AUSTRALIAN CREW SELECTION FOR ASIAN AND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
As you would be aware, the honour of representing Australia has been awarded to the winning state crews at the Australian Championships each April.
AusDBF is changing that system with one where selection is open to all paddlers around Australia.
Our first nationally selected team was scheduled to race in September this year at the Asian Championships and we had planned to release a schedule of selections and trainings post-Australian Championships that would give every quality paddler the time and information to dedicate towards the crew.
However, AusDBF was advised last week by the Asian Federation that the 2010 Asian Championship will now be held on 29 April – 2 May at Wujing (near Shanghai).
While that has meant a reworking of our plans, thankfully AusDBF’s early organisation and the work of our High Performance Committee has meant we are ready to initiate a selection and training schedule immediately which will have minimal impact on club and state preparations for Adelaide.
Coach
Serghei Cucsa has been appointed as Australian Head Coach. He brings a massive amount of international experience to the position and is a highly qualified coach. He will be overseeing selections and working with senior coaches around Australia to ensure the best paddlers are chosen for the team and prepared for Wujing.
Manager
The Head Manager is being filled within the next few days. They will coordinate the paddlers and provide important administrative work. The expressions of interest have been issued and if you know someone who has the skill and experience to be a success, please encourage them to apply.
The Head Manager is being filled within the next few days. They will coordinate the paddlers and provide important administrative work. The expressions of interest have been issued and if you know someone who has the skill and experience to be a success, please encourage them to apply.
Selections
Selections will be a two-tier process.
Selections will be a two-tier process.
An expression of interest must be completed with all details provided. It will ask for about your experience and achievements in dragon boat and other sports. Paddlers will also be assessed on their attitude towards team work and cooperation.
Applications close by email on Sunday 17 January.
After applications are received, 40 men and 40 women only will be invited to attend the Training and selection camp. After that camp, the squad will be reduced to 30 men and 30 women who will attend a second camp and compete in Wujing.
The fitness tests will be:
· 2 minute pushups
· 2 minute situps
· 2 minute snatch (men 20kg, women 15kg)
· 1 km run
To be considered for selection you must be a financial member of the Australian dragon boat community.
Camps
Two camps will be held. The first in Sydney where the fitness tests will be conducted and final selections made based on test results and analysis of on-water work. Paddlers will be required to attend all days 28-31 January. Three on-water sessions will be held in conjunction with team meetings. Paddlers selected for the Australian crew will be advised by 6 February.
The second camp for the Australian team will be held in Canberra from 2-5 April. Three on-water sessions will be held in conjunction with team meetings.
Competing
The crew will depart for Shanghai on 27 April, following the Australian Championships in Adelaide (22-25 April). The crew will travel together and flights will be centrally coordinated.
The crews will race 200m, 500m and 5000m distances between 29 April and 2 May.
The team will return (unless you advise otherwise for travel or holiday purposes) on 3 May.
Team Name
The Australian Dragon Boat Team needs a better identity. We all know of the Wallabies, the Matildas, the Opals and the Hockeyroos. Our own national team is also looking for a creative name. AusDBF will be running a competition for that name, and asking all paddlers to put their thinking caps on and find that creative spark. Entries should be sent to president@ausdbf.
Team uniform
The crew will be provided with their race jersey for the first time by AusDBF at no charge. A new design will be used, incorporating the team name and marking the historic event of the first nationally selected team.
The jersey will be presented to the Australian team at the Australian Championships in front of the Australian dragon boat community, where the team will be announced and introduced for the first time.
Benefits of the new model
To be the best, you have to beat the best. The Australian 1st XXII will give us the best available talent from around the country for the first time. When states have moved towards open selection, the results improved straight away. Just watch the medals roll in when our top athletes gel for the first time.
The fact that every paddler in every state can now try for selection will help the development of the sport right around the country. Our representative culture will be strengthened and benefits trickle right to the grass roots.
AusDBF is also using sports science in a way and at a level never before seen in the sport. Work with our best technicians, complemented by the Australian Institute of Sport and Australian Sports Commission will lead to greater knowledge and better performance at the elite end, and provide information on better coaching and competition at the grass roots.
And of course, top athletes will be eager to give our sport a go and stick with it. Knowing they can be in the best possible team in the country and win World Championships medals will be a great attraction to top paddlers. Again, that has benefits for our elite and grass roots.
The new ‘national’ mindset and greater sense of professionalism is something the sport desperately needs and will benefit from straight away. We all love the sport – let’s see it become all it can be!
Benefits of paddling in this campaign
While a greater lead in time and more information earlier would be a help to everyone – the Board, the coaches, paddlers, states, clubs and managers – we must now simply get on with the job. Coaches and administrators are well prepared. We now just need you to commit.
For the first time we will have a crew that is in top condition. Everyone is in great shape for the Australian Championships so when we arrive at Wujing a couple of days later, we will be peaking.
And with competition only a week after the Australian Championships it means the clubs preparing for Macau’s World Club Championships won’t be disrupted either.
The earlier date also means a long winter training regime is not needed. All paddlers will be able to enjoy an off-season to recharge their batteries before taking on the challenge of the 2011 World Championships in Florida. That team will also be selected from the national talent pool, and the Asian Champs experience will help us finetune the model that will deliver us the best results possible. So, stay fit as selections for the 2011 Worlds is just a few months away as well.
To register you Expression of Interest in the Australian Dragon Boat Team, please click on the link below, complete the form and submit.
http://jotform.
The very best of luck.
Kel Watt
AusDBF President
president@ausdbf.
www.ausdbf.com.
Join us on Facebook - http://www.facebook
Two camps will be held. The first in Sydney where the fitness tests will be conducted and final selections made based on test results and analysis of on-water work. Paddlers will be required to attend all days 28-31 January. Three on-water sessions will be held in conjunction with team meetings. Paddlers selected for the Australian crew will be advised by 6 February.
The crew will depart for Shanghai on 27 April, following the Australian Championships in Adelaide (22-25 April). The crew will travel together and flights will be centrally coordinated.
The Australian Dragon Boat Team needs a better identity. We all know of the Wallabies, the Matildas, the Opals and the Hockeyroos. Our own national team is also looking for a creative name. AusDBF will be running a competition for that name, and asking all paddlers to put their thinking caps on and find that creative spark. Entries should be sent to president@ausdbf.
The crew will be provided with their race jersey for the first time by AusDBF at no charge. A new design will be used, incorporating the team name and marking the historic event of the first nationally selected team.
To be the best, you have to beat the best. The Australian 1st XXII will give us the best available talent from around the country for the first time. When states have moved towards open selection, the results improved straight away. Just watch the medals roll in when our top athletes gel for the first time.
While a greater lead in time and more information earlier would be a help to everyone – the Board, the coaches, paddlers, states, clubs and managers – we must now simply get on with the job. Coaches and administrators are well prepared. We now just need you to commit.
AusDBF President
president@ausdbf.
www.ausdbf.com.
Join us on Facebook - http://www.facebook