The SASI Canoe Sprint program has a focus on identifying and developing nationally-categorised athletes capable of achieving selection into Paddle Australia national teams and programs.

To give athletes the best chance to succeed, SASI set up an international five-week training camp in Singapore.

Through a partnership with the Singapore Canoe Federation and Singapore Sports Institute, a dedicated training block was planned, exposing athletes to a higher training workload for a prolonged period of time during the preseason training phase.

Led by SASI Head Coach Sprint Canoe/Kayak David Smith and supported by SASI Sports Scientist Jayden Lowrie, the pair worked with SASI athletes Maguire Reid, Demi Bates, Charli Smyth, Caitlin Webber, Will Spencer and Finn White on the trip.

“Our focus was aimed primarily at gym/strength/hypertrophy training with a technical focus of shifting that strength to on water technique,” Smith said.

“The warm weather provided endless opportunity to access on water training but also added immense benefit to the gym training as it mitigated the difficulties when it comes to pushing the bodies hard in the gym.

“We gained valuable insight through on water testing, measuring our athletes’ speed of acceleration through each stroke and how each athlete’s boat responds to their movements.

“It was a fantastic opportunity for the canoe/kayak team to represent SASI as a whole in a non-competitive environment.

“Having the opportunity to train and paddle in a world-renowned city and also have the waters of Marina Bay Sands as the training base was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we as a team will forever be grateful.”

We are excited to see what these athletes will achieve, having gained this international experience.