It’s the feeling you get after. It feels worth it – that you’re progressing towards your goals.
Hunter Florisson
We’ve watched a determined Hunter chase his dreams for the last 10 years.
With passion and dedication, he has trained, competed and trained again to build himself into a high-performance athlete.
And we couldn’t be prouder.
A well-respected young man, Hunter is a wonderful ambassador for paddling, and a fantastic role model for young paddlers. He has dedicated countless hours volunteering his spare time passing on his love of paddling by coaching juniors and adult beginners. He’s also an assistant Paddle Academy instructor.
You can see paddling runs in his blood.
We recently caught up with Hunter to congratulate him on his recent selection for the Australian Junior Canoe Slalom Team:
Us: What is your ultimate paddling dream?
Hunter: The Olympics! Specifically, Slalom.
Us: Why did you take up paddling?
Hunter: I’ve always loved the water. I’ve been paddling since I was 8 years old. Nan and Pop lived on Canning River and had a couple of Canadians. I loved paddling and wanted to do it as a sport – and found out you could! I love the excitement of white water and slalom. I introduced the whole family to paddling.
Us: And we are very grateful for that!
Us: What do you enjoy the most about Paddling/Slalom?
Hunter: the adrenaline rush of white water and spending time on the river in the early morning. It’s invigorating – even though it can be very cold! It’s better here than in Tasmania! It’s the feeling you get after. It feels worth it – that you’re progressing towards your goals.
Us: What are the Slalom and White Water training difficulties on flat water?
Hunter: It’s all flatwater training 9-10 months over here. Which is interesting because I can keep up with others on flatwater, but I am disadvantaged for whitewater competition. It takes me a lot to get used to it. Other competitors are more familiar with white water as they have white water training all year round. My fitness is OK, but not the comfort with white water so it takes me bit longer and is quite hard to adapt once I arrive for competition.
Us: Tell us about the SlalomWA community
Hunter: It’s great being part of the Slalom community in WA. They are really supportive and a lot of the reason I enjoy it so much. After training, even if it wasn’t a great session, they make it enjoyable. It’s a mix of younger and older over here, whereas over east its more under 23.
Us: What is your advice to someone who wants to take up Slalom?
Hunter: Do it to have fun. Don’t feel you have to stick to one type of paddling either. I also do Marathon but prefer Slalom. There are so many different disciplines to try, you will find a few that appeal to you. The main thing is do what you enjoy.
Hunter has had a fantastic year of paddling, despite the disadvantage of training primarily on flat water. Imagine what could be achieved if we had a White Water Centre here in WA!
| Oceania *** | Gold Medal – U18 C1 |
| Australian Open | Gold Medal – U18 |
| Nationals | Made finals in an open event |
| Australian Junior Slalom Team | Selected to represent Australia |
Want to help Hunter?
It takes more than just dedication and hard work to represent Australia. It’s costly too, especially when you’re based in WA.
The Australian Sporting Foundation has set up a fundraising page for Hunter to help with these costs. If you would like to donate, please click here.
2 responses to “Introducing: Hunter Florisson”
[…] and young Izzy Florisson is no exception. Finding her way into paddling alongside older brother Hunter and sister Scarlett, Izzy’s love of Canoe Slalom takes her to incredible places and allows […]
[…] Florissons share a passion for paddling, but each for different reasons. For Hunter it’s about setting and achieving goals. For Izzy, it’s the adrenaline rush coupled with […]