Indooroopilly Canoe Club
James Lawrie / 16 / Gold Coast Kayak and Canoe Club
Joseph Bendeich / 12 / Indooroopilly Canoe Club
Joseph Walsh / 14 / Indooroopilly Canoe Club
Joshua O'Keeffe / 16 / Indooroopilly Canoe Club
Kevin Crisp / Vets / Indooroopilly Canoe Club
Kieran Fugle / 16 / Greater Logan Canoe Club
Kristen Buckby / 18 / LourdesHillCollege Canoe Club
Matthew Arvier / 14 / Indooroopilly Canoe Club
Nicole Constable / 18 / Currumbin Creek Canoe Club
Peter Markwell / Open / SunshineCoast Canoe Club
Tim Donkin / 16 / Indooroopilly Canoe Club
Australian Sprint Team 2003