2022 U23 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SPRINT TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT

CRNZ would like to congratulate the following athletes who have been selected to represent New Zealand at this year’s U23 World Sprint Kayaking Championships to be held in Szeged Hungary from the 31st August to the 4th September.

 

After a two year hiatus from the World Championships, CRNZ Development Coach Craig Mustard is thrilled the athletes will get the opportunity to test their skills on the international stage.

 

“It’s really encouraging to see athletes that had been selected into the Junior and U23 teams in the past two years that did not get a chance to race due to covid being part of this year’s team and still in the sport and at a competitive level. There were fears that athletes would drop out of the sport because not getting international exposure.

 

Competing at this year’s Championships will give us feedback on how the pathway program and everything that we have been working on during the two years when we did not compete internationally. Technique development and team boats have been the main areas that we have focused on, with paddlers becoming more compatible with each other and more aligned to the Senior High-Performance Program and way of paddling.”

 

With a young squad heading over to the world champs, Mustard is encouraged by the talent coming through in the sport.

 

“The U23 team this year is a competitive team but even more exciting to see that the average age of the  team is very young and most of the current team have two or three years in this age category. The depth and quality that we have in the U23 space in New Zealand is so exciting and a direct result of the hard work the athletes and coaches are putting in daily.

 

CRNZ would like to thank all Club Coaches who have put countless hours both on and off the water in developing and getting the athletes to this high standard that we have this year. Also thank you to all the parents who support the athletes in pursuing their dreams. The past two years has been really challenging but with all your hard work we have come out stronger.”